Chapter 4: Nothing but the Rain
It's been a few weeks, and I haven't seen him around lately. I haven't been at the ShinRa building a lot myself—instead I've finally been on some more assignments with the guys. One with Rude, one with Reno. Field research, it turns out, literally can mean just that.
We were in the field with a couple of scientists for one assignment, going to some mountains farther east. We were needed because some of the locals can be a bit "eccentric" about ShinRa and other "forward-thinking abomination" types. With Rude, we were escorting some officials to an important event. Well, actually, it was a personal event for Scarlet and barely had anything to do with the ShinRa Company. The reason there needed to be two Turks there was because it was big enough to warrant security.
And to think, I thought we'd be kidnapping someone, stealing something, or worse. I mean, I doubt those were just rumors.
I'm looking forward to high-priority assignment. We're supposed to work closely with the important people, but I've never had an assignment with Rufus. When I'm not with the guys, I'm usually delivering things to Palmer or Reeve or the other execs, but I haven't gotten to use my skills—my combat skills—the way I want to.
I would love to work with him, Rufus. To show him what I'm made of. To get to talk to him again. I know I'm being silly, but it is just a harmless fascination. Nothing will come of it.
"Right. Nothing will come of it," I tell myself.
The words barely leave my mouth when I approach the elevator on the Turk floor, intending to pass by it on my way to the break room, and I see Rufus ShinRa himself stepping out of it. He turns in the direction of Tseng's office, away from me. Before I can stop myself, I call out to him.
"President!" I say, making large strides to catch up to him.
Rufus stops and turns around, his gaze landing on me. Is it just me, or does his neutral expression seem to change ever so slightly when he realizes it is me? No. Of course not. Why would it? The thing about him not biting was a silly joke.
I'm not even sure what he meant by that.
"Hey, sir," I say lamely.
"Hello, Elena. Can I help you with something?" he says. I realize that he has his cell phone in his hand. His tone is cool, crisp, and short but not completely unpleasant.
"I'm sorry, did I interrupt your call?" I say, pulling an apologetic face. The last thing I want is to inconvenience him.
Rufus glances down at his phone and presses the 'end' button. "It wasn't important."
"Ohhh well... just saying hi. I haven't seen you in a while," I say, stuffing my hands in my pockets and shifting from foot to foot. I start chewing on the inside of my cheek.
"Well, I've been busy. As have you," Rufus says, pushing his free hand through his hair.
"What brings you down...here?" I say, wanting to find any way to continue our conversation. I've played scenarios of what I would say to him the next time I saw him, and now here we are and I'm at a loss.
"I feel like pestering your commander," Rufus says with a slight smirk and a hint of sarcasm.
"I'm sure he enjoys the company," I say, trying to match his tone. Rufus laughs barely, lightly. "Well...it's good to see you sir." I smile up at him.
Rufus arches a brow, a slight smirk appearing on his face. There is a glint in his eyes. "It's good to see you too. You look good."
I feel myself blush. What does he mean that I look good? Surely he doesn't mean that. There isn't much to see in this ShinRa issue Turk uniform.
"Oh, thank you, sir. I feel good. I've had a lot of energy this week. I think being a Turk agrees with me." It is true, I've been going on more assignments, even if they weren't the ones I am looking forward to. If only someone would've attempted to assassinate Scarlet or blow up those scientists, then I'd have something to write home about.
"I'm glad it does," Rufus says.
"Me too," I say. A brief pocket of silence follows. I stare at him.
After a moment, Rufus steps forward and places a hand on my shoulder.
The warmth, the weight of his touch sends heat up my neck and to my cheeks. He opens his mouth to speak, and I'm hanging on to the potential of his words, leaning towards him as if drawn by magnets.
And then, the moment is shattered, and I never know what he's going to say because a voice behind us cuts through the air like a sword.
"Am I interrupting something?" Tseng is standing at the door to his office.
Rufus' smirk seems more pronounced and more self-satisfied. I turn towards Tseng, feeling Rufus remove his hand from my shoulder. I feel embarrassed, like I've been caught doing something I shouldn't have been doing.
"Not at all, Tseng," Rufus says. "Just greeting Elena, here."
"I see," Tseng says, his gaze falling on me. He has a frown on his face, furrowing his brow. He seems bothered by something. My face grows hot, and I look away.
Have I done something wrong? Not wanting to find out, I dismiss myself with a quick goodbye and head into my office, leaving the door open just in case he decides to stop by. Silly, but I wouldn't mind talking to him again.
He doesn't. Stop by, that is. I don't even know when he finally leaves the Turk floor. Dumb for me to think he would stop by. Why would he? Why should I care?
It doesn't matter, I decide. Soon, thoughts of Rufus are pushed far from my mind, because when Reno and Rude come in for the day, they decide to take it up on themselves to spar with me in one of the ShinRa gyms. Just as well since we aren't busy otherwise and this is an excuse for them to avoid writing up reports on those recent missions. Missions that I wasn't assigned to go on.
I do better than I expect, even though Rude packs a powerful punch and exploits any openings in your defense, and Reno's faster and wilder than the average person.
Well, to rephrase, I do better than they expect. Or, in Reno's words: "Pretty good for a ShinRa Academy brat." I let his remark slide. I didn't have good marks at the ShinRa military academy for nothing. Good thing we have healing materia on hand.
A few hours and a few bruises later finds me sitting in my office staring up at the ceiling wondering what Rufus is doing on the 70th floor, which is better than being pissed about being passed over for an assignment. The guys were called out on a last-minute assignment with Heidegger. I wasn't needed.
The sound of rain pounding against the ceiling and against the glass is my only company.
Once again, I'm replaying all of the little moments we've had in my head. They're nothing. They're little. Meaningless to him for sure. But, it gives me a rush to think he may be flirting with me. Even a little bit. It's probably nothing serious. Rufus ShinRa wouldn't go for a girl like me—and why would I want him to? He's my boss, and that is not why I am a Turk. Yeah, that'll sure earn me some respect around the office: sleeping with the boss and having only been here for a sprinkling of weeks.
Yeah right. What good would that do a woman who's never had a proper boyfriend for more than a few weeks — because ShinRa Academy boys got really pissy when girl half their size could throw them clean across a room — and the last time she was really kissed, she was still wearing a plaid skirt and pigtails? What would I even do in a serious relationship?
Focus on being a better Turk than my sister—that's what I'll do. That's what I'm here for. I just gotta convince Tseng and the others that I'm capable. To let them see what I'm made of.
I scoff to myself, shaking thoughts of Rufus from my head. Besides, there are more important things to attend to like convincing Tseng to let me go on an assignment alone, or better yet, an important assignment. I know he's still wary of me after I blurted out confidential information to Cloud and his friends, in spite of what he says.
Take charge, that's what I'll do.
I get up from my desk and head down the hall to Tseng's office. I'm gonna demand a solo assignment.
The commander's office was either at the end of the hall or the beginning, depending on which way I enter the floor. From my own office, it is at the end of the hall. I can enter either from the stairwell that is on the other end of the hall or on the elevator that is near the lounge and the commander's office. There was a sprinkling of a few other private offices directly in front of the commander's office on either side of the hallway.
Mine is on the left side of the hall with empty offices on either side of it. On the right side of the hall is Reno and Rude's offices, side by side and nearest the commander's large window-covered office—which has the blinds closed most of the time. Reno's office is directly across the hall from my own. Then there is the lounge area and an open area with empty desks and unused computers sitting like monuments of the past.
At first I was pleasantly surprised that I — a rookie — would get an office, but then I realized that the only reason that I had one was because it would be pointless to have me sitting at one of those cubicles alone. They had free office space, so why not use it? I wonder what my sister Elyssia was like when she was here.
The closer I get to the commander's door, the more my stomach tightens. I remind myself to keep good posture once I'm in front of him. Every time I'm around him, I feel like I'm being judged. Like somehow, the way that I hold myself might reveal how good of a Turk I will turn out to be. Or that he knows that I have a crush on him. Eeek.
There is a moment of silence when I knock, and I think I hear I him tell me to come in, but I am not sure. I don't want to hesitate and make him repeat himself, and I definitely do not want to have to knock again. What if he thinks I have a hearing problem? That will be strike one won't it? Or maybe strike three; I wasn't sure if I'd actually gotten any strikes yet. Maybe I forgot to address him properly once or twice, and now I was already on strike five? How many strikes until he decides that I'm not good enough?
I remind myself to maintain eye contact no matter how much I want to look away, then I push the door open gently, it slips open only a crack without making a sound. I can see him, sitting at his desk in the warm glow of a desk lamp and his computer screen.
His office always seems a little dark; I think he likes it that way.
He is sitting at his desk completely unaware of my presence. It quickly dawns on me that he never heard me knock because I was knocking way too softly. He is reading over something on his desk, with a slight frown etched in his dark brows. He is leaning over it slightly, in an almost relaxed position, with one arm resting on the desk and his hand dangling off the edge of it, brushing his suit ever so often. The other hand is buried in his hair as he rested his head against it.
Quickly, I knock against the door frame. He looks up, seemingly unruffled by the fact that I slipped up on him unannounced.
"I'm sorry, sir. I knocked but…" I trail off.
"You're still here? I thought you'd left. It's late," Tseng replies.
In the silence that follows, the only sound is the rain beyond these walls and rumbles of thunder.
His gaze meets mine. He has such dark brown eyes; in certain light, they seem completely black. He doesn't crack a smile; in fact, his jaw seems to clench only a little. I wish I'd just waited for him to realize I was at the door. Barging into the commander's office can't be a good thing.
"Um, I lost track of time."
"Understandable," Tseng says, sitting up a straighter in his chair. He rests his hands on the file he was reading and gives me his attention. "What do you want?"
At this point, I am used to Tseng's terse manner of speaking; he gets to the point and doesn't seem to like holding pointless conversations, at least not with me. It always makes him seem like he was slightly annoyed, but he is actually always polite and calm. Always saying thank you and please—even if those formalities are actually orders that cannot be refused.
"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something that has been on my mind recently. If you have time, sir."
"Ok," Tseng says. "Take a seat."
I obey, making my way across his office and pull out a chair. I sit down in the chair directly across from him. And then I scooch up to the desk and then look up, meeting his gaze. His eyes seem browner up close. His black eyelashes make them seem black though. I hold his gaze, nervous.
He is studying me. I consciously try to rearrange my face; I know that I probably look more than a little freaked out.
"It is about my assignments."
I hear Tseng take a soft intake of breath. He is about to say something. I brace myself for some sort of criticism.
"What about them?"
I rub my sweaty palms against the fabric of my pants. "Well sir. I feel like I could be doing more. I know all of the changes at ShinRa kinda put my training on the back-burner, but things have calmed down now."
"Your point?" Tseng, always straightforward.
"Well sir," I say evenly, "Well..."
"Speak your mind, Elena."
"Yes sir." I hate that I have such a strong desire to impress him. Even now, knowing he's let the incident at the Mines go, I still feel silly. I am embarrassed. I want him to be proud of me, I want him to be in awe of me. I want him to...I don't know. There's just something about him. Maybe that's why I'm always taking second and third glances at him when he's not looking.
"Reno and Rude are on assignment, and I'm not." I say. As I heard the words leave my mouth, I feel a little silly. A little whiny. That isn't how I should've started this.
Tseng, as serious as ever, inclines his head slightly. "Yes. Which is why I'm confused as to why you're still here. You should be at home or something."
"I should've been on that assignment, sir," I say with a little more conviction.
"Why do you think that? Heidegger specifically requested those two for the assignment," Tseng says.
"I want more field experience," I say.
Tseng is silent for a moment. He studies me for a moment. "What you mean is that you want more high-profile assignments."
"Well, yes sir. So far, I've only escorted one executive and that was for Scarlet's party. The most that happened there was someone spilled a drink on her expensive dress and she nearly stabbed them with a fork. We're not her personal bodyguards, sir."
"Technically, you are since you were protecting one of ShinRa's interests, but I see your point. However, Rude was on that assignment with you, yes?"
"Yes sir."
"Did he complain?"
"No sir," I say, looking down at the desk. I know where this is going.
"And he's been a Turk for quite a bit longer than you. Granted, he also started at a younger age than you. On the other assignment, with the scientists, did Reno complain?"
"No, he did hit on a couple of the women scientists though."
"Such is Reno," Tseng says dismissively. "Do you see my point, though?"
"That these two senior-level, experienced Turks..." I begin, and trail off.
Tseng finishes it. "They did what they were asked to do and don't take it personally when it isn't exciting. Yes, you need more experience, but it will come. Everything you do is a learning experience, Elena. And, in the future, you may find that you actually prefer these more low-key assignments. The point is, you need to be patient. Don't jump ahead of yourself."
"Yes sir, I'm sorry. It is just that..."
"Yes?"
"Nothing, sir."
"I'm judging you based on you, Elena," Tseng says after a moment of silence. "Not on anyone else."
Not on my sister, Elyssia.
"Of course sir."
"You will rise and fall based on your merits," Tseng continues, "Don't let your ambition get in your way."
"Yes sir," I agree automatically before the words can really sink in.
"You'll get more assignments Elena, and I hope you won't complain every time one doesn't involve you nearly dying," Tseng says, raising a brow slightly.
"Yes sir. I'll leave you alone now," I say, pushing the chair back.
"Okay. Try to get some rest," Tseng says.
"You too, sir," I say without looking at him. I rise from the chair and straighten out my suit.
Tseng's words resonate in my mind and the more I think of them, the less proud of myself I feel. He's right of course. I really should be patient. I'm a junior Turk. Everyone was a junior Turk first. I shouldn't have brought it up. I came off over-eager and immature. Being a Turk isn't always glamorous with explosions and ass-kickings and protecting President ShinRa with your body. Sometimes watching scientists take samples and protecting them is the job. I bet Elyssia never complained.
I go to my office, get my umbrella and head for the stairs, taking the long way down to the employee parking lot. Tseng's right, I think to myself while heading across the rain drenched parking lot, fighting the wind for my umbrella.
This is business. It is nothing personal.
I reach my car and dig in my pockets with my free hand, looking for my keys. Phone, ID badge—no keys.
An image of them sitting by the computer flashes across my mind. My apartment keys are also on that ring, but I have a spare hidden near the front door.
With a growl of frustration, I decide that I'm not going back up those stairs to get my keys. I know how to hotwire a car. Even if it is a ShinRa car. I just need to get inside.
Just as the thought crosses my mind, a particularly strong wind rips my umbrella from my hands and flings it across the parking lot. A downpour of rain falls on me, soaking my hair and clothes within seconds, and blinding me.
Stifling a swear, I ignore the cold sliding down my back, into my scalp, and drenching my suit. Stupidly, I tug on the door really hard, hoping it will open for me. I force my hair from my eyes and look around the car. Maybe I can break a window.
No need. The passenger window is down slightly, meaning the interior of my car is getting wet, but more importantly, I will be able to get inside.
I manage to get my hand into the door and then my wrist through the opening, but my fingers can't reach the lock. My fingers dangle there helplessly as my forearm is caught by the glass. Another rumble comes from overhead and yet another flash of lightening shoots across the sky.
Then there is the sound of tires on pavement and the soft hum of a motor. Turning around, I see a mysterious silver, expensive-looking car with tinted windows purring idly beside me. I bite my lip and pushed my wet hair from my face again.
The driver's window slides down, and through the thick blanket of rain, I received a shock.
"Rufus, sir?"
Sure enough, the person in the car is none other than the president. There's no one else who could be mistaken for Rufus ShinRa. Further proof comes when he lifts a casual hand from the steering wheel and pushes golden hair from his face—only for it to fall back again.
"Problem?"
Rain continues to blind me and soak through my clothes and skin, sending involuntary shivers through me. I feel like a drowned rat, and I'm sure I look even worse. My bottom lip trembles from cold; I bite my lip to stop myself from looking like a lost five-year-old on the brink of tears.
"I can't find my keys," I say. I really want to tell him that yes there is a damn problem.
"Come, get in. I'll take you home."
My brain short-circuits. I stand there, unable to move or speak.
"Don't make me beg," Rufus says, easily. I can hear him perfectly over the rain thundering over us, but I swear he's not actually shouting.
"What?" I finally say. "I'm soaked."
"Don't worry about my car," Rufus says. "There are more where this one came from."
A brilliant bolt of lightning flashes overhead, sending a momentary blindness into my eyes as it lights up the parking lot.
I run around to the other side and pulling at the slippery door handle. The interior light comes out and despite the rain pouring down my back; I take a split second to admire the cream-colored leather seats.
"Well are you going to get in?" His stare brings me back to reality.
"Oh..yeah! I'm sorry..I'm..yeah." The painfully loud squeaks from water and leather makes me wince as I slide into the warm interior of his car and shut the door putting us instantly into darkness.
I push my hair out of my face, and trying to ignore the fact that I'm dripping, I begin to talk.
"You don't strike me as the type to splurge, in spite of well...being the richest man in the world. So why do you have so many cars?" The sound of the rain pounding around us is instantly muted, and the faint scent of Rufus' cologne fills the air.
"For security reasons, they say," Rufus answers, looking over at me.
He's leaning back against the seat, one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the automatic gear shift stick. While I buckle my seatbelt, Rufus puts the car in drive and makes his way out of the parking lot. He focuses on the road, and I stare openly. We stop at a traffic light.
"Sir, you know you didn't have to do this."
Rufus chuckles ever so lightly. "You're right. I could have just let you injure yourself trying to smash the bulletproof window of your car and find a way in. I'm sure that was your intention right? Or were you going to just stand out there looking like a helpless, wet dog?"
"I was gonna hotwire it, sir," I admit. A wet dog?!
"Of course you were."
"You know how to hotwire a car, sir?" I ask. I know he probably doesn't, but I ask anyway. Something tells me not to assume anything about a ShinRa.
"I'm afraid not," Rufus says. "I've never been in a situation where that would be a necessity."
"Really? My dad taught me how," I say with a snort. "He regretted it immediately because I kept running off with his sports car before I was even old enough to legally drive."
Rufus laughs slightly. "Isn't the rebellious-teen-running-away-with-father's-car supposed to be my cliché, not yours?"
"I'm sure you did all of the above and more, sir," I say.
Rufus doesn't say anything to that, other than scoff ever so lightly.
In the silence that follows, I lean against the door and stare out of the window into the thick blanket of rain. The most I can see is blurry street lights and stoplights. Rufus is driving with confidence in spite of the weather.
My thoughts drift. I want to say something to him, anything.
And it isn't anything, it isn't like he's gonna propose to me right here and we'll run away to marry and then I'll return as the vice president of ShinRa. This is just Rufus ShinRa being nice to one of his employees.
Heh. That doesn't sound right.
Rufus ShinRa being nice to an employee?
I stay silent instead of saying anything else. Soon I discover that staring out of the window isn't going to yield much interest, and it has very little to do with the fact that the rain is almost difficult to see through. Then my attention catches two fat raindrops sliding down the window. They are neck and neck, and I am sure one of them will get the lead until "Rude" got too close to "Reno" and they become a super raindrop together and the race ends in a tie.
I pull my gaze away from the window. "Sir, we've seen a lot of each other lately. You've been pretty...nice to me lately." I pick at a loose hangnail.
"Have I? I didn't notice. I'm kind to all of my employees."
"No offense, but that is such crap, sir," I say before I can stop myself.
Rufus laughs slightly and taps his fingers rhythmically on the steering wheel as we stop at another light. "I agree. Is that odd to you? Perhaps I'm doing this because I expect something out of it. Maybe I have an ulterior motive."
"I didn't mean it like that, sir."
He chuckles darkly and runs his free hand through his hair; it falls elegantly back into place. "Surely the thought crossed your mind."
He is right, it definitely has crossed my mind several times. In my defense, the thoughts are such light whispers that I barely pay any attention to them. I keep telling myself that it doesn't matter one way or the other anyway. That it is all in my head.
"Not really, sir."
"Not really," he glances at me as we pass another streetlight; his eyes narrow. "Do you always do that?"
"Do..what..sir?"
"That thing with your lips."
"Just a nervous habit, I don't realize I even do it sometimes."
We are moving again. He is silent; he seems to be taking in my words. I risk a glance in his direction. The light from the streets reveal he is smirking slightly.
"So you are nervous right now."
"Um...well...yes..." I bite on my lip hard and run my palms over my thighs. My wet pants feel like a second skin.
"So I make you nervous?"
"Yes," I answer before I can stop myself. "Not...like...in a bad way...in an um...in a good way."
Oh shut up Elena. Shut up!
"A good way?" Rufus says. I think it is a rhetorical question, so I don't reply. He stares ahead, his gaze observing the changing conditions of the road. I look away out of the window—I am showing my cards, aren't I?
"Yeah..." I trailed off, there is no way I am digging my grave and putting the dirt on top too.
"Hmm..I see."
He sees? What does he see? There is nothing to see!
Silence.
"The storm seems to be getting worse...if that's possible." I don't want that silence to come back. Who knows what he could be thinking and 'hmm I seeing' about. "It hasn't rained like this in ages…I like storms...but I don't like lightning and thunder. I like to sit and watch it sometimes...especially if it's late at night and I can't sleep. I've danced in the rain a few times actually. When I was little, my sister and I would play in the rain and I—"
"You also talk even more than normal when you're nervous," Rufus says, observant.
"I'm sorry..."
"In a good way, of course," he says, stressing the words "good" and "way" in a sarcastic manner.
I look up; he is looking at me again, and that amused smirk again is prominent. I blush and look away to the intersection we're currently halted at. Is it just me, or are there a lot of traffic lights when taking this route?
"A good way, sir?"
Once again there is a lingering silence. I run a hand through my wet hair and wish quietly that I was dry.
We turn onto another road, a more familiar one. Quietly, I wish we weren't already so close to my apartment building. How often do I get to be in a confined, dark place with Rufus ShinRa? And no, I don't mean in that weird dream I had the other night!
"Sir….I was wondering," I start, but stop. I want to ask him about what you meant about not biting unless asking.
"Yes?"
"Oh nothing, sir."
"Well it had to be something otherwise you wouldn't have said it."
"I..no it's nothing sir. I should shut up."
"That's never stopped you before. You don't strike me as someone who does what they should."
An odd little laugh fills up the silence that follows; sadly that laugh comes from me.
"I'm sorry. I do have a tendency to talk a lot. Once my sister almost convinced my grandmother to convince my father to get my head scanned to see if there was some sort of neurological reason why I couldn't stop talking once I got started. Sometimes I'd strike up a conversation with strangers just to hear myself talk—at least that's what my sister told grandma—though they might have been on to something. Once it actually came to bite me in the ass because—haha—I approached this strange creepy man that camped out in a hole near our house and I talked to him a lot. He was really nice to me and offered me some weird black stuff but that's when my dad came and dragged me away. Weird really. I guess I do talk too much…I should stop talking so much huh? Like…right..now..sorry, sir. Tseng is always telling me that I talk too much."
"Tseng," Rufus says, "always so straightforward."
I laugh, uncertainly. "You think I talk too much, too?"
Rufus doesn't answer the question, instead he says, "I wouldn't take what Tseng says too seriously."
He is aware that I gave out confidential information to our enemies right? I know he knows. I know Tseng told him, and if he didn't, then he read about it in the report. And yet, there is no comment on it. Maybe I'm the only one who hasn't let it go yet.
"Tseng's right about most things, sir," I say.
"You seem to hold him in high-esteem," Rufus remarks. He seems to find this revelation interesting as opposed to disturbing.
"Well of course, he's my commander," I say. I have to be careful, what if he repeats what I say back to Tseng? I have to remember that Rufus ShinRa isn't a coworker taking me home; this man is my boss. He's everyone's boss.
"Hmmm," Rufus says, almost to himself. He doesn't comment on it further.
In the lull that follows, I find myself watching him again. The street lights cross over his face, illuminating the contours, the shadows, the lines of his profile. Is it possible for someone to be this handsome and elegant?
"Gah, I can barely take my eyes off him..."
"I'm flattered, Elena."
"Nononononoonono I did not just say that out loud!"
"I'm afraid you did."
"Nononono I did not say thatout loud too-"
"Relax," Rufus says with a light laugh. "It isn't life or death."
"I know that sir, but you...well...you kind of freak me out."
"That's a good thing I hope?" Rufus says, looking over at me.
"I...shouldn't you be paying attention to the road?"
A slow smirk materializes on his lips. "We've stopped outside of your apartment."
I look around. He's right, we're on the sidewalk near my apartment building in sector 8. A tall, glass structure made of black glass. Turks, soldiers and other ShinRa employees who live in this building can see out but no one can see in.
"You know you didn't have to do this," I say.
"I know."
I reach for the door handle. Why won't' the door open?!
"Why did you, sir?"
I'm trapped!
"Well, of course I wanted to get you alone with me," he says smoothly. Just when I am sure my brain is about to fry like an egg in a skillet, I realize he's joking.
Either way, my heart was thumping rapidly against my ribs begging to be freed from its cage so it could smash through the windshield and run off laughing down the rain slicked streets. I bite my bottom lip hard, pretty sure I am going to draw blood, and totally forget my mission of opening the door and escaping to my apartment so I can slap myself in private.
I move to open the door again, but Rufus tells me to hold on.
Is he going to kiss me? Of course not.
Rufus opens his own door, letting in cool air and rain, and steps out of the car and crosses to the front of the car holding a large black umbrella. He pulls open my door, letting in droplets of rain. Rufus extends a hand—probably an automatic gesture from his upbringing that has little do with who or what I am—and I slip my smaller hand into his, allowing him to help me out onto the sidewalk and safely under the umbrella.
"I'm already soaked, sir," I say as I come in underneath the shelter of the umbrella. Rain sparkles around us, coming down around us in sheets.
"Yes, I suppose that is true, but it would be poor form to let you go to the door without an umbrella."
The streetlights catch a smirk on his face.
He releases my hand and offers his arm—another artifact from his aristocratic upbringing. It is a big umbrella, enough for three people, but we don't wander too far apart. I get as close as possible and rest my hand around his forearm, touching the soft, crisp fabric of his sleeve and the firm muscle beneath.
Rufus leads the way quickly, but with ease, instead of in short, feverish steps like mine. Rain dances around us and our feet. Some makes it into my boots as we navigate around a puddle. We reach the stairs beneath the protection of the apartment awning.
"Sir," I say, stepping from beneath the umbrella and facing him. "Thank you, you didn't have to."
"True. But I wanted to," Rufus says, looking at me. For a second, I forget to breathe.
"I'll see you around, Elena," Rufus says.
"Okay, sir," I say.
"Rufus, remember?" he says, flashing an easy half-smile — no a smirk. Always a smirk.
"Right. Rufus," I say nodding.
Rufus smirks slightly and turns away, making his way down the stairs. I watch him go until he's in his car and the headlights are cutting through the darkness and his taillights disappear around a corner.
He was just being nice, right?
My mother always said that people don't do something unless there's a reason behind it. And then there are people like Rufus ShinRa. I wonder…what could he possibly want with me?
Or maybe he was just being nice.
I mean, we are going to be seeing a lot of each other.
On assignments.
Nothing more.
Even if there was something going on, what would I do with Rufus fricken ShinRa?