A/N: Thank you again for the reviews! You know who you are. ;)
Chapter warning: Plot, plot and more plot. (trust me) Hope you enjoy.
"How did you know I like it rough, sweetheart?"
The biting innuendo caused Liss' anger to continue to shine through. She went to push herself away from him but his temper suddenly flared to life. He grabbed Liss' wrist sharply just as she was about to connect with his face again, and jerked her forward. She landed hard against him and her hand left a burning sensation on his chest. He ignored that and focused on the stinging feeling in his cheek.
"Lesser men have died for just attempting the contact you made, Ms. Hill. A second slap from you will not go unanswered," he snarled.
Liss just stood there. The shock of the kiss, her kissing him back and the revelation that her dream was real was all a bit too much to handle. Then she went and smacked her boss. Her boss that could easily make her disappear, of all people.
"If you have a difficult time keeping your hands to yourself, well I could suggest a few other things you could do with them," he said softly.
It took a few moments to register what he insinuated and she started to struggle out of his grip again. Rufus didn't let go, instead he move her hand off of his face and slightly turned his head. Keeping his eyes locked on hers, he placed a gentle kiss into the center of her palm. Liss' stomach dropped and the world seemed to fade away. She was just about to lean into him again when someone cleared their throat.
"Ahem," came from Tseng. Rufus and Liss suddenly remembered at the same time that there were others in the room to witness the events. Liss' blush showed just how mortified she was. Rufus was as calm as ever but sent a sharp glare at Tseng. He knew that the moment Tseng interrupted that mini spell was over. Now it was back to business, pity.
"Reno, please escort Ms. Hill back to her old residence and help her remove anything she wishes to take. Ms. Hill, your furniture and such will remain at your old residence. Where you will be living here is already decorated," the President said in a clipped tone.
Rufus gave himself a mental pat on his back. This plan was genius and it just so happened that recent events made it more plausible. Yes, the threats were serious and he knew he had to treat them as such, but really the motive for this move was to get her as close to him as possible. In a matter of a few hours, she would be living under the same roof as him, literally. He had already checked to make sure the guest suite in his apartment was ready.
Reno slowly approached Liss and placed his arm around her shoulders.
"C'mon toots. Let's get you packed and move," Reno said as he offered her a bite of his toast.
"Yeah. Okay," she said. "Ew, gross Reno. Besides, Cloud and I went out for breakfast this morning," she said in an offhand manner as they were walking out of the room.
Rufus went to follow her but Tseng moved in his line of sight and placed a hand on the young man's shoulder.
"Leave it alone. It explains how she knew about Cloud's new schedule," the Wutain said.
Rufus just glared at the man. He didn't want her to leave but he had to calm down more before he either strangled her or kissed her again. Trying to regain some composure, Rufus fixed his clothing and addressed the Director as the blonde went back to his guns.
"Is everything prepared?"
"Yes, though I am beginning to question the sanity of your decision. She just stripped you of your gun and slapped you," Tseng pointed out. Rufus waved the statement off.
"I provoked her," Rufus said as he rubbed his cheek and a boyish grin etched his face.
"What are you thinking, Rufus?"
"Nothing," the blonde said as he did his best to ignore the Turk.
"Don't give me that shit. I know you well enough to know that look," Tseng countered.
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Rufus muttered as he started putting his guns back into their cases.
The President suddenly felt tired, it was as if the moment his assistant left the room she took all of the energy with her.
"Rufus, what game are you trying to play here? It's obvious she's attracted to you. What the hell is the problem?"
Tseng saw it clear as day in the President's eyes. He was afraid, but of what?
"Tseng," the blonde said in warning.
"Don't Tseng me. Now is not the time to start thinking with your dick about some piece of ass. Your life is in danger from an enemy we can't identify."
Tseng lets the words slip without thinking.
"I-I" the Wutain stammered.
Rufus seethed for a moment, clenching and unclenching his fists at his side. The primal urge to strike out at Tseng was almost unbearable but Tseng was right. Now was not the time to put all of his focus on seducing his assistant. Tseng matched Rufus' glare and waited for the explosion he knew was coming. Much to his amazement, Rufus began to shake his head and laugh.
"What's so funny, now?" Tseng said incredulously.
"Oh nothing," Rufus said as he walked around the Director, "just I wonder if she'll sucker punch you if I told her you said that."
Tseng's eyes widened at the comment and he sputtered a bunch of ineligible nonsense.
"You wouldn't," he said as he chased after the President. "Rufus. Rufus!"
Liss blindly followed Reno out of the indoor range, heading towards the bank of elevators. She was going over every detail of what just transpired trying to figure out what made her temper snap. That was the one thing she prided herself on. She may be clumsy and had her dorky quirks but she was always patient and calm. What the hell happened? Reno's cell phone going off broke her out of her brooding session as they entered the elevator
"Ruuddddddddde! You missed it yo! Gingah just went all diva on the Prez. Yup! Aight, be right there," he said before turning towards her. "Change of plans yo" was all he said as he pressed the button for the next floor down.
"Oh shit," Liss muttered as she buried her face in her hands. 'They're going to kill me. Not metaphorically either,' she thought. 'My life is going to end because I let the President get to me over what? Saying he kissed me? Oh Gaia,' she continued mentally screaming at herself. In the time it took for the elevator to go one floor down, she put herself into a full blown panic.
When the elevator doors chimed and opened on the office floors she froze. Her body rebelling against going forward to what she knew would be her death.
"C'mon yo!"
When Reno saw that she wasn't moving he moved back into the elevator and grabbed the PA by the upper arm and forcefully dragged her out of the elevator.
"The hell is wrong with you." He muttered.
Reno didn't have to drag her far. Rude was waiting in Reno's office which was only two doors down from the President's. Liss dug her heels in when she saw Rude lounging against the desk, slowly putting on his black leather gloves.
"Please don't kill me," Liss breathed as Reno brought her into the center of the room.
"Kill you? The hell you sayin' yo?"
Liss looked up at Reno who looked at her like she just sprouted a wing, then her head snapped in the direction of feminine giggling. Elena.
"Well," Liss began as she swallowed audibly, "I did just unarm the President and then physically assault him."
The assistant hung her head in shame as she heard Elena's gasp. Her guilt and embarrassment flooded her face.
"Pffft," Reno said. "Dude, she bitch slapped the President!"
"She did what?"
Liss looked up at the man who spoke. Rude snatched his sunglasses off his face to look directly at her. Under his direct gaze she felt herself shrink mentally. Liss was prepared to back up and run like hell out of the room when Rude attacked. She figured she might be able to get around Elena. Reno was a whole different problem. What she wasn't prepared for was Rude's huge smile and Elena's giggling.
Liss stared dumbfound at the three of the deadliest people in the world. They were… happy?
"What. The. Hell?"
"Dude," was all Reno could say between laughing and high fiving Elena. Rude was still smiling at her, like he was proud. Liss raised a questioning eyebrow at the man and folded her arms over her chest. She almost pouted. Almost.
"Aren't you guys supposed to like, I don't know.. KILL ME NOW?"
"Kill you? Why would we kill you when it's something we've all wanted to do for years," Rude said.
"But I… and you… but…"
"It's okay yo," Reno said as he slung an arm around her, "you're family now. Officially."
Elena ran over and grabbed Liss' hand and pulled her to sit in one of the chairs in front of the desk.
"You have to tell me everything!" the blonde gushed.
The assistant began mechanically relating the events as they occurred. Of course, leaving out a few minor details.
"… dude, what about that kiss, huh? Tell Laney all about how you two was playin tonsil hockey for like days up there after you swiped his gun," Reno interjected.
Elena squealed as Liss just shook her head. 'Turks are weird,' she thought.
Finally the informal debriefing/gossip session ended when Reno's embellishments to the story got to be too much. Somehow she went from slapping the President for an insult to slapping him in self defense because he was trying to steal her nonexistent virtue.
"Reno, don't we have to go and I don't know, take away me freedom and move me into this building?"
"Oh ya almost forgot," he admitted, "let's go."
Across town, a package was left in the vestibule of a medium sized apartment building. There was no name placed anywhere on the parcel only a little message that read "Thanks for last night" in print. Its size hinted that it would hold no more than a pair of shoes. The pudgy landlord that lived on the first floor figured he knew who this package belonged to. He's seen the people that came to visit his newest tenant.
She was a good girl, a screamer, but a good girl none the less. He hoped she didn't get herself tangled up into any bad business. The blonde on the bike that had visited a couple of times was a quiet one. He heard stories about that one, nothing bad per say, just that he was a loner. The redhead with the facial markings, he was trouble. The landlord remembered him from his days of living in the Sector 7 slums. Definite bad news, he'd keep an eye on that one for her. Last night was a shock though. Rufus Shinra showed up. The fucking President of all people! How the hell she ever met him, he wondered.
Eyeing the parcel, the landlord theorized who might have left this package for his neighbor. The biker had picked her up and the landlord assumed they were still out together. The redhead on the other hand, for some reason this just didn't seem to fit in with his personality. He'd be more obvious about leaving gifts. That left only one person, the President. What could the President possibly see in that girl that would make him leave gifts? Better yet, what was the gift?
The landlord mentally battled with himself for a few moments. Open the box or to leave it alone. But, what if it had money in it or jewelry? The man picked up the box to examine it more closely. He noticed tiny little holes that dotted across the box.
"Oh my! It may be a small pet," he mused. Well, he couldn't let the little thing suffer. He would take it out of its abusive confinements and give her the kitten or puppy as soon as she came home.
Confident that he was doing the right thing and not snooping, the landlord carefully unwrapped the brown paper from the container and lifted the lid.
"Don't worry about it yo," Reno said as he steered his way through the busy streets of Edge, "if Bossman was really that pissed he wouldn't have kissed ya." Cutting off a few cars he added with a chuckle, "He woulda strangled ya."
Liss really didn't see what was so funny in that statement she continued to lean her head against the cool glass of the passenger side window.
The sound and sight of a massive explosion only two blocks over rocked the car.
"Holy Shit!" Reno immediately punched the emergency connection to the office. Rude answered right away. "Dude, we got a Code 91 on, hold on I'm getting as close as possible."
Liss' fought back the nausea and panic. She just knew. Some internal instinct just screamed that that was her building. She turned to Reno and her fear was reflected in his gaze. Reno licked his lips, closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he relayed the information.
"It's Gingah's residence. Get down here with Elena and assist with immediate search and rescue. Tseng there?"
Liss tuned Reno out at that point. Traffic had come to a complete standstill. The shock of the explosion rocked everyone. Liss didn't want to believe her instinct; she needed to see if for herself. She unlatched her seatbelt and opened the car door and started walking towards her home, almost in a trace.
"Fuck, hold on Tseng, she's running well walking to the building."
Reno caught up to her easily and guided her back to the car. Once he was satisfied that she was strapped in and wouldn't try another escape he got back in the car and picked up his cell.
"'Kay I got her Tseng, I can't get back to the tower so I'ma bring her to Teef. Bossman! No, no she's fine, calm down. Yeah, I know you don't like it but it's the best idea we got right now, she'll be safe there until we can get back to the tower. Aight. She uh, can't talk right now sir. She's kinda in shock," Reno had to pull the phone away from his ear, Rufus was screaming so loud. "Bossman chill, I got this," he said before hanging up.
Reno turned to Liss and watched as silent tears streamed down her face. He brushed her hair away from her face in compassion.
"I need a drink," he said as he reemerged from the car. He walked around the other side and helped Liss from the car. They walked away from the inferno that used to be her home and towards someplace safe. To 7th Heaven.
Reno: Shameless plug time! Check out some of the other stuff Bosslady is working on and maybe PM a prompt for the new Rufus/Zack story.
Reno! How could you? I told you to leave them alone! -.-
Reno: Oops?