So, here comes Chapter fifteen. Please enjoy and don't fry me for it.

Chapter fourteen: How to be a fool

About three weeks after she had started with her new job, Elena told her that she might have some news of Barret and the children. That she had heard from a certain source that they actually weren't that far from Coast del Sol. As much as that relieved her, the next news Elena told her shocked her the more; it seemed as if they had left from the oilfield because they had been tipped off that Shin-Ra (Shin-Ra, Edge, that was) was searching for them. And whatever rumours came from Edge these days, none of them was pleasant. Much more on the opposite. It wasn't a place anyone wanted to be in these days.

Elena had promised to do the uttermost possible to find them before Edge Shin-Ra did and to get them into safety. Still, after the news she was far too nervous to stay in the drawing room to keep on reading.

Without realizing where she had gone, she found herself in the business track of the building with its huge glass façades. It was ten o'clock in the evening and outside, behind the glass panels, it was already pitch black. There were only a few people left in the building, only three or four offices still lit. One of them, of course, was Rufus'. Turning into a small lounge on the same floor where people could wait on being admitted to Rufus' office, she asked herself if Rufus ever slept. The suspicion that he didn't wasn't that far from arising. He seemed to be up long before she was, excused himself after the meals back to work and whenever she came into these areas in the evening, wandering once again because her thoughts didn't leave her alone, there was still light burning in his office.

She usually sat down in the lounge, drank a glass of water from the water dispenser and looked down at the tiny and calming lights of Junon before she went to her quarters. Or as much as you could see of them through clouds of rain.

But this time, the room wasn't as calm as it had always been before. This time, she nearly jumped to find it occupied so late in the evening.

It took her a moment to realize that it was Rufus leaning to the wall next to the water dispenser, a glass in his hands, eyes shut. He looked worn, had grown even paler over the last few weeks and especially the nose a bit narrower. Overworked, certainly.

The moment she entered, almost, he opened his eyes.

"What are you doing here?"

"I like this place. It's quiet. And what are you doing here? Doesn't your office have a water supply?"

He gave a wry smile, but didn't seem to have caught her. "I like it here. It's quiet."

She sat down. He hadn't move so far, was studying her as she was studying him.

"Don't you want to sit down?"

"I have to get back to work." Placing the glass onto the counter.

"It's nearly ten o'clock."

"Who cares?" Half way cross the room.

"Don't you think that's a bit too late for work?"

A laugh, absently. "I don't think the work cares about the time."

"How's it going, anyway?"

A shrug. "Well enough."

"Well enough? That isn't really an answer, is it?" Softly. She wanted to hear more from him, to study that look a little longer on his face.

He seemed to consider a moment but then did sit down, rubbing his eyes, looking tired. "Negishi's trying to work hard, but doesn't manage, no one does, of course… there's WRO, usual business. Helpful…. Reeve Tuesti, he is prepared to help – not to forget the oil plants… but no one wants to sell so far. At least not at the current price. Edge Shin-Ra interfering. Coasta del Sol. – You are taking care of that. They interfere everywhere. – I have to get that finished before tomorrow night, but Shin-Ra, Edge, of course …"

He had closed his eyes and seemed to follow an inward list downward, a frown between his eyebrows. He didn't really seem to realize that what he was saying wasn't making much sense, nor that he repeated one or two things down the list.

"You are reeling." Softly, placing her index and middle finger on his forehead.

"Don't…!", he snapped, his eyes shooting up, locking into hers for the first time that evening. His hand stopped half way from brushing hers away, sunk down. "Noline me tangere?", nearly inaudible. (Noline me tangere, lat = Do I not want you to touch me?)

"What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing." He got up, eyes still on her.

"What did you say?"

"I've got to go back."

"People worked themselves to dead already." And you didn't say that.

"Not with deskwork."

"Then you are going to be the first."

He sneered, at the door now. "I don't have time for your nonsense."

"You think you will manage anything but nonsense like that? You need rest." Carefully, wondering at the same moment why she was saying this. Or why she was caring.

"The devil do I need. I am building up a company. I can't rest now! And you have no business to tell me!"

"And you think it does your company any good if you can't look straight on anymore?"

"Shut up." His frame disappeared through the door.

"You're not one of your f***ing generators!"

Silence. She heard his steps disappearing in the distance, asking herself why on earth she gave a damn. What did she care about his wellbeing? If anyone's business, it was Tseng's and he had just shrugged, telling her that this was quite normal.

Why had she asked?

Because she felt guilty about so many things regarding him and wanted to make up for them? That she had ear dropped on them? That she hadn't believed him when he had been serious with going green? Or perhaps his patch? Because she actually liked him? No, she surely couldn't be serious about that. That man had tried to kill her, after all. And destroyed the planet and who knew what else.

Suddenly, his frame was back in the door and she nearly jumped at his sudden reappearance. "Remember the conference tomorrow. I want you to introduce my concept and how far we've already proceeded. – And try not to look like a peasant."

Had she been insane to wonder whether she liked him?!

"Well, at least I won't fall asleep during the meal.", she snapped back.

"You are expecting way to much from the conversation", still standing in the doorframe. "There won't be a meal, by the way."

"Didn't you want to go back to work just four minutes ago?"

"I did. But I remembered something."

"Oh? Did you? To tell me not to look like a peasant tomorrow?"

"Did that vex you? I'm sorry." He didn't sound much like it and the smirk on his face was pretty tired. "I need you to make it a speech." Turning again.

"What?!"

"Your introduction to the new concept, make it a speech. Doesn't need to be long. Just exordium, naratio, divisio, confirmatio, confutatio and conclusio, you know, the usual."

"What?"

Rufus narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me you don't know?"

"What are you talking about?" What language had he actually been speaking?

"Don't tell me you really never prepared a speech?" Tiredly.

Tifa looked at him, baffled, didn't feel well about it. "If… if I really had to make a speech, it was some sort of out of the moment thing and not that three-hours-nonsense you and your father used to give."

Rufus closed his eyes. "I ... I thought you knew... I mean, everyone knows!"

"Everyone knows how to lay a table." Referring to the last evening at her house when Rufus had had forgotten half of the things and had been quite disorientated on which side knifes and forks were supposed to be laid.

He frowned. "Hasn't Negishi told you?"

"He just bugged me on how to 'behave'. Basically, how to creep up people's arses."

A short smile. "Yes, he's a pest with that. …" He took a look at his watch. "It's too late already…" He gave a sigh. Rubbed his eyes, studied her for a moment critically, gave another sigh. "I'll teach you." He entered the room.

Tifa was half up from her seat when another thought crossed her mind, one which she didn't like at all. "What about those people who write your speeches?"

Rufus studying her for another moment, calmly. "It won't do. Not for you."

"And why's that?"

"Because you'd think I'd have them write down what I want you to say. And even if I said I won't you wouldn't believe me or think they'd put words into your mouth."

Tifa opened her mouth to talk back but shut it again. He was too right to deny it.

"Okay. But let's delay it till tomorrow. It's too late already."

"You have no idea how long it takes to write a speech. – Even if unskilled." He had crossed the room to the dark bar, returned with a pen – a typical one with the Shin-Ra logo on it. "I need paper."

Tifa sighed, got up and walked to the board with safety instructions on it and one or two memos. Luckily, Junon wasn't as computerized as Midgar had been. "Here." Pulling a memo from the wall and handing it to him.

"But…"

"What? One can use both sides of a paper."

Rufus sat down next to her, carefully. "If one's poor, perhaps…"

"You want to run to your office and fetch a blank sheet?"

Another sigh. "Okay…." Turning the pen in his hand and than to the paper. "- It's pretty easy. You first write your exordium. Then, you go on with the naratio, followed by the diviso, the confirmatio and the confutatio. Of course, you close with the conclusio." Putting the pen down after he had written those words onto the sheet.

"You are a brilliant teacher, you know that?"

"Seriously?"

"No, of course not!"

"Therein lies the problem?"

"Don't talk strange languages to me, for a start."

"Learn them, then they won't be strange to you."

"Everything has to change but Rufus Shinra?"

No reply, just a tired look. "Can we proceed?"

"Okay. So, now you tell me what exorbitum is."

"Exordium. We certainly don't want you to exobitare." Smirking. "Exordium means something like 'introduction'. You are supposed to wake the interest of your auditorium."

Tifa arched an eyebrow at him. "I can't imagine how to do that with that topic."

Rufus gave a sigh. "You are going to make this hard for me, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry, but you aren't much of a teacher."

Another sigh. "It's meant figuratively. You can't just start a speech with: 'we've got to kill whomever!' – that is, you can, but that would be another rhetorical figure."

"So… something like 'ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to this opening?"

"Remind me never to have you make the speech to an opening, but yes."

"Okay. What comes next?"

"Naratio."

Tifa arched her eyebrow again when he didn't go on. "Are you going to tell me about that one, too?"

"You are explaining how you see the situation."

"Sounds easy."

"Basically." He turned the pen in his hand, drawing a small arrow behind the word and writing down what he just said. Which, in Tifa's opinion wasn't of much use. But she didn't point it out to him. It wasn't much use, either, to start yet another discussion. And it wasn't that bad sitting so close to Rufus, to smell the faint remains of aftershave, even feel his warmth through the connecting clothes. Or watch him how he tried to explain things but failed terribly at it. It seemed he wouldn't teach her anything if she didn't teach him teaching before. It was… well, sweet. Even making a fool out of himself, he still took it seriously and showed the same stylish arrogance as usual.

In the end, he managed to give her quite a good idea of what he seemed think was the basic concept of a speech. Though in her opinion it was miles from what he wanted her to deliver the next day.

She didn't know how late at night it was when she had finished sketching the outlines of her speech. Next to her, she still felt Rufus' warmth and the slight contact, but he hadn't said much for the last while. Turning around to earn his disapprove, she realized why; he had fallen asleep against the armrest, so close to her that it nearly made her jump, the head close to her shoulder.

She studied him a moment, waiting for him to wake up from her movement. But he didn't and she wasn't sure whether she should leave him on the couch for the night. He surely wouldn't be delighted. And it was a lot more tempting to wake him.

"Rufus?"

No reaction. She carefully reached out to wake him.

"Rufus?" Before she got even the chance to touch him again, his eyes opened, calmly, both of them suddenly strangely close by, focussed just on her, digging themselves into her eyes. He had a slight smile on his lips and form just a second, Tifa felt a strange twitch in her stomach.

"Have you finished?"

She smiled. "I'll finish the rest tomorrow. It's too late."

"Nonsense."

"You've been asleep already."

"Nonsense. I just had my eyes close."

Tifa turned her eyes inwardly. "Next time, I am going to leave you on that couch. I am going to bed now." She got up. "And so should you."

He threw her a drowsy glance, then took a look at his watch. "Perhaps you are right." He got up.

"Perhaps?"

No answer, Rufus just eyed the piece of paper she was holding in her hand. "I'll send Negishi to you tomorrow."

"I'll manage. And tomorrow would be too late."

He took a moment to figure it out. "Tomorrow is what comes after I had a night's sleep." Almost sulking.

"Yeah, right. The world's turning around Rufus Shinra."

No answer and the lack of reaction disappointed her.

Nobody but them seemed to be awake in the building and the corridors were dark now. Dark enough, nearly, to see the stars on the sky above through the huge panels.

"Are you going to wear your contact lens tomorrow?"

It took him a while to answer. "I don't think so."

Silence.

"Its colour differs slightly form my eye's. It wouldn't do."

"Is that a filthy half true again or a lie?"

Rufus stopped. "Don't you really get bored of that accusation?!" Vexed. In the same moment, he bowed towards her so that his eyes were on the same level as hers. "Take a look. Tell me."

She was surprised at his sudden action, but grinned, then. "Your call." Moving her head closer to get a better look. His eyes looked tired, were nonetheless glaring. Both their blue was pale. In her opinion the colour was quite the same… and they were beautiful, nearly of an icy blue, so cold that it could freeze you in an instance if it hadn't been for a warm spark in them she hadn't notice before. Suddenly, she realized how close he was. So close that the rim of the contact lens showed on the left eyeball. So close she could barely focus. So close that her skin trickling under the light flow of his breath, her stomach suddenly burning when she realized she inhaled the same air. The light sparked in his eyes. The warmth of the breath. Her eyes trailed down his nose to his lips, slightly apart and suddenly, her brain was humming. His lips were twisting when she started tilting her head.

"Well?"

The spell broke, the spark in his eyes had disappeared. He straightened up again and she stepped back.

"Same colour, Shinra." Swallowing the dryness on her tongue and the strange feeling in her head. Or at least trying to swallow it.

He sneered.

Silence.

She hesitated. Turned to her door. "Good night."

"Good night. I'll send Negishi around for you tomorrow."

She sneered. "If you have to."

A smile. "A demain." And with a short hesitation, he turned around and disappeared into the darkness, leaving her strangely disappointed.

… he's quite going to regret it.

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