Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy VII compilation does not belong to me. I do not own the characters, story, places etc. They are all the property, copyright and trademark of Square-Enix. I place no ownership/claim on them by using them in this work of fan fiction.

Warning: Explicit Content

Chapter Ten: Can You See Me In The Dark

The President stood from his chair and made a small nod towards her as she entered his new office, "Miss Kisaragi."

"Rufus." Her eyes scanned the room as she walked across to the chair opposite him. It amazed her, not only how quickly they'd managed to get together a temporary office, but also how similar it seemed to the old one.

As she lowered herself on to the chair, the young blonde sat down on his, letting his gaze meet with hers, a soft but emotionless smile on his face, "I was glad to hear you were unhurt."

Yuffie shrugged a little, feeling embarrassed, "I would have been if it wasn't for Reno, he got hurt trying to protect me."

Rufus's eyes fell to the desk, "Yes, I heard. I'm glad to hear he's taking his role as your bodyguard seriously." When his eyes returned to hers, a slight irritation stirred inside him as he took note of the concern etched on her face, "He'll be seen to whilst you are here."

Her face relaxed with a sigh, "Oh, good." A moment passed, before she remembered her manners, "What about you? Were you hurt?"

His voice sounded slightly firmer than usual as he answered, his eyes still fixed to hers, "I am fine." He paused for a moment as he considered his next words, "Speaking of Reno…"

The young brunette was unable to stop the thudding that started up in her chest as she struggled to keep her voice natural, "Wh-what about him?"

The young man watched her carefully, "I know you were not keen on him, if you wish it, I can try and find someone else take over as your bodyguard-"

"No!" Seeing the way his eyes had narrowed at her sudden outburst, Yuffie tried desperately to regain a level of composure, "I mean…it's not necessary, honestly. I'm getting used to him now so…"

"I see." Rufus's eyes remained narrowed as he spoke, his voice just steady enough to take the edge off the darkness in his tone.

As the room drifted into an uneasy silence, she found she was unable to withhold herself anymore from asking question she really wanted to ask and she found her eyes rising up to meet his once again, "What happened the other day Rufus?"

He sighed, clearly expecting the question, but resistant to answer, "It appears as if a group of dissenters have taken issue with our…partnership." He observed her as he continued, "They tampered with some machinery that was being delivered to headquarters. Luckily for us, their information was wrong and it ended up being delivered to a lower floor."

Yuffie had been staring at the desk in an almost transfixed state. As he finished his explanation she lifted her gaze to his, her voice strangely delicate through the haze of emotions she was feelings, "How many people died?"

Rufus answered without so much as a pause, "17."

She swallowed. The young brunette could feel her throat tightening as the bile rose and it was all she could do to keep breathing as she struggled to push down the overwhelming feeling of shame inside the pit of her stomach.

As if he could see the destructive wave she was trying to suppress, the young man slowly rose from his chair and made his way round to her crumpled form. He begun to reach his hand out towards her shoulder, before seemingly deciding against it, instead placing it on the back of her chair, "I understand this is…difficult for you."

"Do you?" Her head shot round, the tears evident in her eyes, "Do you understand any of this Rufus." She pushed herself up from her chair, trying her best to appear intimidating despite their obvious height difference, "You don't seem to care at all. These were your employees."

He viewed her with a strained expression, his jaw clenched almost painfully. When he spoke his voice was quiet and steady, "I have come to accept this as par of the cause." His ice blue eyes pierced into hers, a hint of sadness hidden within the resignation there, "There will always be people who object to us. To Shinra. When you have power, people will always resent you for it, no matter what you do with it. It will be something you will face many times once you rise to leadership."

A shuddery breath sounded from Yuffie's throat, but she didn't make to respond. Instead she turned and walked towards the large windows that lined the wall behind his desk, staring into the skyline as her arms clutched tightly around her chest. Rufus merely watched, allowing her the time he sensed she needed. A few minutes ticked by before she spoke again, her voice quiet, almost to herself as she took in shallow, silent breaths.

"I always wanted to lead Wutai." The tone of her voice was strangely calm, as if the emotion had been drained out of her, "It was my dream. I had such grand plans. I was going to revolutionise the country. I thought it would be…fun. It's not going to be fun is it?" Her gaze flickered over to his, remaining there for only a brief moment, not bearing for him to see the weakness in her eyes, "I can't be like you." Her fingers dung into the skin on her arms as she words came out in a hushed sigh, "What if I'm no good."

Rufus considered her for a moment, before taking a few steps closer, but making sure to not to push into her personal space. When he spoke, there was a rare gentleness to his tone, "Miss Kisaragi, it is true you are inexperienced…but with that inexperience you have something I lack." He watched as she turned to look at him questioningly, "You still have a grounding in the feelings of others. It is why you are here after all. You inspire a sort of hope in people." A smile that could have been likened to genuine appeared on the young man's face, "Perhaps that is why I see us as being a good match for one another."

Yuffie opened her mouth, wanting to say something, anything, but finding herself at a lose. She felt strange, conflicted, confused. The man before her was nothing if not unpredictable. Part of her wanted to take comfort in his words, but another part of her felt she'd be stupid to believe him; after all wasn't he just using her? Seeing the uncertainty in her eyes, the young man carefully took one more step closer towards her.

"Miss Kisaragi, I know you may not feel like it, but I am your ally. If you ever want advice, or to talk about your responsibilities, I will always make time for you."

She felt her chest tighten under the weight of his gaze. It was so much softer than usual that she felt herself unable to stop herself hoping that he was sincere. For a moment she found herself drawn to him, as he was the lone glow of light in an otherwise darkened room. Her eyelashes fluttered as she forced herself to look away, her voice betraying the blush she felt threatening it's way onto her face.

"What about the explosion? Shouldn't we address this somehow? Will we have to talk to the press about it?"

Rufus shook his head, "No, it must be kept as quiet as possible. These people strive on media attention. We'll make an excuse for the explosion and I already have a team investigating the perpetrators. Please, leave this in our hands."

Yuffie hesitated, before deciding that, at least for now, maybe they really were the best people to handle it. She gave a small nod, "Okay."

As the room began to fall into an easy sort of quiet once again, the young man gave a purposeful sigh, "You might remember that I had a surprise for you, Miss Kisaragi?" He waited for her to give a nod of acknowledgment before continuing, "I've managed to rearrange it for tomorrow. I hope it will help to take your mind off all of this, at least for a little while." Letting his eyes drift over her face one more time, he made to wander back towards his desk, "For now at least you must be tired, please go back and get some rest. I will see you tomorrow. I'm sure it'll do us both some good."

When Yuffie made it outside, she found Reno was waiting for her, feeling her tummy flip at the strange sensation of deja vu. The way he was leaning against the car, the cigarette between his lips, the smile that flashed those devilishly sharp teeth. She felt herself grow warm at the memory of them against her neck.

No Yuffie, snap out of it! You're in public!

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the pesky images that threatened to undo her right there and then. As she got closer to the red head, she noticed the much more professional bandage peaking out from under his shirt.

The young brunette sighed, "They bit a better job than I did."

Reno smirked, a haze of smoke trailing from his lips, "Yeah, but their bedside manner isn't as nice as yours."

"Reno!" Her eyes widened, her voice coming out in a hushed 'not so loud!' type whisper as her cheeks turned pink.

Seeing his smirk grow larger, she quickly moved past him to get in the car, not even noticing that she'd instantly gone to the front again as the red head flicked his cigarette to the floor before sliding into the drivers seat. As they drove further away from the temporary headquarters, Yuffie noticed once again that they seemed to be heading in the wrong direction.

She looked out of the window curiously, "Are we not heading back to the apartment?"

"Actually, I thought we could do something else." There was a hint of mischief in his voice that put Yuffie on edge.

The young brunette's eyes narrowed towards him, "What?"

He flashed her a playful smile, "It's a surprise."

Yuffie could feel the sigh forming in her chest, "What's with you men and surprises?"

After a short drive, Reno had pulled over in some street she didn't recognise, before grabbing a bag from the boot of the car and leading her up some rather suspicious steps, to an even more suspicious looking rooftop. When they had gotten there, he had told her to close her eyes, something which she'd done rather hesitantly as her sense of self-preservation told her she should never close her eyes around the Turk.

After a few moments and a few swear words, he had told her to open them again. It had taken her eyes a moment to adjust and take in the sight in front of her, but when she did, she found herself in a state of utter confusion as she tried to work out what she was even looking at. For lack of a better explanation, it appeared to be a crazy person's idea of a picnic. There was a blanket that looked like something you'd probably use to wrap a body in and an array of snacks that looked suspiciously like they had been ram raided from a vending machine.

The young brunette opened her mouth to speak, but found herself a little lost for words, instead turning towards Reno with a raised brow. Clearly seeing she was after some kind of explanation, the red head shrugged, trying his best to sound as casual as possible.

"I just thought you could do with a bit of a break…you know…from being cooped up all the time."

She turned to the red head, the suspicion mixing with a rising panic in her voice, "But…won't you get in trouble?"

He shrugged again, a slight smirk forming on his lips, "It wouldn't be the first time, but it'll be worth it." He moved past her and plonked himself down on the 'blanket', patting the space next to him.

Yuffie hesitated for a second, giving him a searching look as she still believed there must be some trick to it. After a moment, the young brunette decided that she was just being overly cautious and slowly brought herself down to join him.

As she reached out to pick up one of the chocolate bars, her brow rose with amusement, "Is this your idea of dinner?"

Reno smiled knowingly, a smug confidence in his eyes, "Girls love chocolate."

The young brunette looked at him, dumbfounded, before collapsing into a fit of laughter at the sheer silliness of it all, unable to stop the absolute childish delight she felt at that moment, whilst the red head watched on as if finding the sound irresistibly riveting.

Yuffie looked up at the sky, noting just how dark it had grown since they had first arrived on the rooftop. They had been there for a few hours now, and had made their way through as much of the chocolate and crisps and cans of various caffeine ladened beverages even the most determined junk fiend could handle. She felt a shiver course through her and instinctively pulled her legs in towards her chest. The young brunette had worn her normal shorts, but had opted for a polo neck jumper, though the extra fabric was doing little to keep her warm at that moment.

She turned as she felt the red head shift closer, his shoulder brushing against hers, before his hand drifted over her legs, the warmth from his hand pleasantly spreading over her skin. As his eyes drifted to her jumper, she gave him a pointed look.

"Well I had to hide those teeth marks of yours somehow."

He smirked, widening it to purposefully flash some teeth as her spoke, "Can't say I'm sorry…" He drew his lips closer to her ear, "I'd most definitely do it again."

She huffed, trying not to react at his proximity, "Maybe do it somewhere less visable next time?"

Reno's smirk remained as his gaze drifted over her body, "Okay."

Yuffie tensed slightly at the intent behind his eyes and crossed her arms over her chest defensively, "Or just, you know, don't do it at all."

His eyes flickered back to hers, his voice hushed against her skin, "Nah, I prefer the first option."

She huffed, but still couldn't stop the heat that tingled over her body. As he continued to stroke up and down the skin of her legs, a slight uneasiness clenched at her insides and she let her eyes drift over him. How many women did he do this with? She knew he was a bit of a player, in fact he had quite the reputation, but then why should that bother her? She was just using him right? Why should she be troubled by the thought of him using her right back? She felt stupid. This was Reno. Reno. He was only interested in a good time and that's all she should take this as. The strange tightness in her chest was because she wasn't used to being so physical with someone. It was just a instinctive reaction, to feel so close to him. After all, it was just for fun.

Reno had been watching her as her gaze became unfocused and her brow furrowed as she fell deeper into her thoughts. He gave her leg a slight squeeze, trying to shake her out of whatever was troubling her.

"So, how did things go with the Boss?"

Yuffie's eyes snapped back to his, a shrug soon following as her voice remained impassive, "Fine, I suppose."

The red head chuckled, "Sounds like he was just as boring as always. He's not much of the romantic type 'eh?"

She shrugged again, her eyes drifting to stare over the rooftop, "I don't know…It's hard to tell what he's feeling. I can't read him at all." Her brow furrowed as she cast her mind back to their meeting earlier, the way he'd appeared so oddly genuine in his desire to comfort her had shaken her more than she cared to admit. It was true that there were distinct differences between them, but he had a point; they had both inherited a responsibility greater than themselves. It just so happened that he had been dealing with his a lot longer than she had.

Yuffie's face softened a little as she spoke, his voice quiet, as if almost to herself, "I don't really understand him, but perhaps…" Her gaze lifted to the sky above them as she let out a small sigh, "…perhaps he's not so bad."

A few seconds passed in silence as the Turk watched her, the expression on his face unreadable. Eventually her gave her leg another squeeze, his voice equally at unemotional.

"Girly."

She turned to look at him, searching his face with a slight concern as she noticed the coldness in his eyes, "What is it?"

"Let's go back."

The moment the door closed behind them, she felt Reno's back collide with her chest, warmth spreading through her, as his arms wrapped around her, enclosing her arms with his. She tried to turn her head to see him, but his face was nestled into the fabric around her neck.

"Reno…?" Her voice was hesitant, if not a little nervous, "What…what are you doing?"

He spoke into her jumper, as if hiding something in his voice he didn't want her to hear, "Nothing."

Yuffie was about to speak again when her attention was brought back to his hands, as she felt one slip under the hem of her top and begin to trail up her stomach, her breath hitching as his fingers forced their way under her bra and molded over her breast.

Her voice was ragged as she tried to catch her breath, "This doesn't feel like nothing…"

The red head kept his hold on her as he teased her nipple between his fingers. After a moment he lifted his head slightly to brush his nose against her ear, his voice low as his breath tickled her skin, "I won't be with you tomorrow."

She let out a gasp as he squeezed her again, the sensation only distracting her temporarily from his admission, "What? Why?"

Reno shrugged against her back, taking his hand away for a moment as he unclipped her bra, before returning it to more freely touch her, "Rufus has asked that I do some re-con here."

Her back arched into his chest as she felt the familiar pull between her legs as he alternating between soft strokes and rough squeezes. She felt his breath become more uneven against the skin of her ear, his voice suddenly taking on a darker, more accusatory tone, "He probably just wants you all to himself." His tongue flicked out, drawing up the skin behind her ear, "Doesn't want me…distracting you."

Yuffie let out a shallow huff, "You're so full of yourself, you know that…"

Her voice was pulled away from her, as she felt his other hand found it's way beneath the waistband of her shorts and under her pants. His fingers forced their way between her thighs and begun to rub against her, eliciting a moan from her throat which seemed to greatly please the red head. His other hand released her breast and came down to the opening of her shorts, quickly undoing them and letting them fall to the floor in a heap, before returning to do the same with her pants.

He slipped his fingers out from between her thighs, his voice darkly commanding, "Lean over the sofa."

The young brunette's stomach clenched in anticipation as she was swept up in the tone of his voice. She felt herself being pushed forwards, her hands grasping into the cushions as she bent over the arm of the sofa. It wasn't long before she felt him behind her, pushing her legs further apart with his legs, before settling himself between her thighs.

She hadn't even noticed him take of his own trousers, but she knew he had because she could feel his length pushing against her opening with a heat that could only come from skin to skin contact. His hand traced over the skin of her hip in a moment of tenderness, before it digging into her as he grasped her firmly, pushing himself inside her in one smooth motion. They feel into stillness for a moment, as he waited for her to adjust to him, before drawing back out of her, beginning a pattern of slow, forceful thrusts.

Yuffie could feel her breath catch in the throat over and over as her body jerked with the strength of his movements. She felt oddly sensitive in this position, his thrusts brushing against a part inside her than brought out embarrassingly loud moans from her throat, which only seemed to stir up the Turk more, as his fingers tightened around her hips with every sound she made. Just as she felt herself starting to get used to the intensity, Reno's fingers slipped round the front of her thigh, seeking out her clitoris as he begun to roughly stroke against it, quickly increasing his pace when he felt her push her hips into him with a gasp.

As she felt herself begin to lose herself to the heat building between her legs, the young brunette's voice shattered with desperation, "Re-Reno…I can't-"

"Fuck." He all but growled behind her, the tone of her voice unraveling him in an instant, as he buried himself inside her, releasing her hips with a unsteady breath as he collapsed against her back.

As his breathing began to slow, the red head pulled away, sliding onto the sofa beside her, before pulling her onto his lap, where she fell against him, the adrenaline that had been coursing through her a moment before turning her limbs to jelly. For a moment they remained in the quietness, happy enough to enjoy the warmth of each others skin and the soft, rhythmic movement of their chests as their breathing truly relaxed once more.

Eventually the young brunette shifted, speaking into his chest with a soft curiosity, "What was that about?"

Reno's hand found its way to her face, stroking along her chin before gently pushing it upwards so he could look into her eyes, "Sorry if I was a bit rough…couldn't help myself."

The red head closed the distance between them as her brushed his nose against hers affectionately, "Just wanted to make sure you don't forget about me tomorrow…" His face warmed with a soft smirk, his voice darkly suggestive, "…or what I can do to you." He brought his lips to hers in a slow, deep kiss that threatened to steal her breath away again. When they parted, his eyes flickered to the clock on the wall with a slight huff of irritation.

"You best get to bed." He placed another quick kiss against her lips, the playfulness in his voice not entirely convincing, "You'll need some sleep before your big date."

As he went to move underneath her, Reno felt her fingers tangle in his shirt, a blush forming on her cheeks as she refused to meet his gaze.

Her voice was a little hesitant, as her eyes concentrated on his chest, "Can you erm… can you carry me? My legs still feel funny…" She flickered her gaze up to his for a second before returning it to his chest, feeling embarrassed not only by her weakness, but by the need she felt to feel him against her for a bit longer.

Reno merely smiled, hooking his arm underneath her legs and lifting her up, appreciating the way she nestled against his chest, as he carried her to her bed.