Thanks to the latest Dirge of Cerberus FMVs and that tiny glimpse of Rufus in the opening sequence of it, I couldn't resist posting this fic.

Disclaimer: All rights to Final Fantasy VII do not belong to me.

This is a companion fic to a story that my best friend wrote. Details in the notes.

There was nothing like having a challenge to invigorate a man like Rufus ShinRa. He was a person who thrived on achieving supposedly insurmountable goals with as much enjoyment in the process as a child savoring a sundae with a cherry on top.

And today, he had set upon himself one of the greatest challenges of his life-- to convince the people in the city of Midgar that he meant no harm and to trust him to direct their destinies again.

Safe in the inner sanctum of his waiting room, he sat in his cushioned chair, resting his chin on fingers steepled before him, as he turned his speech over in his mind, fine-tuning his ideas and the words he could use to maximum effectiveness. Rufus ignored the presence of his lone bodyguard, Rude, a silent statue in dark shades by the door, with the habit of a man accustomed to never being truely alone.

Occasionally, small sounds of a tumult from beyond the walls assured him that the preparations were going to plan. It was almost time for him to enter the spotlight.

As if on cue, Rude unfroze from his position to press the communicator deeper into his ear. "They're ready for you, Sir."

Rufus stood and took a deep breath, not to calm any frayed nerves-- he was used to displaying himself to the public even if it had been a while since he'd done so-- but more to settle himself into the mental state of his public persona. Friendly and authoritative-- a man people could trust their lives to, along with their children, and also a man they could trust to know what he was doing to better their lot.

He allowed himself to be led out to the balcony to face an explosion of camera lights, blinding on the retinas. He forced himself to focus beyond them, to see the people gathered below to watch him, some obviously skeptical, others with expressions of ardent hope. Rufus drew confidence from how they all fell silent at his appearance.

"How is everyone doing this evening?" he began, his tone warm and personal. He kept his words intimate, directed to each and every single person, confiding in them his grand plan to make their lives better. No more energy shortages, jobs and money to be had for all and cities that would be revitalized once more. Everything they could want, if only they trusted ShinRa again.

Rufus could sense the mood shifting in his favor and suddenly the cheers rang out, spontaneous and utterly gratifying. He smiled at them, accepting their adulation. It helped that he controlled so much of the media and had used them effectively to positively color his part in the recent chaos. He also knew that it was to his advantage that he was so easy on the eyes. People wanted to love beautiful people and forgive them. Rufus had learnt his lesson. No longer would he rule by fear, instead he would rule by persuasion.

He turned and smiled at his bodyguard. Vincent Valentine had no idea how much he was helping just from his presence with him. A high-profile Avalanche member, now by his side, willingly turned Turk once more, Vincent demonstrated the new era, when the name ShinRa could be trusted again.

"I want to go down there and greet them."

Rufus could see the dismay flash across Vincent's face and braced himself for the protest.

"It's not safe," Vincent said, reaching out to place a hand firmly on his shoulder, as if to prevent Rufus from immediately rushing off down into the crowd.

Rufus understood the Turk's concern but could not allow himself to give in to it. He smiled with as much assurance as he could manage and pushed his bangs out from his face.

"Relax," he said, with just a hint of steel. "I want them to see that I'm for real." Rufus knew Vincent could see the determination in his stance.

However, he took no triumph in his bodyguard's capitulation. He watched as Vincent murmured orders into his headset and knew the danger he was putting everyone. But there was no other way.

"I want you by my side," he said, placing a hand on Vincent's arm, just above the golden gauntlet. The other nodded, the worry in his red eyes refusing to fade away.

Rufus led the way onward, down the lobby and out into the street, right into the mass of people yearning so desperately for some form of contact with him, as if his mere touch would erase all their concerns. He kept his smiles sweet, looking them directly in the eye, approachable but with just enough aristocratic reserve as to remind them of his station.

He could feel Vincent's hand at the small of his back, trying to steer him away from the press of people, in the direction of the secure safe house but it was impossible for him to follow. There was always someone else reaching for him that he had to respond to, one hand after the next until he was deep in the crowd.

Rufus shot a sidelong glance at Vincent and almost cringed at the glare of disapproval upon his face. A cry attracted his attention and all of a sudden a child was in his path. A woman swiftly followed and before he knew it, the tide of people was surging around him.

In a flash, Vincent reacted and grabbed Rufus by the waist, pulling him back, hard into the warmth and safety of his body. Rufus for his part, tried to maintain calm, continuing to greet people and telling them to be careful even as he barely heard Vincent's frantic commands to the security detail.

The ShinRa President didn't even know what hit him when he found himself unexpectedly pulled to the ground. Another shift and Vincent had manoeuvred himself over him, his body pressed flush upon him, arms moving around in a crushing embrace. That's when he heard the shots, the unmistakable explosion of bullets slamming into the asphalt, and the screams of a crowd in total panic.

Their gaze met and Rufus smiled, conveying his gratitude and apology at causing that little distraught frown marring that smooth ageless brow. He was surprisingly unafraid and realized it was because Vincent was there.

Another shot sounded, Vincent jerked above him and Rufus knew it had hit from the tremor that shook their bodies. He must have made a sound of dismay but Vincent shook his head and never let go, not even with the crowd kicking and jabbing at him in their haste to escape.

Rufus didn't know how long they stayed in that position. He didn't struggle to get free, allowing Vincent to shield him. He knew enough about Vincent to understand that this was his redemption, his chance to protect someone and succeed, unlike his last time as a Turk, all those years ago when he failed.

Vincent only let go when Tseng came by and demanded that he stop bleeding all over the President.

Back in the safe house, Rufus listened with indifference to Tseng list the possible suspects who'd want to kill him. The list was longer than his arm, if Tseng could be believed. If he spent too much time thinking about it, he'd worry himself to death. He nodded absently to Tseng, ordered Reno to the task of tracking it down because it was something the redhead excelled at, and made his way to the infirmary.

"Feeling better?" he asked, a small smile tugging the corners of his mouth, unable to stop the surge of relief at seeing Vincent all right. He eyed the all too pale chest bared before him with the small dressing over the shoulder and tsked at Vincent.

"I told you I'd be fine," he said, sliding up next to him, patting him on his good shoulder. "I knew you'd take care of it."

Rufus could see clearly the scolding coming. He knew he'd been reckless but now that it was over, he no longer wished to dwell upon it. He bent down and pressed a soft kiss upon Vincent just as he opened his mouth. He hoped the contact was enough to tell the man how grateful he was.

"Please don't do that again," Vincent whispered.

"I can't hide away forever," Rufus replied. "The people need to trust me. How can I attain that if I separate myself from them?"

"What would they do without you?" Vincent countered. "There is no other leader in this city."

"Risk nothing, gain nothing," he retorted and tapped Vincent on the nose to stop him from nagging further. Rufus noticed the hurt expression on his bodyguard's face and knew he had to make it up to him.

He sank down beside him and slid into Vincent's arms, only idly noting that he ought to get out of his bloodstained clothes. Vincent's blood. It was his fault that it was spilt.

"I took a chance on you, didn't I?"

"You did…"

"Hush now. I'm grateful for your hard work." It was the least he could say but he hoped his smile would at least tell the man how he felt. It wasn't the smile he gave to the masses, this was for Vincent. He smiled with his eyes.

Resting his head on his bodyguard's good shoulder, Rufus knew he would continue to test and challenge Vincent. He wasn't going to change. He only hoped the man would continue to love him for it.

Fin

Notes: This is a really crack pairing but something me and my best friend dreamt up. If you enjoyed this, you might want to read this version of the same event from Vincent's perspective at: sleepykelvina. (just add a http/ to the link because won't let me make links in documents. She even has a sequel too but I can't convince her to post them at all.