"Is everything set for tonight?"
"Yes sir," Tseng replied.
"And the flowers?"
"Will be placed in the presidential suite before departure," Tseng nodded with a small smile. Rufus sighed heavily as he turned to look at the dark-haired Turk.
"And you're sure about this?" Rufus asked.
"Yes sir, they are her favorite," Tseng reassured the man.
Rufus grimaced as he thought about the celebratory dinner, he enjoyed the pomp and circumstance of the dinner but was uncharacteristically hesitant about the dinner. Rufus balked at the thought of being nervous, he was sure of everything that he did and nothing would change that.
In spite of burying himself in his work he caught himself slipping as he thought about his upcoming marriage to Liv, she was the perfect candidate on paper and the preconception he had of her was completely thrown out when he met her face to face.
The President of Shinra married an employee of his own company, a Turk no less. He ran a hand through his hair and checked over himself once more. His 'brother' would have laughed at him if he saw him now. He knew the woman had her own merits and stood behind her and her parents' work, something opposite, separate from Shinra.
Perhaps that's what he needed, he needed her to be separate from Shinra to shake the feeling of the hesitation that surrounded him.
Perhaps.
He thought back to the ebony-haired woman as she stormed her way out of the office convinced that he wanted to get rid of her but he had personally scheduled a spa treatment and a personal shopping session as an apology. He was quite aware of her shift in demeanor as they ate their lunch and wanted to deal with it before they met up again, hopefully with cleared air.
"Alright then. Let's get this over with," Rufus said as he began towards the door, Tseng silently followed after the man, a small smirk on his lips. As Tseng walked close behind the man, he pulled out his cellphone and took a quick glance at the message he had just received.
"Sir, Miss Donovan has arrived," Tseng began.
"Good," Rufus said as he exited the suite and saw Liv along with the remaining Turks around her.
Slowly Rufus looked at her from head to toe as he approached her, Liv nodded and smiled as he stopped in front of her. He began to circle around her and smirked to himself and held out his hand for her to take.
She wore an off the shoulder cape-like silk white dress with a contrasting black detailing that hugged her waist and served as a belt, there was a slit that came mid-thigh off the side of the dress. Her hair was loosely curled, golden makeup deep crimson red lips and champagne-colored heels.
"You look stunning," Rufus commented as she placed her hand in his and began to lead them to the elevator.
"Thank you," Liv smiled. "You look stunning yourself,"
Reno pursed his lips together as he watched the couple, it was bizarre to see his comrade of six years suddenly getting together with the President of Shinra and no story, background or anything of how it happened.
It was weird.
It was weird to see them together, even if their relationship was real or not.
Tseng nodded to the three Turks as he followed after the couple in white, Reno shrugged as he watched the three disappear into the dining hall.
"Let's go," Rude patted Reno on the shoulder to bring him back to his senses.
"Right," Reno sighed.
"We're heading back to Midgar for?" Elena began as she followed after the two men.
"We need to pay a visit to Professor Hojo or someone to give us info and then finally to Director Scarlet before we head overseas," Rude replied.
They were given orders to gather information before they headed out overseas - find more information on the Promised Land despite the minor and unverified leads they had, locate the rumored Temple of Ancients and follow up with Scarlet on the fabled 'Rare Materia'
As the Turks had their own downtime in Junon, they received orders from President Rufus as he sifted through the information, projects that his father had left behind, and discovered that each department had been working in opposite directions of one another. The Weapons Department continued to experiment with materia in an attempt to unlock the latent energy within, the Space Exploration Department were in talks of restarting the Shinra's plan to send individuals to space, all while the Professor housed and experimented with this entity named Jenova.
But the Turks' tasks were not to dive into the finer details of each of these departments, yet.
"Y'all think that Liv is gonna be taken off the field?" Reno asked casually.
"Most likely," Rude replied as he called the elevator.
"She's the President's soon to be wife there's no way she can be on the field," Elena began. "Especially if at some point they're gonna have children,"
Reno scoffed as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Thanks for the reminder," Reno said softly.
"Don't go soft on me now Reno," Rude commented as the elevator doors opened.
"Shut up," Reno huffed.
Liv stood with a smile on her face, champagne flute in hand as she scanned the room of people she vaguely remembered from work and from personal exchanges. The couple was at the center of attention as their table was situated at the front of the hall, decorated with beautiful blooming roses, white and gold garlands, a luxurious creme silk tablecloth with gold detailing.
A stage for the soon to be wed couple.
Rufus had finished his small speech and raised his glass, Liv did the same.
"A toast to all of you and to my lovely soon to be wife," Rufus said as he turned to her with a small smile on his lips.
"Cheers," Rufus murmured as his crystal blue eyes held hers.
"Cheers," Liv smiled before they gently clinked their champagne glasses together. The men and women in the room clapped and also clinked their glasses together in celebration of the new couple.
"Everyone please enjoy," Rufus said before he took a sip of his champagne and motioned for Liv to sit. As Rufus took a seat he ran a hand through his hair and glanced to Liv, though she had a smile on her lips she was focused on the crowd as was Tseng.
"I suppose it's true, once a Turk always a Turk," Rufus commented. Liv stole a quick glance of the man and sighed before she turned to face him.
"Sorry I—" Liv began as she noticed the man smirking.
"Relax, you're not a Turk tonight," Rufus replied softly as he studied her.
"Right," Liv nodded and placed a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Besides…" Rufus began and took another sip of his drink. "Avalanche isn't important right now,"
"So you know about them already?" Liv questioned and quickly realized her silly mistake.
"I'm glad you realized how unnecessary that question was," Rufus said as he glanced at her. Liv casually picked up her glass, though the people mingled their were eyes still on them.
"Cheers," Rufus began.
"Cheers," Liv replied and gently clinked their glasses together and sipped her drink as did he, his gaze never leaving hers.
As the dinner continued various investors, people of an affluent background and more approached their table with congratulatory talks, and questions about the future. Liv held her practiced smile as she and Rufus spoke with those that approached them.
"So Mr. President, where will the ceremony take place? I'm sure that you will have a lavish ceremony and honeymoon,"
"They say a happy wife is a happy life after this trip, she can decide whatever she wants," Rufus replied.
"You're absolutely right," the older man chuckled as he looked to his wife next to him. "Business first and then pleasure,"
"Naturally," Rufus replied.
"I assume that Costa Del Sol is a contender? Especially since that is where you are from and your parents currently reside there, Sumire?" the older woman asked.
"Costa Del Sol is definitely a prime location and you're correct, my parents would be overjoyed if we did have the ceremony there," Liv replied and turned to Rufus.
"Wherever you want," Rufus replied as if answering a question she had yet to ask.
"You have to have some input in this Rufus," Liv sighed.
"You can have whatever makes you happy," Rufus replied. Liv sighed again though a smile on her lips as she placed a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Oh, c'mon on Rufus," Liv began coyly.
"We'll see," Rufus replied as he looked amused at the woman's attempt to get him to add his input into something they would have to decide soon.
"You two are precious together, we'll leave you two alone," the older woman smiled
The older couple excused themselves, Liv watched as the couple walked away and caught a glimpse of the man studying her.
"Is there something wrong-?"
"Excuse me Miss Donovan, Mr. President," a young man began as he stepped up to their table.
With a quick glance, Liv could tell that the young man was a reporter that had gotten into the event using his connections. Normally Liv would have been the one preventing people like him from getting too close to the president or even into the event but she restrained herself.
Tonight, she was Sumire Donovan, she had to remind herself again but on the side of her, she could see Rufus shift from her peripheral vision.
"Congratulations on your engagement and soon marriage Mr. President, Miss Sumire, My name is Grant Lee,"
"Hello, Grant. What can I do for you?" Liv asked despite knowing what the young man had approached them for. It was clear that he wanted information for the latest scoop for his company.
"Well I work for the Midgar Daily and was curious to know if I could ask a few questions," Grant began.
"Well—" Liv began
"You have two questions," Rufus replied firmly. "And make them good,"
"Yes Sir," Grant nodded as he took out a notebook and pen.
"Alright then," Liv half laughed.
"To begin, you've been out of the public eye for years, there were rumors circulating around that you had fallen ill due to your exposure to the lifestream. Where have you been over the past four or so years?"
Liv knew that eventually she would be questioned about her whereabouts over the years. For the past eight years, she had worked quietly underneath Shinra and the former Shinra President. She wanted to keep her position silent until she had reached a position in Shinra where she could announce that she was working to make a change within the company. But since the incident and the large downsizing of the Turks, her intended path had taken a large turn and she remained a Turk instead of becoming a researcher as intended.
"I've been traveling quite frequently to further my research on the lifestream veins and the Northern Crater," Liv began to explain coolly. "There was a year that I did develop symptoms close to Mako poisoning but I took a year or so to recover. Besides, Midgar and Costa Del Sol are far from one another,"
"Fair enough. I am glad that you've recovered," Grant said as he wrote down the information she had divulged. "For the final question, you're engaged to the most powerful man on the planet everyone is dying to know how the both of you met,"
"I—" Liv began.
"I was introduced to Liv by the Urban Development Director, Reeve Tuesti in Junon nearly a year ago," Rufus began. "The Director spoke so highly of her and the fact that I was already aware of her and her family's accomplishments in the scientific and historical fields, It would have been a shame to pass up the chance to speak to her,"
"Director Tuesti, I see," Grant said as he wrote down this new information. Liv blushed and smiled.
"Passionate about her research, charismatic, and beautiful. I was charmed at first sight," Rufus added.
"You are definitely right about that, Mr. President, she dazzles everyone with her smarts, kindness, and beauty," Grant nodded. "It's unfortunate I cannot ask any additional questions…"
"Perhaps requesting an interview through the appropriate means would be a better approach instead of possibly ruining our dinner," Rufus scoffed.
"Y-yes. I do apologize. If you will excuse me," Grant bowed slightly and quickly left.
Although calm on the outside, Liv's mind was reeling over the conversation that just occurred. This was the first time he had mentioned Reeve, let alone knew that the man knew her enough to speak highly of her. She had only mentioned the man once when he asked and nothing more, there was no way that the man knew of the relationship she had with the Director.
"Mr. President. The ship is ready to depart when you are ready," Heidegger began. Liv flinched as she realized the man approached them.
Rufus sighed softly and nodded, Liv turned and smiled in an attempt to hide her feelings of the previous conversation. Rufus glanced at her before he stood and addressed the men and women in the hall once more.
"Thank you all for coming and welcoming me back to my second home. I will be sure to visit more often with my lovely wife—fiancée," Rufus chuckled as did some others in the room. He held out his hand for her to take, Liv placed her hand in his and stood with a smile.
"Thank you for the warm welcome,"
Within moments the couple was standing in the viewing balcony near the Presidential Suite watching a parade of Shinra soldiers as they marched through the streets of Junon in honor of Rufus' new reign.
Liv stood silently next to Rufus as they watched the march below, though silent she scoped the area for any potential dangers when suddenly she felt the silent blond shift next to her. She looked up at the man who looked to be bored watching the display before him. Without warning, Liv gently leaned into the man, it was a simple gesture but she felt the man tense.
"You seem bored," Liv whispered. Rufus remained focused on the march below but gently wrapped an arm around her waist.
"I am but it must be done," Rufus whispered.
"Next time you should make the schedule," Liv commented.
"Don't tell me what I already know," Rufus sighed.
After the parade, Rufus and Liv separated to prepare for their upcoming departure via a newly upgraded war cruiser.
"Liv,"
"Tseng," Liv looked over her shoulder and saw the man and Elena approaching her. "Elena?"
"Hi Liv-er Miss Sumire," Elena corrected.
"Liv is fine, I am still one of you," Liv replied and noticed she held a feminine travel bag in her arms. "That is-?"
"For your overseas travel, it will take half a day to arrive at Costa Del Sol. You should arrive tomorrow morning," Tseng explained. "Elena gathered the things you purchased as well as other things you may need,"
"I see, thank you, Elena," Liv nodded.
"No problem," Elena smiled. Tseng took the bag from the woman and nodded to her. Liv watched the woman blush and bow before she quickly scurried away.
"She's infatuated with you," Liv commented coolly.
"I am unfortunately aware," Tseng replied. "I will put this in the Presidential Suite for you and take you to the President if you wish,"
"It sounds like you're not coming?" Liv began.
"This time no. My orders differ momentarily," Tseng replied.
"I see," Liv sighed.
"You will be fine. I can promise you," Tseng replied, Liv nodded.
"You are capable. The President recognizes that. If he didn't believe you were capable, I would be with both of you around the clock but that is not the case," Tseng added.
"I understand but…" Liv trailed off.
"Why are you doubting yourself now? This is not like you," Tseng stated bluntly and immediately Liv straightened up.
"You are the fiancée of the world's most powerful man; you are also one of the best Turks on the team. There is no room for doubt Liv," Tseng chided the woman.
"Yes, I know," Liv replied.
"Then act like it," Tseng replied firmly. There was a short pause between them but she caught the man's soft sigh. "I'll contact you if anything changes,"
"Of course," Liv nodded.
"Would you like for me to take you to see him or would you like to go on your own?" Tseng asked.
"I can manage," Liv replied softly as the man's words seemed to cut into her.
"Alright. Take care and please enjoy your vacation," Tseng gave a small smile before he walked past her. As he passed, he placed a gloved hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
Liv sighed heavily as she thought back to the man mentioning Reeve, and her upcoming marriage. She knew that Tseng was right but their relationship, she was engaged to the world's most powerful man there was no room for doubt but their relationship felt fake, distant, she knew they were still strangers to one another but something felt off.
Perhaps she was spoiled by Reeve's warm exterior and personality but she had begrudgingly committed to this engagement despite not knowing how Rufus really felt about everything about her. He put on an amazing face in public but was different in public.
"It takes time Liv...the energy you put in is the energy you receive," Liv murmured to herself and began towards the elevator to the shipyard docks.
"Liv," Rufus said as he saw the woman approaching. "You're going to ruin your dress,"
"It's ok," Liv said as she carefully walked towards the man with a smile on her face despite the frown that crossed the man's face. She had lifted her dress and carefully made her way to him.
"Alright, men! Show the President what we're made of," Heidegger laughed.
Liv and Rufus watched as the men performed perfect routine weapon handling and finished their routine by proudly flourishing their weapons on cue and in a uniform fashion.
It was another boring display scheduled by Heidegger.
Liv watched the SOLDIERs as they performed taking note of their eyes, just by their eyes she could tell that the men were lower-level SOLDIERs except for one of them. Their eyes were slightly hidden by their helmets but she was able to catch a glimpse of the soldier on end, his eyes held a vibrancy to them that was not normal.
The eyes of a SOLDIER, a person gifted with unimaginable strength from the technological advancement of Mako being injected into their system.
Liv thought back to the time she had met Elite or First-Class SOLDIER, Chu Minamoto, years ago, and how her deep blue eyes were, the neon green speckles that slowly seemed to consume the deep blue of her eyes. She never mentioned it or even asked about it but she knew that something was changing within the woman.
With the material of her dress in her hand, silently Liv moved to inspect the soldiers and finally stopped on the last soldier.
"Good job," Rufus said bored. Heidegger laughed confidently at the performance.
"Sir, these men here-" Heidegger began.
Though Heidegger spoke to him Rufus watched as Liv seemingly inspected the soldiers, his curiosity was piqued when she stopped at the last soldier and tilted her head slightly.
"You-" Liv began quietly.
"Ma'am," the Soldier replied curtly.
"You're..." Liv started as she peered at the man, the Soldier remained silent and held his stance averting his eyes from her.
"Liv, what are you doing?" Rufus asked and stepped forward.
"I was inspecting these fine soldiers, looking at their eyes," Liv replied simply as she returned back to the man's side. "I was curious to know if any of them were injected with Mako,"
"Ah, Miss Donovan you don't need to be concerned with the well-being of our men. I can assure you that they are healthy and safe," Heidegger replied. Liv nodded despite knowing it was the opposite, through her own research she knew the effects Mako had on people raw or refined, she knew.
"We're leaving," Rufus abruptly announced and turned heel towards the ramp of the ship. "Liv,"
Liv nodded before she followed after the man.
"You heard the President! Prepare to move out!" Heidegger shouted and followed after the couple.
"Miss Donovan," Heidegger began as he easily caught up with the woman.
"Something wrong Director?" Liv stopped and turned to face the taller man.
"Your concern with the well-being of the soldiers is... admirable," Heidegger began as he looked down at her. "Nor in your purview,"
Liv confidently looked up at the man and tilted her head slightly, she knew that this conversation would come up at some point.
"It may not be in my purview, Director, but it is a concern," Liv replied curtly.
"An unnecessary concern for a Turk," Heidegger whispered harshly.
"Ah. As a Turk yes but I am not a Turk as you can see," Liv smiled. "I am Sumire Donovan, Planetologist, and Cetra Historian," Liv watched as the man clenched his jaw as he stared down at her. Heidegger cleared his throat and placed his hands behind his back.
"Ah, yes. Planetologist and Historian…" Heidegger trailed off. "I would recommend you stay within your field of expertise...Miss Donovan,"
"Of course...my expertise extends to everything related to the planet...including the refinement of the lifestream into Mako, materia and more...but I digress...my fiance is waiting for me," Liv replied as she turned away from the man and glanced up towards the gangway and saw Rufus halfway up the ramp his gaze focused on her and Heidegger.
"I hope everything is to your liking sir," Heidegger began as he opened the door to the Presidential Suite. Liv entered the room first and quickly scanned the room for any danger and potential security concerns. Immediately, Liv noticed the abundance of flowers in the room, and Rufus entered the room and looked around, immediately Liv noticed the abundance of the flowers in the room.
"This will do," Rufus replied.
"Would you like-" Heidegger began
"No, leave us," Rufus replied and waved off the man.
"Yes sir," Heidegger bowed slightly and exited the room. Liv watched as the man quickly left the room and closed the door behind him.
"We're finally on our way," Liv murmured, the pop of a cork echoed in the room. Liv focused on the man as he held a champagne bottle.
"Yes," Rufus replied as he poured himself a glass and glanced at her over his shoulder. She could tell that there was something bothering the man.
"Is there something wrong?" Liv asked as she saw the man was clearly annoyed.
"What were you looking at?" Rufus asked.
"Their eyes. There was a soldier that had been injected with Mako," Liv replied.
"Why?"
"Because...there was someone I knew that was in SOLDIER as well…" Liv trailed off as she thought back to the woman again.
"Is that all?" Rufus pressed
"Yes. Did I do something wrong?" Liv asked knowing she omitted information about Chu and the fact that she was convinced that the man she spoke to was Cloud Strife.
"What did he say to you?" Rufus continued.
While he interrogated her, Liv's mind tried to piece together the actions that could have caused the man to be annoyed with her. Did he know something she didn't?
"He expressed his annoyance with me being so interested in the well-being of the soldiers and attempted to associate it with me being a Turk," Liv explained.
Briefly, she caught a glimpse of the man's irritation before he sipped his champagne Liv knew that Heidegger was overbearing, loud and obnoxious when he was around the late President Shinra but there seemed to be more disconnect with between Rufus and Heidegger and also the fact that there seemed to be more behind their relationship.
"Should I have not reacted as such? Was that too blunt for Sumire?" Liv began bitterly. Though she was no longer bound by the rules of a TURK and she was able to be herself the man had set an image for her to follow. She was already aware that she walked a fine line of work and personal business but the engagement made things more difficult but this was different.
She knew that he wanted her to portray both roles but seemingly judged every movement, every action she did.
Rufus sipped his drink silently, his back still turned to her, although muffled the horns of the ship departing sounded throughout the dock signaling the ship's official departure.
"Well—" Liv began.
"How much do you know about the situation seven years ago?" Rufus started calmly.
"The incident with the late President Shinra?" Liv asked
"Yes,"
"Unfortunately not much as I had barely finished my training," Liv replied.
"To put it bluntly, my father, Heidegger, and Scarlet were to completely dissolve the TURKS. Needless to say, I would prefer if you interacted with them as little as possible," Rufus replied.
"I see," Liv replied as she felt her annoyance short-lived.
For a moment she felt silly but at the same time, there was no communication between them beforehand. He kept her at arms' length sometimes even further, she tried to keep herself from over-analyzing the man and dissecting the wall he had around himself, dissecting him as if he was a target.
It was a last resort to her but if she wanted to make a change, she would do what she needed.
"Rufus…" Live began as she lifted her dress slightly and walked over to him. His attention still focused outside his mind elsewhere.
"May I have a drink with you?" Liv asked as she watched as he slowly turned his attention to her.
"If you want," Rufus shrugged.
Liv smiled gently as she carefully picked up the champagne flute and soon the bottle. She inspected the bottle before she poured herself a half cup and stood next to the man.
"I appreciate you telling me about Heidegger and Scarlet," Liv began. "And I still haven't given up on learning more about you,"
"You will have your work cut out for you," Rufus replied.
"I have patience and time," Liv replied, her small smile still on her lips.