Annoyed.

There were not many times where he was annoyed but now was one of those moments. The man they needed to speak to was nowhere to be found, they needed to speak to Professor Hojo but to his annoyance, the man took an unexpected vacation to Costa Del Sol of all places.

Tseng grimaced as he looked at his wristwatch, there were no indications of the man's vacation listed for approval even with the incident with Sephiroth, Avalanche and Aerith's disappearance. The man's laboratory was left in shambles and even if the man wanted to work he wouldn't be able to but the fact that the man traveled to the place where both President Rufus and Liv was annoyed him

"Change in plans," Tseng murmured.

"I figured as much since the rat-man wasn't here," Reno commented. The four Turks split up in order to finish their orders quicker, Tseng and Reno sought out Hojo while Rude and Elena sought Director Scarlet.

"Conveniently," Tseng murmured. Reno snickered as he looked at his cellphone, he received a message from Rude.

"Rude and Elena are at the office. Damn that was quick," Reno sighed as he began to text his two comrades back. "I wonder if she cursed them out,"

"As long as they got what we were looking for that's all that matters," Tseng began. "We're leaving sooner than expected," Tseng replied as he began towards the elevator. Reno shoved his cellphone back into his pocket and turned his attention to the news report on one of the many televisions in the hall.

President Rufus and his fiancée, Sumire Donovan, have arrived in Costa Del Sol on vacation in preparation for their upcoming wedding…

"I still can't believe it," Reno commented as he watched the news on the large television as they passed to the elevator.

"Accept it and let it go," Tseng replied firmly as he called the elevator.

"No promises, I have to at least tease her for a couple of months, anyway, Sephiroth…is he really back?" Reno asked quietly as if they were being listened to.

"At this point, we don't have enough intel to determine if it's real or not," Tseng replied.

"So, you're saying that the Pres and Liv were hallucinating," Reno smirked.

"No," Tseng frowned at the crimson-haired man. The look that he gave Reno caused the man to hold up his hands in surrender.

Ding!

The two men entered the empty elevator and pressed the sixty-sixth-floor button.

"Well they've both seen him, so he has to be real or someone is really good at acting," Reno scoffed as he gazed out the glass windows of the elevator. In the distance, he could see the large gap of where Sector Seven's plate should have been.

All those unnecessary deaths.

When the late President Shinra ordered for the plate to be dropped, his stomach dropped. It was crazy, insane and all just to deal with Avalanche, and of course, he would blame it on Avalanche stoking the fear of Avalanche in the people's mind.

He didn't need to drag in innocent civilians into this, they didn't need to die for this.

"The fact that they both have seen him is undeniable, Tseng replied. "Right now, we have other things to focus on until we receive new orders,"

Reno nodded silently, they knew that the man's sudden appearance wasn't normal, he had been missing for seven years and all of his files were sealed away in Professor Hojo's laboratory since then. In addition to the legendary SOLDIER's appearance, the events that centered around Liv and the President also caught them all off guard.

Reno sighed heavily as the elevator dinged signaling they had arrived at their destination. As the doors opened Tseng was the first off followed by Reno, silently the two men walked towards the Turks' office but Reno suddenly stopped in his tracks as he laid eyes on someone. It was Director Tuesti, the man was completely engrossed in his cell phone as he held a Styrofoam coffee cup.

With a smirk plastered on his face, he quietly approached the man.

"Texting Liv?"

Reeve immediately looked at Reno as he stood in front of him before he quickly put his cellphone away.

"Excuse me?" Reeve asked.

"I asked if you were texting Liv, Mr. Director," Reno teased. Reeve looked at the crimson-haired man from head to toe before he spoke.

"Should I be?" Reeve asked casually and sipped his coffee. Reno scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Were you two dating or just fuck buddies?" Reno smirked; Reeve frowned at the man quickly realizing that he knew about them.

"She was scouted to be a part of the team but remained a Turk, she's a Shinra-" Reeve began when Reno sighed audibly.

"Skip the bullshit, just tell me if you ended it or her," Reno waved off the man's crafted response. Reeve silently sipped his coffee before he spoke.

"She did," Reeve replied and walked away.

Reno watched as the man walked past him and down the hall, he had his suspicions about the two of them hooking up but knew that Liv wasn't messy and wouldn't leave a trail, but the Director on the other hand.

Reno saw the way he looked at her, the smile, the subtle but flirtatious gestures, the coffee breaks, he could tell that the man was completely in love with her.

She knew it.

"Oh...this is messy," Reno commented with a half-cocked grin on his lips.

"Did you sleep well?" Rufus asked.

"Well enough," Liv replied. "You?"

"Well enough," Rufus replied.

Liv and President Rufus were being escorted to the highest-rated private luxury resort where they would be staying for the duration of their stay. Liv quietly focused outside on the passing palm trees, her mind focusing on the events that happened hours ago though she should have been more excited to finally return home. But truthfully, she was fatigued, though she appeared to be sleeping she laid awake and listened to the man work, occasionally shifting to see if he did take breaks. He had worked nearly the entire trip, taking a few breaks in between.

"How long has it been since you've returned home?" Rufus asked suddenly.

"Um...I think five months or so," Liv replied.

"Your parents?"

"I have video calls with them when my schedule allows it," Liv replied. "They're both busy so when I'm not able to speak to them they're usually ok with it,"

"Ah," Rufus nodded and turned his attention to the passing palm trees and the sea in the distance.

Within a few minutes, the sleek limo stopped in front of a large pristine villa. Moments later the limo door opened, and a hand extended out for Liv to take.

"Miss,"

"Oh, thank you," Liv smiled as she quickly studied the uniformed man before she gave the man her hand. She gave her hand to the man and carefully turned and stepped out of the limo. On the other side, Rufus' door opened and the man stepped out of the limo and made his way over to Liv and the older man.

Liv quickly surveyed the area and the luxury resort; she was familiar with the resort, it was one of Costa Del Sol's prime celebrity spots and was rated the top resort on Costa Del Sol.

"We've been expecting you President Rufus, Miss Sumire," an older gentleman began and bowed. "My name is Apollo and I am the owner of the resort, please let me personally escort you to your villa,"

Rufus nodded and turned his attention to Liv, Liv smiled and nodded as well. Apollo bowed and began into the Villa, Rufus stepped forward first followed by Liv. Without warning the man took her hand in his and walked with her at his side.

Apollo began to escort the couple into the large villa followed by Soldier cadets. With their hands intertwined with each other's, and their bag in their other hand they followed Apollo through the larger, main building as they made their way to their private villa. As they walked through the large lobby of the villa resort eyes were on them followed by whispers and pictures being taken as they passed. Once they arrived at their private villa, Apollo walked the couple through the villa and explained all the amenities that were included.

"If you require anything please let me know and I will have whatever you need sent to your villa post haste," Apollo said as he stood at the entrance of the villa and bowed before he closed the door, leaving the couple alone.

Liv watched as the door before she turned to the silent man next to her, his eyes were closed, and was pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Headache?" Liv asked as she held out her hands. Squinting, Rufus looked at her confused.

"What?"

"Get comfortable, your coat, tie, vest, please" Liv replied.

Without a word, Rufus shrugged off his coat, undid his tie, unbuttoned his vest giving it to the woman, he watched as she effortlessly took the man's travel bag and walked into the bedroom.

"This is really nice," Liv commented quietly. "I think a shower will help with your headache,"

"Have you stayed at this resort?" Rufus asked.

"No, but of course I am aware of it, it's the top-rated luxury resort in Costa Del Sol, everyone knows about it," Liv replied as she hung up the man's coat, vest, and tie in the closet. Rufus quietly entered the bedroom and watched as she moved about, she seemed unfazed by the sudden heat of Costa Del Sol.

Liv unlocked the double French doors to the larger patio with sea views, a soft warm breeze filled the room as gazed at the sea.

Rufus sighed softly and decided that taking a shower would do him some good, it would look bad if the President of Shinra was dozing off while meeting her parents or in a meeting for that matter. Though they were on sort of a vacation, he still planned to work.

As he entered the bathroom, there were luxurious soaps, bath salts, soaking serums, pumice stones laid out for the couple near the dark stoned bathtub in the middle of the room, the toilet was in its own separate room and the open-air shower had its own private balcony enough room for two or more.

Though distracted he turned on the shower and began to undress, within moments the water had heated up and he stepped underneath the hot water letting it drench him. Despite the exhaustion setting in his mind was focused on Liv and the upcoming meeting with her parents.

He wondered what they would be like, wondered how they would react to knowing their daughter was marrying into the Shinra dynasty, marrying the man whose company was supposedly killing the planet.

Rufus scoffed.

He was the only one left of his family, he had no one else to turn to besides the Turks and now Liv, his soon to be wife. It was his responsibility to maintain the Shinra company and correct his father's mistakes.

It was his responsibility to start a family and rebuild the Shinra Dynasty.

He hated to admit it but there was still more he needed to learn about the woman if he were to take this relationship seriously, she already thought of it as a farce. Though he had the image of a playboy extraordinaire before he was confined to the Shinra mansion he didn't care about the women that fawned over him or wanted to be in the limelight.

It was distasteful.

There was a clear difference with Liv, granted she was an employee of his butt by their interactions she wasn't the same. She was more focused on her career, she didn't care for money, or the limelight, she already had it with just her name and her research to back up her expertise.

As he began to wash his hair his mind continued to focus on their newly formed but staggered relationship, she was supposed to be his wife and asked to be treated as much and yet he hesitated. He had no problem with women and she wasn't an issue to him and had already convinced himself that she wouldn't be in the future.

She was loyal to Shinra and assumed she would be the same to him, but maybe he was assuming too much without fully knowing the woman.

She was perfect on paper, perfect Turk, perfect outside of Shinra.

As the water drenched his entire form, he sighed heavily. The idea of being intimate than what they had been before hadn't crossed his mind since. He admired her but the thought of kissing her was the furthest from his mind but knew it would be something he would have to come to terms with.

Rufus knew that the woman acted as he did and moved when appropriate but he knew that he would need to make the first move.

Liv inhaled deeply and exhaled, it had been some time since she had visited Costa Del Sol, the warm air, the saltiness of the sea, the golden sands, she missed it. But her return to Costa Del Sol also meant that the day to her wedding was approaching, she sighed again.

There was still a disconnection between them, even with their conversation just a few hours ago. She knew that her parents would see right through her, especially her mother. Though they were engaged she still saw the man as her boss which made her hesitant in her actions, and it was clear that she would need to set a boundary between work and personal life, he was her boss and her fiancé.

Liv sat down in one of the patio chairs and sighed again as she thought back to their last conversation on the warship, the expression he gave her when she declined to stop being a Turk despite knowing all the risks that would come with their relationship if the public found out she was already an employee of Shinra let alone an agent of the clandestine service.

"Was it real or just another act?" Liv thought to herself the risk of the scandal was real, but the look of disappointment stuck with her. She knew that he was a good actor but at that moment it felt as if it was genuine. She half laughed to herself when she remembered the man's arrogance and conceitedness.

Their marriage was a power move to him and nothing more.

Fully convinced Liv stood and headed back into the room, closing the patio doors behind her. She made her way to the bedroom and grabbed her travel bag and headed into the second bathroom to have a shower of her own.

Nearly ten minutes later, Liv exited the second bathroom dressed in a neatly wrapped white robe, her hair pulled into a wet bun. Rufus glanced over at the woman as she exited the bathroom, he too wore a matching white loose robe.

"Oh, you were hungry? I could have ordered something for you while you were in the shower," Liv began.

"I wanted to wait for you," Rufus replied.

"Oh? Ok, what would you like to order?" Liv asked as she pulled her hair from the bun and began to towel dry her hair.

"Whatever you want," Rufus replied. Liv stopped for a moment and continued to dry her hair.

"Your choice, seafood, chicken, beef, etc…" Rufus trailed off as he looked at the menu.

"Since you're in Costa Del Sol you have to try the seafood, seared tuna and calamari are one of the top choices here…at least for tourists,"

"Alright…anything else you think I…" Rufus trailed off and cleared his throat. "We should order?"

Liv immediately caught his correction as she continued to pat her semi-dried hair.

"The Costa Del Sol's traditional seafood rice pilaf is another dish to try as well as the bourbon,"

"Make the call. I'll try whatever you think I should," Rufus said as he gave her the menu. She took the menus and walked past him to the room phone.

Rufus watched as she quickly looked over the menus and picked up the phone to request the food. He slicked his hair and sought out his cellphone as he waited for her to finish.

Though he had no family and had a tough childhood he was going to make sure he would not follow in his father's footsteps.

"Please and thank you," Liv replied and ended the phone call. "It'll be here in twenty minutes…are you ok?"

"Hm? I'm fine, why do you ask?" Rufus asked.

"You look…exhausted…out of it?" Liv replied unsure as she studied the man.

"I guess I really am tired," Rufus chuckled slightly.

"Let us rest on the patio. I'll get you some water too," Liv began towards the patio.

"Alright," Rufus replied softly and followed her.

As Liv opened the doors to the patio, she turned to Rufus behind her, he gently placed a hand on her lower back and with his free hand tilted her chin up and placed a kiss to her lips.

Liv stood stunned from the sudden kiss and how casually the man sat down to relax and began to make a phone call.

"I'll get...some water," Liv murmured

"Yes sir, I understand we will continue to move forward with your orders," Tseng began. "Yes. Enjoy your vacation,"

Tseng ended the call and slipped his phone into his inner breast pocket.

"Sounds like we're moving forward," Elena commented.

"You're correct. I've already reached out to Liv about more details of the Temple of the Cetra-"

"Oh? Going against the boss' orders?" Reno commented slyly.

"She is currently a Turk and also a more trustworthy source than the Shinra employees here," Tseng replied. Reno pursed his lips together in a restrained smirk, he knew that man was right but just knowing the man was going against specific orders was quite amusing and unlike him for at least this president.

"Nor do I have to worry about backstabbers about discovering the temple itself," Tseng added.

"Fair enough," Reno shrugged. He knew how backstabbing the researchers of Shinra were when it came to being the first one to make a groundbreaking discovery. Not to mention they were not excited about that outside of Shinra making those discoveries and had a tendency to be ruthless to get what they want.

"We're splitting into two groups. The President is interested in Scarlet's research for unlocking the latent potential power in materia and also the huge materia," Tseng began to explain. "Assist her Reno, Rude but remember that you don't report to her,"

The two men nodded.

"Does that mean-" Elena began.

"Elena and I will keep in contact with Liv for information on the Temple of the Cetra and the search for the Promised Land," Tseng continued ignoring the woman.

"I don't know what to expect but keep your guard up and if you discover any valuable information keep it to yourself. Dismissed,"

Reno and Rude watched as their dark-haired leader began towards the exit with their blonde-haired comrade at the man's heels. Reno laughed as the door slid close behind the woman.

"Now he has no choice but to deal with her," Reno scoffed.

"Yeah," Rude replied as he took off his sunglasses and sighed.

"What's wrong big man?" Reno asked as he reclined on the sofa.

"A lot has happened in a short amount of time, Liv, the President, Avalanche, Sephiroth…" Rude trailed off.

Reno nodded. The once thorn in Shinra's side was no longer in Midgar but seemed to be on the move looking for something, he was able to figure that out from their meeting in the Mythril Mines but there was something different about them they weren't what the late President Shinra made them out to be, or at least that's what it looked like.

"I will admit that we knew that President Rufus was coming but everything else was just sprung on us without notice...and I know that we're used to these things but hell," Rude sighed.

"Tell me about it...the only good thing about this is that we don't have to worry about Avalanche as much since the Pres is focusing on something completely opposite of those bastards," Reno replied

"Yeah," Rude nodded as he slipped his sunglasses back on.

"I guess that's why we didn't move to capture them…" Reno trailed off and sighed. "Anyway, they aren't our orders so I'm not worried about it,"

"Right, come on we have to check in on Director Scarlet," Rude said as he stood up and adjusted his tie.

"Yeah, yeah," Reno sighed