Chapter 25

Aura arrived early at Healen lodge the next morning with the intention of seeking out Reno. She wanted to speak with him about Sector Seven and she wanted to find out how he felt about the previous night. She wanted to tell him how she felt. She had barely walked in the door when she found out that Reno had been sent to cover one of Elena's patrols and wouldn't be back for at least an hour. With a sigh, Aura decided to head upstairs and finish off an ointment that she knew President Shinra was hoping to see that morning. During the morning Aura made herself busy. The ointment was done within half an hour and she learned from Zena that Elena was expected to wake up before that evening. With that in mind, Aura went on an early morning break outside to collect some flowers to sit beside Elena's bed. That way she would have something nice to look at when she awoke.

She pottered around her work table for a little while, restocking this and that before she received word that President Shinra had summoned her. Aura picked up the tub of ointment and several fresh bandages and headed downstairs. Red hair flashed in the corner of her vision and Aura smiled when she saw Reno take his jacket off and fling it onto his desk as he sat in his chair. His eyes met hers as she approached and she was pleased to see a smile form on his lips. "Morning, Aur." He said, leaning forward onto his desk. She smiled back.

"I was looking for you." She told him, "I wanna talk to you, yo."

"I'll be right here waiting." He replied as she passed his desk on her way toward Shinra's office.

"I won't be long." Aura couldn't help smiling more widely before she knocked on the door. She had a good feeling about the conversation she would have with Reno. He didn't look as if he wanted to run away as he had last night, and she could feel that it would be positive. She tried not to skip too obviously when Rufus Shinra's voice called for her to enter the room.

He was seated at his desk, as he usually was, and his blue eyes followed Aura as she approached. "Good morning, sir." She said brightly. He pushed his chair back from his desk and gestured for her to come around to him, as she usually did.

"You appear cheerful this morning." He remarked, loosening his shirt for her. Aura set her things on his desk and turned to him, opening the shirt far enough that she could remove the soiled bandages.

"I suppose I am." She told him. Quickly setting about her work, Aura removed the bandages and set them aside before opening the jar of new ointment and gently applying it to the President's shoulder and arm. The Geostigma appeared to be spreading further down his arm, but she said nothing about this. She simply applied the ointment and then began wrapping the area in the clean bandages she had brought with her. All the while, his pale eyes watched her.

"This is the new ointment?" he asked as she finished fastening the bandages.

"Yes."

"What is in it?"

"Same as the last one, yo." She said, "I just messed with the ratios a bit…" His eyes studied her, but he said nothing. Aura blinked and turned to begin clearing her stuff up.

"You sound like him…"

Aura's hands froze for a moment, and she glanced at the man quickly. "Sorry?"

"I don't know why I hadn't noticed before…" Rufus shifted his chair closer to her, his eyes on hers. "You sound like Reno."

She swallowed. "Well… from the same place, yo." She forced a smile, "We all sound like this."

"That's not it." He moved closer again until he rested a hand on his desk either side of Aura, effectively trapping her there. "It's not just how you speak. It's what you say and how you move…" his eyes looked her up and down. "And it's the way you interact with one another. It was quite obvious the other day in the infirmary." He gave her a dry smile, "You've known one another for years."

"Ah…" Aura could barely breathe. She leaned as far back against the desk as she could, but she couldn't get past him. "No…"

"Yes." There was no smile on Rufus' face now. "Which means that Reno has been lying to me… He should have left you behind…" Aura struggled to draw a breath deep enough to get some actual air as she stared at Rufus Shinra. He tilted his head meeting her gaze. "But… it seems he sees you as worth betraying me for." Aura watched as the man's blue eyes looked her over. "It would be a woman… I suppose if I had have conceived of the fact that Reno could ever lie to me… It would have had to have been over a woman…" He looked at her again. "Are you worth it?" he asked, his hand on her leg. Aura couldn't help but flinch. She tried to hide it, but Rufus noticed. "You didn't like that?" he asked, "Is that because you belong to him?"

"I don't belong to anybody." She replied, trying to keep her voice steady.

"I don't know…" he said softly. "You signed a contract… you belong to whoever I say you belong to…" His hand moved up her thigh and she froze, not knowing what to do still trapped against the desk. He gave a soft laugh at her reaction, and pushed her back until she was almost sitting on his desk. "Anyone would think you're not used to being touched." She just looked at him and he tilted his head. "No…" he breathed incredulously. "There's no way Reno kept you all these years and hasn't…"

"He's not like that." Aura said a little defensively. Rufus smirked at her.

"I doubt he'd keep you like a little pet and be okay with you fucking someone else…" Aura refused to meet his gaze and he laughed again. "But I'm not just anybody…" She looked at him quickly.

"What?" Her voice was barely audible and both his hands were suddenly on her knees as he moved closer, those hands sliding higher. She stiffened.

"Reno betrayed me." He said calmly. "Should I call him in here right now and shoot him in the face?" he opened the top drawer of his desk and took out an expensive looking gun. Aura stared at it.

"No…"

"Are you sure?" he asked, pressing the call button on his phone. Aura drew a shaky breath, but it was Tseng's voice that answered.

"Sir?"

"… I don't wish to be disturbed." Rufus said, his eyes on Aura.

"Yes, Sir."

Rufus pressed the button again, cutting the line off, and Aura suddenly felt isolated. She watched as he opened the drawer again and placed the gun back inside. "You must understand, Aura." He told her. "Reno needs to be punished. Even a year ago, betraying me would result in death. There was no negotiation… I appreciate that things are different now, and I just don't have that many Turks anymore. But… Betrayal still needs to be punished." His hands moved up the outside of her thighs, under her dress. "I don't need to kill him… but considering the lengths he has gone to to keep you a secret… you are clearly of value to him…"

"I…" Aura shook her head.

"He needs to know that anything he thinks is his belongs to me…"

Aura jumped as his thumbs brushed the inside of her thighs. "No… I don't…"

"I'm not looking to hurt you." He told her, "But… I will do this… or I will shoot him…" Aura choked back panicked tears. Rufus' hands were suddenly on her waist and he lifted her to sit on his desk properly, those same hands pulling her dress up to her hips.

"Please…" she breathed, "I… haven't…"

"Oh…" he smiled, "A virgin from under the plate. That is unusual. Now it makes sense. He thought he would keep you for himself." His blues eyes met her gaze. "Good."

"Please…"

"You don't have to beg me, Aura." He said, undoing his belt. "I'm not going to rape you."

She stared at him.

He removed the belt and sat it on his chair. "You're going to say 'Yes' to me."

"…What?"

"You're going to say Yes to me, I'm going to fuck you… or… I find some other way to punish Reno for his betrayal. Tseng does so hate cleaning up the mess when I shoot people on the carpet."

Aura's blood went cold in her veins. A hot tear escaped one of her eyes and trailed its way to her chin. She looked away from him, her gaze instead focusing on her hands in her lap. This was Reno's life. So many times in their past he had done awful things to protect her, to get her medicine, to save her life. She could do the same for him. She looked up when Rufus opened the drawer containing the gun again.

"Well?" he asked, "What's your choice?"

Aura reached out and closed the drawer. "Don't…"

"Then say 'Yes'."

Staring at him for several moments, Aura swallowed thickly. She focused on drawing one calming breath after another. He waited, his blue eyes trained on her face. "Yes."

His hands went immediately to her dress, undoing the laces there and then pulling them loose enough to slip the dress from her shoulders, exposing her chest. Those hands merely ghosted over her for a moment before he pushed her back down on his desk, and lifted the skirts of her dress once more, reaching up tug her underwear down her legs before discarding them on the floor nearby. His hands returned to her hips and he pulled her to the edge of his desk, lifting her knees and pulling them wider. Aura squeezed her eyes shut, choking down panic. She bit her lip to hold in a whimper when she heard him undoing his own pants, and then his hands were on her again. He pulled her into a position he found more suitable and Aura felt tears slide from the corners of her eyes into her hair. Her breath caught when she felt him hesitate.

"Say it again." His voice was low and rough, but Aura knew what he wanted.

"Yes." She whispered, repressed sobs choking her now. She felt him position himself against her, and then his hands were tight on her hips once more, holding her in place. Aura barely had a moment to brace herself before, with one swift movement, he was inside her. She bit her lip again, hard enough to taste blood and Rufus groaned, his fingers digging into her hips.

"It's been a while…" he wheezed, and Aura's hands clutched at the smooth surface of the desk trying to wriggle away as he withdrew before thrusting into her again, his iron grip on her hips pulling her to meet his movement. Aura gasped. She felt him adjust his angle and his hold on her before he repeated his action and she shrieked. One of his hands left her hip and settled over her mouth, silencing her as he thrust again and again. Aura cried, her hands scratching at the desk as she struggled to get away. "Stop it." He eventually said, "You chose this." He thrust again before continuing. "There is always the other option." Taking his hand from her mouth, he reached into his draw and withdrew the gun, setting it down on the desk out of Aura's reach. She stopped moving, her eyes on the gun.

Reno. This was for Reno. She glanced toward the door. He was right out there, sitting at his desk and waiting for her. If she screamed, would he hear her? Would he come? That would probably result in Rufus killing him. Aura turned her head away, focusing on the potted plant by the window. She would endure this. She closed her eyes again, remaining as still as she could, her hands by her sides. Her breathing hitched at every movement Rufus made, but other than that Aura tried to remove herself from the situation.

Reno. She would think about Reno. How often had she imagined Reno being the one to… No… She wouldn't think about that. Something else. Distraction. Reno was always so good at distracting her. He had developed quite the knack for it in their early years together. One of her favourite memories was from when she was about seventeen and they were living in a tiny little house together. There had been rioting in their neighbourhood and one night the brawling had made it into their street. She had been convinced that someone was going to come through their door and murder them. Reno had pulled all of their tatty curtains closed, turned off their rather uncommon electricity, lit the two candles that they happened to own and then in the flickering golden light he had pulled her to her feet and danced with her. His hilariously out of tune singing had drowned out the sounds from outside and she had forgotten her fear. He had sheltered her from everything. She would protect him now.

Eventually, Rufus finished and released her, stepping back from the desk. Aura sat up as he raised one of his hands to smooth back his immaculate hair. "You… can go home for the rest of the day." He told her, picking up his gun and putting it back in the top drawer. Aura slid off the desk and picked up her underwear. She had intended to go home whether he gave her permission or not. She bent and pulled her underwear on under her dress and then stood straighter to look at him. "I expect you back here tomorrow to change these bandages and apply more ointment."

Aura couldn't speak. She just blinked, and then watched as Rufus bent to his phone on the desk and pressed a button.

"Reno, get in here."

Aura shook, her hands going to the laces at the front of her dress and hurriedly trying to pull them closed. She fiddled with the dress, trying to look as if she hadn't just been half naked, and then jumped when the door opened and Reno walked in. He took about three steps before he stopped, his eyes widening. Aura watched as Reno's gaze sharpened and flicked from Rufus who was brazenly doing up his pants, to her as she struggled to tug her dress into position. She watched as Reno's posture changed and a barely controlled rage filled his eyes as his fists clenched at his sides. She looked away, unable to watch him any longer.

White hot anger filled Reno and he couldn't do a thing about it. It took every ounce of self-control he had to remain standing by the door. He was about one thousand percent certain that Rufus Shinra had just fucked his Aura, and he didn't know how to process it. As his boss fastened his pants, Reno's eyes went to Aura. She was tugging at her dress, her eyes on the floor and she looked absolutely mortified. Reno realised that his fists were clenched but he couldn't seem to release them. What the fuck had just happened in here? Why had Rufus called him in to see this? Was it to rub it in his face? Rufus had called him into his office over the years many times, not just a few when he was nowhere near finished with whatever friend he had on his desk. Reno had gotten used to it, but this was different he knew it, and even if he hadn't Rufus' smug expression would have let him know. This was all for Reno's benefit, and Rufus wanted him to know it.

Reno was stuck. He was torn between being frightened by whatever it was that Rufus was trying to convey with this display, and utter devastation at what Aura had just done. He hadn't thought that Rufus Shinra would be at all her type, but then the ladies had always been charmed by Rufus. He'd been able to get them to do whatever he had wanted. But, looking at her face now, Reno wasn't certain that Aura had been a willing participant in whatever had just taken place here. He looked back to Rufus disbelievingly. "… what did you do?" he asked his boss, rage simmering very near the surface. Rufus gave him a serpentine smile.

"Aura, darling…" he said smoothly, "You can go."

Reno watched as Aura seized a small tub on the desk and then fled the room, not looking at him even once. When she was gone, Reno turned his eyes on Rufus once more, the rage burning hot within himself. His hands had begun to shake, and he didn't know how much longer he would be able to keep it leashed.

Rufus just met his eyes, buttoning his shirt calmly. "If you ever lie to me again," the man said easily, "I'll have her killed."