Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(Dodging Questions)

"That play makes me hate the Gold Saucer." Astrid grumbled to herself, hands stuffed in her pockets and eyes glaring at the ground.

"Gold Saucer still makes Shin-Ra quite a sum of money." Rufus said, walking beside her, "Besides, I found the kiss to be rather amusing."

Astrid growled, "Bastard…"

The President sighed and rolled his eyes, "Get over it, Astrid. It was just a kiss. Not like you've never received any before. Besides, it was a stage kiss, so it really doesn't count."

"…still feels the same…"

Waiting until they were out of sight of the rest of the group, Rufus stepped in front of her and stopped her, grabbing her by the shoulders and searching her face.

"…Astrid, exactly how familiar are you with kissing?"

She looked up at him quizzically, "What does that have to do with anything?"

Rufus frowned, "Generally speaking, people who have experienced it more than three or four times from two or more people aren't that uncomfortable with it and are able to distinguish between ones that matter and ones that don't."

"There're statistics out about this crap?"

"Quit avoiding the question."

Astrid looked at her feet and refused to meet his eye.

He deadpanned, "Astrid, how many serious relationships have you been in?"

She still stared at her feet, "…What constitutes as 'serious'?"

Rufus groaned and smacked his forehead, "Astrid…"

"Why does it matter?!" She shouted, glaring at him.

"Because I hate to see you so distressed by a stage kiss, that's why." He answered, pursing his lips and flicking his hair back impatiently. "Also, had I known that you were inexperienced, there are several situations where I would have been less forward."

"Well, aren't you valiant." Astrid said blandly, quirking a brow, "Thank you for that, O Mighty Lord of Relationships, but I assure you there is no need to coddle me and I certainly don't need you to take it easy on me."

Rufus blinked, then smirked, "Well, since you put it that way—" He grabbed her shoulders and slammed her into a nearby wall, his mouth crashing onto hers.

Astrid immediately struggled, planting her feet and hands against his legs and chest and trying to push him away. Eventually, though she gave up and started to kiss back.

After a moment, Rufus placed her back on the ground and stepped away, smirking down at her as she panted and glared at him.

"What… the hell… was that?!"

Rufus shrugged, "That was me not going easy on you. Best think carefully when saying what I don't need to do." He turned and walked away, waving over his shoulder, "Tootles."

After a moment, Astrid stood and followed him, jumping down the chute he had and paying no mind to where it went. Had she noticed, though, she never would have followed him, because it was too late to escape when she realized where the chute led.

"NO!" Astrid screamed, turning away from the gondola and tensing to bolt to the exit chute.

"NOT A CHANCE, ASTRID!" Elena screamed, grabbing her by the shoulders and throwing her into an open gondola, the door abruptly slammed after her. "THIS IS FOR THE ELEVATOR!"

And that was how Astrid found herself alone with Rufus on their own private lift.

After landing upside down in her seat, Astrid struggled to flip herself around and sit, taking a moment to straighten her clothes and hair before looking to her lift buddy.

Rufus was looking down at her with a quirked brow, his legs crossed casually and his hands clasped and resting on his knee.

"'This is for the elevator'?" He asked, quirked brow rising further.

She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head, "Remember back when we were in the Shin-Ra building? That time you got trapped in the elevator for three hours? …Well… that was kinda something Elena had planned."

He frowned, "Why would she do that?"

Flushing slightly, Astrid looked out the window and coughed, "I… was supposed to be on that elevator, with you."

Rufus blinked, "Ah." He paused, smirking, "Well, we're alone now…"

Her eyes widened and she pushed herself against the wall, unable to keep the corners of her mouth from twitching. "Don't you dare."

Ignoring her, Rufus stood and walked to her side of the tram, sitting down beside her. Only then did he acknowledge her, smirking down at her, "Calm down. Let's just sit together and enjoy the ride."

So, there they sat side by side in the gondola, Rufus watching the sights past with his arm draped casually around Astrid's shoulders and Astrid both loving and hating the position she was in.

'Okay, possessive Rufus scares me, but he is still Rufus…right? He's still the man I met two years ago… right? Nothing's changed. He is still the man he was meant to be… only now we're in a relationship… Fuck, how do I do this?!'

"As amusing as your face can get when you're in deep thought, I must tell you that you're missing all of the sights."

Astrid jumped, squeaking. When Rufus laughed beside her, she glared at him. "What's so funny?"

Chuckling, Rufus looked at her and quirked a brow, "Did you just squeak?"

"No," Astrid replied blandly, lowering her eyelids halfway, "I squealed, which sounds far more amusing."

Rufus stared at her, taking a moment to seriously consider this. "You're right." He said after a moment, "That does sound far more amusing." He leaned back in his seat, smirking, "I think I'll use that version when I tell Reno."

"You tell Reno and damned thing and I'll slit your throat while you're sleeping." Astrid hissed.

The next moment, Rufus had her by the chin and was kissing her. He pulled back after a moment, smirking down at her, "There you are. I must admit, I was getting concerned when you went panicky."

"P-panicky?" Astrid asked somewhat quietly.

"When you think too much about our relationship, you tend to get panicky." Rufus answered, still smirking, "It kinda ticks me off… but it does give me a rather nice opportunity to get you flustered."

Astrid opened her mouth to say something, then snapped it shut when no words came to mind. What could she say? He'd read her like a book.

Rufus's smirk widened and he let go of her chin, pushing on the side of her head until she was looking out the window. "My suggestion is don't think about us too much; it'll work out on its own. For now, just enjoy the scenery."

For a moment, she honestly tried, but when he shifted behind her she tensed and her mind started reeling. Then, she felt a sharp pain on the back of her head and the thoughts stopped; he had flicked her.

"You're thinking again." Rufus said, his arm snaking across her chest so that his hand rested on her shoulder as he pulled her back into his chest.

"Sorry." She muttered, relaxing as the gondola stopped and the fireworks began.

………

"Geeeaaaaahhhh!" Reno stretched as he stepped out of the gondola he had shared with Rude and Kale, the redhead twisting his neck until it cracked sonorously. "Man, was that a slow ride!"

Astrid and Rufus, who had gotten off before them, frowned, Astrid asking, "You guys rode? Where are Elena and Tseng?"

Reno nodded, "Yeah, we rode. Elena insisted upon it. And, as for your last question… well…" He turned, smirking as the last gondola rode in, "I think they're right there."

The two Turks walked out, Tseng as cool and collected as ever and Elena looking a tad brighter than usual.

For a moment Astrid wondered what had happened, but upon seeing a slight deviation in Elena's usual attire she immediately knew and walked over to the woman, a smirk forming on her lips.

"Here, Elena," Astrid whispered, reaching into the woman's pocket where she knew she kept her makeup and pulled out a lipstick, popping off the cap, "You might want to fix that before anyone notices."

Elena's cheeks were flaming as she took the lipstick and pulled out a mirror, working to fix the smear on and around her lips. Astrid stayed where she was, blocking the woman from sight and throwing a smirk at Tseng, who remained stoically by Elena's side.

When Elena had fixed her makeup to Astrid's satisfaction they turned to the others, Elena flushing again when she saw the looks Rufus and Reno where throwing her and Tseng. Rude looked as blank as ever and poor Kale looked between the adults, knowing something was going on but not understanding it in the least.

Taking notice of this, Astrid knelt and smiled at her son, "So, Kale, where to next?"

Kale thought, then smiled widely, "Chocobos!"

Mimicking his face, Astrid nodded and stood, "Now there's something you and I will definitely have in common!" She grabbed his hand and pointed to the travel chutes dramatically, "To the chocobo corral!"

Rufus and the Turks exchanged glances as they followed the woman and the boy to the chutes. They were all well aware of Astrid's particular fixation to the large yellow birds and were already feeling pity for the boy, who would be easily tired out by his mother's overenthusiastic affections.

"How long do you think the poor kid'll last?" Reno asked, stretching his arms behind his head, "Two minutes? Three?"

"I'll give him three seconds, so long as Astrid's energy hasn't waned too much." Rufus answered with a smirk.

Predictably enough, Astrid's energy hadn't waned in the least.

She assertively demanded to see the chocobos before the race, crooned over them, placed an outrageously high bet on one in particular, then dragged her party to their seats to await the outcome.

"Uhh… Astrid?" Elena began nervously, wincing when the woman in question began to shout angrily at the jockeys on the race track. "Are you sure it was smart to place a 500,000 gil bet on one chocobo? I mean… do you even have that money?"

"Of course, Elena," Astrid answered distractedly, waving her hand at the Turk, "It's just fine. As if I'd bet money I don't have…"

At the carelessness in her tone, Rufus quirked a brow, "You seem pretty confident… Any particular reason why?"

Astrid rolled her eyes and smirked at Rufus, "The chocobo I bet on was sired by one of my own. I have the utmost confidence in my breeding abilities." She turned back and scowled, screaming, "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY AND LET A REAL CHOCOBO THROUGH, BASTARD!"

Elena's hands shot out and covered Kale's ears as a long stream of curses came from Astrid's mouth, the boy and Shade staring at their mother with wide eyes.

In the end Astrid's chocobo won, and when she went to collect her winnings Dio, himself, was waiting for her.

"Astrid!" The man boomed, grinning widely and opening his arms as she approached, "Once again, you are the champion of chocobos! I applaud your performance."

"Now, now, Dio," Astrid began with a smirk, "You wouldn't be trying to butter me up so you can talk me out of withdrawing, would you?"

"Of course not! Why wou—"

"Why, indeed?" Rufus interrupted, walking up with a slight frown on his face.

Dio's eyes widened in shock, "P-p-p-president Shinra! What an… unexpected surprise, sir!" He then recovered and put on a weak smile, "Welcome back to the Gold Saucer, sir!"

"Yes, yes, enough with the formalities." Rufus growled impatiently, glaring between the nervous Dio and the grinning Astrid, "Why would Astrid withdrawing her earnings be a bad thing? Answer me straight, Dio."

Dio looked between Astrid and Rufus nervously, swallowing, "Well, sir, you see…" He took a deep breath, "Astrid's winnings represent more than half of Gold Saucers earnings in total!"

The president blinked, "What?"

Grinning cattishly, Astrid looped her arm through Rufus's and laughed, "When I first bet on Cloud winning the big race two years ago, the odds were 100 to 1. Why is it so surprising that I managed to amass enough money to, technically, own half of the park?"

Rufus looked down at her, "You own half of the park?"

"Not literally, sir," Dio said with a wince, "But she has gained enough interest here that, if she were to withdraw it all at once, Gold Saucer would collapse financially." The man threw Astrid a winning grin, "Which is why she always gets the presidential treatment whenever she's here."

Astrid shrugged, smirking, "I keep trying to insist that he treats me the same as any other customer, but he is so adamant I figured I may as well keep him happy."

Rufus quirked a brow, "You've become quite the monopolizing tyrant, haven't you?"

"Learned from the best." Astrid shot back.

Rufus threw his head back and laughed.

"S-so, Astrid," Dio began, smiling at her nervously, "You aren't… going to withdraw?"

Astrid thought about this for a moment, "Actually… I think I will. I'll need 900,000 gil, if you please."

Dio nodded and pulled out a phone, leaving the Turks, Rufus and Kale to stare at Astrid in shock.

"Miss Cray… Exactly how much money did you say you had, again?"

"I didn't say, Tseng. And how many times have I asked you to call me Astrid?"

As she turned and walked away, Kale and Shade in tow, neither Rufus nor the Turks failed to notice that she, had once again, dodged the question.