Business As Usual:
Chapter 8
By Miyamashi
Miya's Note: Wow! Chapter 8 already! Thanks to all of you WONDERFUL reviewers who helped to make this my most popular fanfic to date! Your support has also been what's helped me to update so fast…neglecting all of the stuff that I NEED to be doing! Hurrah! XD
To pewp: I didn't get the mail. Did you send it to miyamashi at msn . com?
Amatsu: Unfortunately, it's crank-time, and my updates will probably be coming slower. I have a summer reading list that I've only just started. I truthfully have no idea how many chapters this is going to be, and the limey goodness…well, you just wait and see!
MyOwnShukuun: Sorry that this one was slower. I'm glad that you liked it!
To Roxi: [Throws a Phoenix Down] No! No dying! BAAAAAD! Hehehe. "Gossip whores" is a good way to put it, although it made me think of Tseng and Rude in old lady dresses talking to each other over a fence…it's a strange and disturbing mental image, believe me.
To Mashimaro-Byul-012: I much prefer Runo over RudeXReno, too, but there are a lot of people who think otherwise, for some reason. [shivers] I've even heard the pair considered "almost canon" once. I really don't see it around THAT often! Now, TsengXRufus…THAT, I see all the time and don't support at all. I, for one, support ElenaXTsengXAeris…which is really a very depressing triangle. I have ideas for a fic that has that in it, but………AW, CRAP! I'm rambling! I'm sorry!
Runo Forevah!
Oh, and Rufi…I guess you could say he's a little better, but………
To Ezri-Candy: Let's get some Phoenix Downs and begin our Shinra reviving/killing escapade, shall we? LOL. And yeah, Rude and Tseng are nosey little buttheads.
To Kuro Yokai: Aww! I love you, too! [feels warm and fuzzy] XD I'm so glad that you liked the end. I'm really, really proud of that part!
It felt like far too short a time had passed when Rufus broke the kiss, but Reno had to admit that he had a point. Tseng and Rude were still outside, and if they didn't suspect that something was up by then, they definitely would if it kept up much longer.
"Now that I think we have that all settled, let's talk about what I brought you all here for," Rufus stated, fiddling with a piece of his hair that was sticking out in a strange direction.
Rude looked at Reno, who seemed to be failing at an attempt to keep his face expressionless. The redhead's eyes seemed strangely glazed over, and Rude wondered what all had been going on while he and Tseng had heard nothing but silence.
"Now that I am able to return to my job in full," Rufus continued, "my father is taking some time off at Costa Del Sol and needs bodyguards." Reno groaned. "While he would normally ask that all Turks accompany him on his vacation, he seems to have taken a particular dislike to the newest in your ranks."
Rude and Tseng looked at Reno as the redhead caught a laugh in his throat. Rufus smirked for a split-second. This especially piqued Tseng's curiosity. Why was Reno laughing about the fact that the leader of the company that he worked for despised him? That could mean his job or worse…
Reno regained his composure as Rufus dismissed him and the other Turks. He made an attempt to stay behind, but Rufus gave him a look that told him that this would not be wise.
"Reno, do you find it amusing that the President does not like you?" Tseng asked outside of Rufus' office doors.
"Yeah. What's it to you?"
"Do you know how risky that could be?"
Reno shrugged.
"Listen, Reno. You and Rude are like family to me. That is the way Turks are, but we cannot protect you from the President."
"I can protect myself from Shinra."
"He is a dangerous man, Reno. You, of all people, should know this, as it was you who discovered that it was indeed he who killed that doctor. You could very well meet a similar fate if you are not careful. Do you, by any chance, know what Shinra's grudge against you is? If he knows that you found his mistake out, chances are that you are in very great danger."
"I dunno. It's possible that he knows, I guess."
Both Tseng and Rude could see that Reno was hiding something.
"Reno, what's the deal with you and the V.P.?" Rude asked suddenly.
"He's a pretty nice guy, Rude, once you get to know him," Reno responded a bit too quickly, paling slightly.
"He seemed to know exactly what was wrong with you, so I guess that you've gotten to know him much better than either of us anticipated," Tseng added.
"And the Pres. doesn't like his son too much, does he?" Rude asked.
"No, not much, although I think the feeling's mutual. Maybe that's why the guy doesn't like me. I'm friends with the son that he hates," the redhead suggested, hoping that his friends would leave him alone. "If that's it, then I probably don't have anything to worry about, right?"
"I'm not sure, Reno. Just take care." Tseng nodded and gave an empathetic look before walking off. Rude gave a pat on the back and did the same.
Waiting until they were gone, Reno back-stepped into Rufus' office with a grin.
"Reno, what are you doing?" Rufus asked, looking up from his paperwork as the redhead shut the door behind him.
"I needed to ask you something."
Rufus put down his pen and gave the redhead his full attention.
"Why hasn't your dad killed me yet?"
Rufus sighed. "Because he's afraid of me."
"What? But he…" Rufus silenced him.
"Listen Reno. My father rules with gold. I rule with steel. He rules with money, and I with power."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"I do not fear my father. I do not fear the pain and the beatings. I do not fear death. My father does. If he were to kill you, he knows that it would drive me to kill him, no matter the consequences."
Reno's stomach suddenly twisted itself into a knot.
"The only time my father ever actually shot me was around four years ago. He shot me in the shoulder from behind at point blank. I turned around and capped both of his knees out from under him. It was after he…disposed of my mother. I complained and he shot me. He was lucky that I did not kill him then. He is lucky each day that I let him continue to live his wretched life."
"He killed your mother?"
"No, he had somebody else do it. Bastard could never do anything himself, especially not face-to-face."
"Why…haven't you…?"
"I don't know. I suppose that the only reason I keep him around is as an affirmation that I am alive, to make me feel that boiling hatred and tell me that really am human."
"Rufus…" Reno shivered and made a move to comfort the blonde.
"Don't. Reno, I appreciate everything, but don't."
"I can't stand seeing you like this."
"Then leave."
"I can't do that either. Not this time."
Rufus didn't know why he chose that moment to reel Reno in for another kiss, but he did, slipping his tongue into the redhead's surprised mouth.
Reno felt tears hit his cheeks. They were not his.
The Turk had pulled himself against the desk, Rufus' body hard against him, shaking, trembling, sobbing silently. To Reno's surprise, Rufus suddenly switched their roles, pulling away and flipping his own back on top of the desk and pulling Reno's shirt so that he'd follow, both breathing heavily.
"Rufus, what…?"
"I'm sick of being the boss. I'm sick of being feared and begged to and…please, just take me away from it all…"
Reno, eyes slightly wide and lips pursed in surprise, found himself suddenly on the desk, straddling Rufus' hips in full clothing. The blonde smiled in a way that seemed to Reno more depressing than a frown ever could, his tears flowing freely, blotting the paperwork under his head and smearing the ink. Reno closed his eyes and captured that smile in his own mouth so that he wouldn't have to see it anymore.
But feeling it was worse.
In that moment, Rufus released more passion than Reno had ever felt in a person. His whole body shivered as if seeking sweet freedom in Reno. It was a pained eroticism, but it beckoned Reno on seductively and he pushed his hips into Rufus' forcefully, relishing the sweet saliva on his tongue and trying to ignore the taste of anguish.
As their bodies rubbed together, Reno could feel Rufus' slim fingers grasping the skin under his shirt. The redhead pushed on harder, letting the sunglasses fall from his hair onto the desk surface. He heard them crack, but didn't care.
Torture. Sweet, saccharine torture.
This was what Rufus poured into him. Reno pushed so hard that it hurt.
Rufus screamed silently into his mouth, the blonde's own tongue snaked around that of the man against him.
But, although he was on the bottom, Rufus realized, he was still in control, and he hated it. He gave in to Reno completely, and the Turk pushed ever harder, as if trying to wear a hole through the cloth that kept the two of them apart.
Miya: SORRY! SORRY! [grovels to readers] My muses said that it needed to stop there! Blame them! [looks around nervously] Okay, okay, so it's late, I was having sudden writer's block, and I felt that you guys deserved an update.
Originally, Rude walked in on them, but that just completely ruined the mood, so I nixed it. It was kind of funny, though. I should eventually put a "deleted scenes" section with that and the part that I cut earlier…both with Rude. Poor guy.
Why with clothing? I dunno. [shrugs] It just seemed less natural…like it would go with the whole torture thing even more. Don't worry, that'll change soon enough.