Business As Usual:
Chapter 11
By Miyamashi
Miya's Note: This chapter has some of my favourite and least favourite parts… It's also the darkest…and the longest by FAR! It's a bit silly near the end, though, but it somehow manages to work, I think. Thanks for over 50 reviews! I can't believe this fic has gotten so much good attention! Sorry it took so long, though. I went through quite a few revisions of the second half before I found one that I liked. I knew mostly what I wanted to happen, but it took a few tries before I made it work.
To Nanaki BH: (although I doubt you'll read this) Ah! I was wondering if and when I'd get a bad review! I don't particularly like critique either, but I'll take it, just for you. I don't know what Gravitation is, actually. It's an anime/manga, I assume? Probably the reason why I add so much dialogue is because I'm so used to writing scripts. Plus, when things happen, what to people do? They talk. It just seemed like the natural thing to write. I don't see why you'd want me to describe boring things, but oh well. To each his/her own, right?
Oh, and Reno actually knows Malita better than Rufus does, seeing as he spends quite a bit of time at her bar. Randomly thought I point that out.
Sorry this was such a burden for you to read.
The only thing that I don't get is why you critique if you don't like to be critiqued…that doesn't make sense to me.
To AoiGensou: Thanks a bunch. Telling an author that he or she writes very "real" characters is one of the best compliments you can give, and I really appreciate it.
To Catnip25 (AKA: badbubbles…another name change! :D) comforts you I'm so sorry I made you cry! I hope this one makes it better!
To MyOwnShukuun: Yeah, I love the unblockage…(What the crap? "Unblockage"? I'm vocabulating!)…until it comes back on a particular spot and makes me re-write various times! GRR! To answer your question, it depends on your idea of drastic. ;)
To kuja-46: Aww, I love you, too! [hug] I'm sorry I made you count for so long.
To Mashimaro-Byul-012: Who would be the one in the dress? Truthfully, I think that Rufus would pull it off better, as Reno tried cross-dressing already and was horrid at it. I'm so glad that you liked WF, and am happy that it upped your appreciation for the couple.
To Kuro Yokai: All that I'm saying is that I always keep my promises. :D
To Tinkeu: I never liked Malita much either, even before she was all that evil. And, when I don't like characters…you'll just have to read and see!
The wedding was being held in the Shinra building itself, in an elaborately decorated great hall on floor 36, and Reno's stomach tightened into a knot as he walked in.
It was perfect, like something out of a storybook.
Ah, the things that money could do.
He was still dressed in his Turk uniform, as it was his only suit, but he had, for once, taken some care in the way he wore it. He had also made some attempt to tame his hair, but it continued to stand out in various directions, looking even more messy for the lack of sunglasses to keep it out of his face.
He looked around dazedly, scanning for a familiar face, and eventually settled on Rude, who looked almost the same as usual, except for the fact that he had taken his own sunglasses off. Tseng was next to him, and the Turk leader had somehow managed to look more proper than usual. Must've been the cufflinks.
Rude, who hadn't seen Reno since his return from Costa Del Sol, looked at his comrade's wounds with disgust.
"Reno, Tseng told me everything. I can't believe you're actually here."
"Had to. I just couldn't miss this."
"Your cuts seem to be healing…nicely," said Tseng.
Reno grunted in reply.
The Turks were silent as the guests settled into their seats and the marriage itself began. Reno watched, but he didn't see. He listened, but he didn't hear. The only thing that played in his mind throughout the whole ordeal was a slowly shifting video of Rufus in his black wedding suit. It looked more like a funeral than a wedding to the redhead, and he noticed that Rufus did not seem to be enjoying himself in the least. He was solemn throughout the whole endeavor, and Reno could swear that he saw the blonde's fist clench as he kissed his bride.
Serves him right.
But, still, any plans that Reno had thought up the nights before to spite his almost-kind of-lover faded from his mind as the nightmare played.
Reno had come. Why? Rufus had hoped that he wouldn't come…that he wouldn't have to see this…his marriage to the now Malita Shinra. It was official. He was a husband, as much as he didn't want to be one.
The kiss had been pure torture. Malita had wrapped her arms around him, pressing her lips to his and forcing her tongue into his unwilling mouth. The taste was a bitter one: a mix of greedy ambition and the alcohol that the woman toiled with and seduced with each day as she worked in her small café.
He looked down at Reno with a mix of sorrow and regret. The Turk was staring at him as if hypnotized. Green eyes locked with blue, but the gaze was broken as the Lady Shinra tugged on her spouse's arm.
"What are you staring at, hon?" Malita asked crossly.
"It's nothing…nothing at all." And Rufus turned to her, allowing himself to be pulled down from the altar into the crowd.
"It's time for the reception. Lighten up, babe."
Rufus didn't respond, and he certainly didn't lighten up.
Leiza ran hurriedly up to the two, letting out a squeal of delight. Malita let go of Rufus and grabbed hold of her friend's hands, bouncing up and down a little. Rufus forced a slight smile.
"Wow, Malita…I mean Mrs. Shinra…wasn't that exciting?" Leiza screeched. The rest of the conversation went by without Rufus noticing. His eyes followed a splash of red that was moving desolately in the direction of the bar.
"I need to…use the restroom," Rufus lied. He just needed to get away.
"Oh, fine. Just don't be too long, alright? You don't want to miss the party!"
"Yeah."
Reno caught a glimpse of Rufus out of his peripheral vision. The blonde was heading out into the hallway, and he was alone.
'Now's my chance to pay the little shithead back,' Reno thought to himself as he stood from his seat and followed the Vice President's retreating form. He stopped a few feet away from the other man, glaring at him from under his hair.
"The barmaid's a bitch, but you don't deserve more, so I guess it's fitting," Reno snarled to Rufus, who was leaned up against a wall, his head in his hand.
"Reno, go away."
"No," the redhead retorted indignantly. "I'm not leaving until I get fair payback."
"You deserve no less."
"Stop playing these games with me, Rufus. I know you're just trying to get me to leave."
Rufus heard voices coming around the corner, and he grabbed Reno's collar roughly and dragged him into an empty room, one hand over the man's mouth so that he wouldn't cry out.
"Get your fucking slimy hands off of me," Reno snarled as he beat Rufus away and the blonde shut the door and locked it, "and what the hell are you doing?"
"Listen, Reno, I don't expect you to get why I said those things to you."
"What the fuck are you talking about? I know damn well what you were saying to me and why!"
"It's not what you think. Now, shut up and let me talk," Rufus hissed, and he had to backhand the redhead hard across face, his knuckles leaving red marks, before the man would let him get a word in edgewise.
Reno stared at Rufus with absolute hatred in his eyes.
"I had to get you away from me, or else you might have ended up dead, did you know that? My father would have you killed so fast that you would never see what was coming."
"And that's where your logic fails. You're contradicting yourself. Whatever happened to your father being too afraid of you to do anything?"
"The bastard finally wizened up and got your co-workers on his side. If I were to try anything, you wouldn't be the only dead one, and I'd be joining you in Hell."
"Oh, but I thought that you weren't afraid of death, Mr. Big-shot Shinra," Reno taunted
"By the time I could respond, you'd already be gone, and it'd all be because of me...it's not me that I'm worried about…" Rufus cast his eyes down to the floor as his voice trailed off.
Reno stared. Was he actually serious?"Every little bit of sense that's left in my head right now is telling me that I shouldn't trust you…that I should unlock that door and walk back to the bar and drink myself into a stupor…but something about you makes me want to believe you…" Reno said softly, the anger fading from his voice. "What is it about you that makes me want to think that, this time, you're telling me the truth?"
"I don't know, and I don't think that I deserve that from you. I've hurt you enough. Go ahead and leave."
"I can't, not as long as there may be a chance that you're not lying to me. I know that I'm going to regret this later, but…" and Reno pushed Rufus against the wall and trapped the man's body behind his.
"No, Reno. Don't. It's too risky."
"Let them kill me. At least I'll die in a happy state of denial."
Reno let his body take over where his mind left off, pressing his lips against those of the other man and slowly unbuttoning his jacket. Rufus tried to push him away, or at least he feigned to try, as Reno's hands an lips sent his mind into a stupor, his lust taking over completely.
Reno undid Rufus' shirt and ran his hands softly down the soft but scar-covered flesh. The blonde pressed his head back against the wall, letting out a slight sigh of pleasure as he hurriedly fumbled with the redhead's tie.
The blonde slid to the floor, pulling the Turk along with him, laying on his back and letting the other man spread out on top of him. His shirt and jacket sprawled out over the cold tile, completely exposing the thin chest underneath. Reno moved down from Rufus' mouth to his stomach, trailing kisses and hungry licks down his body.
And this time, Reno was in complete control.
Ties off, jackets off, shirts off. Halfway there. Reno sat up and looked down at the blonde, whose eyes were glazed over and somehow warmer than usual. A smile danced on Rufus' lips, and, this time, it was a real one, unaccompanied by tears and pain.
The world went quiet as the two became completely absorbed in this world of warmth and venerability. The rest of the clothes came off, and the two moved to lay on their sides, Reno behind Rufus, the blonde losing any semblance of control that he had when he was facing toward the other man.
Reno pushed himself deep into the blonde's willing body, sending the man into slight convulsions of painful ecstasy. Somehow, this forced submission was sweeter to Rufus than orgasm itself, for a moment freeing him from the oppressive chains of leadership.
Ironic how much freedom lay in being conquered.
Rufus basked in this dirty pleasure, bathed in the heat of Reno's flesh within his own, soaked in the lifeblood of his succulent adultery…oh, sweet cleansing fire…
Stronger, stronger came the bliss, in rhythm with the body behind him. He gasped, he moaned, he wanted to cry out that wonderful name…Reno, Reno, oh what you did to him…
The reception was over, cancelled by the Lady Shinra herself for lack of the husband to celebrate it with. Almost in tears, Malita stepped up to the microphone at the front of the room nearly an hour after Rufus had left to "use the restroom" and announced that he had gone missing. This caused many in the room to gasp and begin whispering amongst themselves.
This announcement especially alarmed Rude and Tseng, who had noticed that their comrade had also disappeared.
"I hope that he hasn't done something stupid," Rude said to Tseng, who nodded his head solemnly.
"Like murder the Vice President," was the reply.
"Or get murdered by the Vice President."
Shinra stormed up to the two Turks, his face as red as his suit. "Find him! This is your line of work, so find him, damnit!" screamed the President.
"I'm coming with you," the bride stated determinedly, standing behind her father-in-law.
"Mrs. Shinra," Tseng interjected, "I assure you that we will find your husband. There is no need for you to come along."
"I don't care," Malita screeched stubbornly, "I'm coming, whether you like it or not!"
Tseng had to keep himself from saying something that he'd regret.
"She is going," Shinra stated blandly. "I am leaving it in her hands to tame my wreck of a son." It could be inferred by Shinra's tone of voice that he meant what he said, and that he truly believed his son an animal worth taming.
"Very well," Tseng agreed slowly. He stepped into the hall, Rude close behind him, and Malita tagging along not far after.
Shinra stared behind them, noticing at once that the third Turk was nowhere to be found. He narrowed his eyes and also strode into the hallway, eager to see that man's death first-hand.
Reno pulled slowly from Rufus, letting the blonde sink back onto the hot floor. Staring up at the ceiling, Rufus smiled, the sweat running down his face and body and his skin flushed. He turned to face Reno and smirked.
Reno gave him a lopsided grin in return, scooting up to his lover and laying his head on his chest.
"It's a bit hot to be doing that, you know," Rufus stated, looking down at the mass of red hair that was sticking to his torso.
"I know, but you're more comfortable than the floor."
Rufus chuckled warmly for the first time in years. "I wonder if they've even noticed that we're gone."
"I don't really care. This was worth it."
Rufus had begun to idly pet Reno's hair, when the door handle rattled. He hushed the redhead hurriedly and sat up, scooting over to his clothing and pulling on his pants. He handed Reno's to him, and the other man followed suit. The sound of voices could be heard outside, but it was unclear what they were saying.
The door handle rattled harder, and the men inside the room hurried to get dressed.
But before they could finish, Rude kicked the door open. Reno and Rufus stood half-clothed in front of Reno's co-workers and Rufus' father and wife.
As his heart began to pound quickly in his chest, Reno found himself repeating the same four words in his head over and over again, 'This was worth it…this was worth it…'
Rufus dashed in front of him as Tseng, Rude, and Shinra all pulled out handguns.
"You!" Malita screamed at her husband. "You son of a bitch! Who is this man?" She turned to Tseng. "Give me the gun! Give it to me! I'll kill him myself!"
But he didn't ,and she leapt at him, trying to wrestle the pistol from his grip. Because he didn't want to risk hurting her, especially not in front of President Shinra, he didn't fight back quite hard enough, and she stole the gun away from him, pointing it directly at Rufus' heart.
"No, you worthless wench!" Shinra screamed, causing the distraught wife's head to turn quickly. "Kill the redheaded bastard, not him. He's worth too much!"
"I don't fucking care what he's worth," she hissed. "He deserves to pay." Shinra glared at her as she cocked the gun, and she realized that killing Rufus would mean her death as well, and instead of firing, she turned the gun on herself, in a plan to scare her husband senseless.
"Don't, Malita," Rufus snarled. "It's not worth your life."
She responded by placing the shaft of the handgun's silencer in her mouth and licking it suggestively. Nobody moved, in fear of setting her off and causing her to pull the trigger.
But guns were not Malita Shinra's specialty, and she was dead before she ever realized she had fired.
Tseng's pistol clattered to the ground and the mutilated corpse of Malita Shinra fell forward, her blood splattering the tile and people before her and mixing with Rufus and Reno's sweat and semen. The silence seemed to multiply by tenfold. The only sound was the slow, steady "drip, drip, drip" of blood on the tile.
Rufus tried to feel remorse, but couldn't; tried to feel guilt, but failed. This lack of feelings disturbed him more than the corpse itself. He wanted to feel something--anything--for the dead woman before him…his own wife.
But he didn't. He felt nothing.
Nothing at all.
Reno found that he couldn't do anything but stare at the body. Death had come so fast for her…so unexpectedly…he hadn't thought that she would actually shoot...
A drop of her blood ran down his nose and hit the floor.
Shinra was the first to speak, but it wasn't until after a long pause. "You," he growled, pointing to Rufus. "This is your fault, you ungrateful wretch! You despicable heathen, giving your body to that…man…"
"Are you disgusted, father?" Rufus taunted coldly. "Are you sickened to think about it? Even worse, what sickens you more: that I would sleep with Reno, or that she's dead because of it? I bet I know the answer…"
"You're nothing, Rufus. You're nothing but a disgrace to the name of Shinra."
"Changing the subject, are we, Father? What if I were to take the gun," he stepped forward and picked it up from the macabre puddle as he said this, "and meet a similar fate? Would you care? Would you even blink? Or would you laugh? What does that make you?" Rufus unscrewed the silencer from the gun and pointed it to his head. "It'll sure make a racket, though, don't you think, when I fire?"
Reno flinched…was this another game?
"I don't think that I'm the one who's afraid." Rufus continued. "I can see it. Half of you wants me to fire, but the other half tells you that I have to be stopped…that it'll do too much damage to your precious company if I die now."
Shinra's fist clenched around the handle of his own gun.
"Drop it, Father. Drop the weapon."
He did.
"You too, Rude."
Rude stood still until Shinra ordered him to listen to Rufus. His gun also fell to the ground.
"Now, you will let Reno go, and we will never speak of this again. Two can play at this death game. Malita killed herself. You saw it. She was playing with things that were too big for her. Terrible tragedy."
"You won't always have that gun to your head, Rufus."
"You're right, but, for now, this proves that you know that I'm not afraid to pull the trigger. Reno, leave. Get off of this floor and go somewhere where nobody will see you."
Reno picked up his clothing, finished getting dressed, and walked out.
"Rude, Tseng, I suggest that you do the same." He cocked the gun for good measure.
They picked up the two firearms on the floor, tucking them into their jackets, and left.
"Just you and me now. Let's have a little father-to-son chat, shall we?" the younger man said.
"What are you playing at? What does this accomplish?"
Rufus grinned and shot himself in the leg. He fell to the ground as screams began to reverberate from the reception hall, prompted by the loud bang of the weapon's fire.
Shinra stared, not knowing what to do, as Rufus crawled up to his wife's body, handing the gun hurriedly to his father.
"Finish it. Go ahead. Finish it now. Can you?"
But the father couldn't do it. A group of the wedding guests crowded behind the door nervously, their natural twisted curiosity taking over. Rufus took this opportunity to play his own game.
"Why? Why, Father? Why did you have to just shoot my leg?" Rufus screamed dramatically, grasping his face with his bloody hands and running them down his chest. "Why couldn't you just kill me? Why couldn't you let me join her? You killed her, so why, oh why couldn't you do the same to me?"
The crowd gasped, and one woman pointed a finger at the President, who dropped the gun that had been so craftily placed into his hand.
"Why, why, why?" Rufus moaned, dropping down further and grabbing his wife's body, holding it to him and pretending to sob fitfully.
"You have to love people and their strange tendency to automatically put their trust in the better looking man," Rufus said to Reno as he showered the remnants of the day off of his body.
"That was a ballsy move," Reno responded, holding his lover up.
"I train with the Turks on my spare time, remember?"
"You'd be a good one, you know that?"
"Do you want to trade? I'll be a Turk and you can be the Vice President."
"No. Even if I could, I don't think I'd want to."
"Not even for a day?"
"Not unless you were on vacation and I had a really nasty mission."
Rufus smiled. "Put me down."
Reno complied, setting the blonde on the shower's floor carefully.
"Don't just stand there," Rufus stated impatiently.
"What?"
"Why do you think I called you in here?"
"Rufus, your wife died today because of…us."
"I know, and that's why I need this. I need to feel something. I need to stop feeling so empty. You're the only one who can give me that."
And they were back at square one again: the feeling to ease Rufus' sorrow…the irresistible feeling that seemed at once so painful.
And Reno made love to Rufus again that night, taking the blonde into his mouth in a subconscious homage to Malita Shinra's last moments.
Miya: I'm a twisted, twisted girl, aren't I? I hope you enjoyed this one, for the delay I made you all wait through.
Citrus! Finally! I really don't know whether to consider this one lime or lemon…it's not nearly as descriptive as some I've read, but it's not exactly "clean" (at all), either. I think that it treads the line between the two. What do YOU think? My favourite part of this fic has changed again, too. Now, I like the end of section three (raunchy section), the last two paragraphs in particular.