Disclaimer: Final Fantasy does not belong to me...however much I may like it to. I own no characters, places etc. etc. so please don't sue me! I'm a nice person :)
Author's Note: Chapter Nine...PLEASE review as I really enjoy reading your views and they inspire me to get better! It would make me very very happy! Anyway stop reading this and get on with reading the fic! Hope you enjoy! :)
Chapter Nine: Missing Workers and Hidden Revelations
The vibrations which rippled around the elevator walls were almost so soft now, that they were becoming somewhat non existent, the gentle buzzing which the red head, when first entering the small, metal space, had been so aware of, now seemingly unnoticeable, the unrelentingly teasing annoyance forgotten during the lingering journey to his forced destination, as his body now comfortably leant against the mirrored back surface of the contraption.
A tired, somewhat exasperated sigh crept out of his lips, almost as if trying to air a protesting response to the person responsible for his current situation, even though he knew quite clearly, his form was the only presence within the enclosed space, not of course counting the replica item of himself he had created when using the only reflective wall as a resting post.
As a new line of red, luminous double digits began their ascent upon the angular, blackened screen fixed above the thick, overlapping doors, the young Turk gave a groan, proceeded by a long list of muttered profanities, all directed upon the subject of slow company elevators.
To make matters worse, as he was grumbling to himself, the red head's concentration somewhat evaporated, and as such with his mind distracted, he allowed his grip to loosen slightly, which in turn allowed the brown, paper-like folder to slip carelessly out from under the previously firm hold of his left hand.
This of course, received another groan from Reno, making it his eleventh groan of the day, the other nine in fact, having been played out before he'd even got into the elevator, when his raven haired superior had given him the job of delivery boy in the form of taking useless, formality papers to the President's secretary.
After airing the low, rumbling sound, he forced his unwilling form to descend, his un-eager fingers eventually becoming close enough to reach the escaped sheets of thin, ink riddled material, and as he began to shift them, once again back into their boringly brown, school-like case, he couldn't stop the indignantly child-like tantrum from bubbling up within his mind.
Stupid Tseng...What does he think I am?...His slave?...I mean, come on! Elena is clearly more suitable for this kinda thing...she'd make a perfect slave...pretty sure she'd enjoy it too...ass kisser...
The young Turk's focus had been so concentrated on both his tidying and his self deliberations, he had somewhat failed to notice how close the warm shaded numbers were getting to his own chosen two, that when he did finally allow his aquamarine gaze to rise, he only had a few brief moments in which to both straighten his appearance, and prepare himself mentally, just encase he was forced to actually make contact with young man, instead of just his secretary, after all, his raven haired superior didn't really scare him enough to care about his formality, but the President on the other hand, well, he seemed able to intimidate the red head in a way no one else could.
When the doors slide open, along with the delightfully relieving ping, he was met with the sight of the familiar vision of cleanliness and order he'd come to relate with a showroom; the walls, the curtains, the furniture, even the views from the beautiful white window frames seemed to have been painted, as if only a select few were good enough for the cold, blue eyes of the President.
As the red head approached the secretarial desk centred within the middle of the room, there was no avoiding the fact that the chair located behind the curved wooden frame, was quite clearly completely void of the mousy, Reno-disapprover, Jane Taylor.
A solitary, rather confused looking eyebrow raised itself upon the red head's previously emotionless face, That's odd... And within a second his brow movement had switched from confused to suspicion as the full strangeness of the empty space dawned on him; it was well known that the President's secretary had never in all her years at the company taken a sick day, or indeed, even a holiday, apart from of course that one time a few months back, but that had all been very private.
Before he could begin any sort of personal investigation, Reno's perfectly astute senses picked up on the distinctive metallic click of a latch encased within its wooden frame.
''Damn.'' The red head quickly swerved back, and away from the desk, quickly coming to face the opening door at the end of the room, out of which stepped not just the President, but also the familiar forms of Tifa Lockhart and Yuffie Kisaragi.
What the hell... The young Turk quickly scanned the area, as if searching for a place to hide or to make himself scarce, not sure whether or not it would be wise to be seen by the unusual triplet, of would be enemies.
Though unfortunately for him, he didn't have much of a chance, as within seconds the petite ninja had switched her eyes from their previously fixed point of the two forms by her side, to the red headed Turk standing quite noticeably in the middle of the otherwise palely pristine room.
Neither her face or her voice was exactly full of jubilation, but instead rather hyped with childish energy, ''Reno!''
The red head had to try especially hard to mask over the grimace which threatened to form, with the result being a slightly hesitant, if not totally forced smile, ''Hey Yuffie...'' The greeting he gave the ninja was seemingly muttered in an equally uncomfortable state, though he proceeded to give a completely controlled, formalised nod of recognition to the young blonde who stood behind.
Only a few seconds of silence were allowed to pass, until once again, the ninja decided it was her job to instigate conversation between them, ''So, what are you doing up here? I thought you were like...thirty floors down...?'' Her voice was purposefully patronising within its context, the floor number said with a forceful exaggeration, as if assuming, not altogether wrongly, that they represented the worker's level within the company.
Reno wasn't amused in the slightest, and if the comment hadn't been made within the same room as the President, he probably would have picked up the young ninja and thrown her out of his own office window so she could appreciate just how high up his level was, but instead, he just raised a rather disinterested and unimpressed eyebrow, before proceeding in a rather matter-of-fact tone, ''Ten floors down actually...and I was just bringing up some papers from Tseng.'' He swiftly brought the folder into view, before handing it over to the blonde, who looked at it in a state of total disinterest.
The red head's curiosity gave him a sharp niggle, reminding him immediately of the room's missing occupant, proceeding to shift his gaze slightly to the empty desk chair, before adding with a hint of gentle questioning, ''...I would have left them with your secretary, but...''
Rufus picked up on the small, motioning gesture given by the young Turk, and proceeded to put on an utterly false display of authoritative concern, ''Ah yes, unfortunately Ms. Taylor has had to take sick leave, it was all rather sudden, and as yet I haven't found someone with the same secretary skills to fill in for her.''
Although this seemingly satisfied the two young woman, Reno was less than convinced, and eyed him with a glint of suspicion, but eventually decided that pushing the subject wasn't really an option, and instead turned him attention to his brunette friend with narrowed eyes and a somewhat troubled hiss, ''What are you doing here?''
Before Tifa could even register the question that had been directed at her, the President seemingly decided that it was his place to answer for her and stepped forward ever so slightly, before flashing a half hidden smirk, his voice literally dripping with his trademark arrogance, ''Miss. Lockhart was just thanking me for my services.''
In a moment of complete Reno-style ignorance, the young Turk's eyebrows raised to a comic level of surprised confusion, ''Services?''
Yuffie gave an unimpressed giggle of sneering amusement before correcting him with a rather patronizing glare, ''With the bar Reno...''
''Oh...'' After the brief relief subsided, the realisation of both the ninja's and the President's words actually hit, and a flash of disbelief danced across his aquamarine eyes which were now fixed questioningly upon the brunette, ''Really?''
Tifa gave him a small, somewhat mocked smile, ''Well...I didn't want to seem ungrateful...'' Although her words seemed genuine enough, her eyes flashed with a sense of playful defiance, a flash that Reno decoded as being somewhere along the lines of; 'Yuffie practically forced me with her constant nagging.' Figures... In turn, he responded with a knowing smirk, letting her know in a discreetly personal fashion that he understood.
Obviously not taking note of the the shared quiet between them, the ninja perked up again, ''Yeah, and he wants to redo her flat as well! She keeps saying no...but I'll convince her!''
''No!'' The sudden outburst from the red head was so loud and unexpected that both Tifa and Yuffie flinched slightly in response, though of course he received no such motion from the blonde, whom remained unmoving and seemingly unsurprised.
Sensing the tension which had quickly formed around them through the air of scared confusion between the female pair, Reno had to think fast and come up with a fractionally believable, if slightly quieter explanation, ''I just mean...it's her choice...''
One side of Yuffie's face seemed to curl upwards in a strange sort of grimace, ''Weirdo...''
The brunette saw the flare of anger alighting between them, and she knew all to well that any more time within eachothers presence, would only end in chaos, thus making the decision to quickly terminate the visit, ''Well...me and Yuffie better be going!''
Firmly grasping the young ninja by the wrist, Tifa began to gently drag her away, though not before the petite female could spin around and flashed one of her cheeky smiles, along with a both extremely unneeded, and situationally misjudged choice of parting words, ''Yeah, see ya later Mr. P.!''
Rufus's expression was almost comical in its emotionless restraint, and both Reno and Tifa took on a rather unforgiving look of embarrassment.
When the two females finally reached the elevator, ripples of relief almost flowed from the brunette's expression, and just before the pair of thick metallic doors began to close them off from the floor, she shared a warming smile with the red head, knowing he would take it as the knowing inquiry; 'See you later?'
Tifa didn't have to even wait until the doors were a quarter of the way across, to receive the response she was hoping for from the young Turk in the form of a concealed, though clear nod of the head.
As he watched the elevator seal itself off completely, and slowly begin the descend back down, Reno found himself becoming steadily more uncomfortable with each passing second, somewhat sensing the President's eyes fixed upon him, quite literally, burning like ice.
The digitally lighten numbers attached just above the door, moved and changed in succession with each passing level, the smooth, silver-tinted metal box having started its journey once again, back down to the much securer, in the brunette's eyes anyway, ground floor.
Though this small relief seemed to have no affect upon the young woman, whom was still seemingly mortified at her petite friend's outburst, the red hue that had flared up, only now starting to dim, and the ninja's clueless expression was not helping matters.
''Could you have been any more...you?''
''Huh?'' The petite ninja's eyes widened in a befuddled indifference.
''...'Mr. P.', I mean really!''
Yuffie raised a solitary eyebrow, attempting to look serious in her suspicion, but there was no escaping the hint of playful teasing underneath, ''Why are you so bothered what I called him?...It's not as if you don't do it too...you're always calling him Mr. Jackass, or Mr. Arrogant Jerk, or Mr. Stupid Flicky Hair, or-'' She was cut off by a rather self-embarrassed Tifa, who was rather desperate to stop the role, on which Yuffie was, and could have kept on, for quite sometime.
''That's not the point!...The point is, you can't go around addressing him like that to his face...''
Although the brunette's voice had been somewhat hushed, Yuffie's was decidedly opposite in both pitch and tone, ''...Pfft! Why not?''
''Because...he might...burn down my bar or something equally important to me...''
The ninja turned away ever so slightly, muttering under her breath whilst once again allowing a singular side of her brow to rise, ''I think you're being a little bit over dramatic...''
Her voice was just a smidgen too soft for Tifa to pick up, though the general muffed buzz that had emerged from her friend's mouth did not gone unnoticed, and she made quick work of her selective assumption, ''You don't know him...''
There was only the slightest of pauses before the ninja responded, and this time her tone was completely serious in its questioning, which was a strange enough occurrence to make the conversation that little more surreal, ''Do you?''
''What are you talking about?''
''Well, you claim to know exactly how he feels...how he's going to react, but...you don't know him any more than me...not really...''
Tifa's brow contorted, though not out of rage or annoyance at her young friend, but more in thoughtful musing, the comment clearly having a profound affect upon the previous conviction she felt about her place with the President.
The silence that proceeded to settle around the pair and within the elevator's closed atmosphere was seemingly to much for the young ninja to bear, and after only a few moments, she started up again, ''What was all that about with Reno?''
''I don't know...he's just been acting a little off lately...'' The brunette trailed off tiredly, as her mind still battled with its focus, drifting seamlessly from the subject of the blonde, to the subject of her Turk friend.
''Maybe he's jealous...''
''Of what,...Rufus doing out my bar?''
Yuffie gave a weary sigh before attempting to correct the brunette, though almost as soon as she had started, she was cut off by a seemingly oblivious Tifa, ''Well no-''
''I mean, he is always complaining about his pay check...''
''No that's not what I-'' The ninja's words were once again proven to be unheard, and there was no hiding her growing frustration at both being ignored and misunderstood.
''His place is a dump...maybe I should ask Rufus to do out his flat instead-''
Eventually Yuffie's face had flared up to the point of explosion, and soon the full power of her voice overrode the brunette's, the after effects of which, seemed to reverberate off the walls so forcibly that the box's whole structure seemed to shake under it, ''NO YOU DUMMY! JEALOUS OF YOU AND THE PRESIDENT!''
Although she did not jump, there was no mistaking the surprise which flashed across her face like an unexpected tidal wave, though like such an occurrence of nature, it dissipated almost instantly, as the process of word absorption took its place, which in turn transformed her into a rather narrow eyed, unimpressed looking Tifa, ''I think you have a problem with your brain going missing...''
The ninja shook her head in mocking disappointment, ''Denial is a horrible thing Tifa...''
''What is this obsession you have with me and him?''
''Obsession? I've only mentioned it twice...I think it's you that's obsessed...'' As she finished up, her voice was specifically teasing in its descent of tone, and the bright flash which blazed behind her eyes was deliberately daring in its confidence.
Tifa's mouth gaped quite comically for a few seconds, before starting its own launch attack, ''Me? How? How on earth am I the one who's-''
She stopped mid-rant when she was met with the sight of a giggle ridden Yuffie, with one arm wrapped around her belly, whilst the other was busy using its fingers to point in wobbly hysterics at the young brunette, whom was looking on at a complete loss.
''What...what are you laughing at?''
The young ninja finally managed to gain an upper hand upon her giggle fit, and after a few steadying breaths she responded, though her voice still had hints of playful amusement, ''You, being all defensive! My Gawd Tifa! You can't hide stuff like this from me...I'm amazing, simple as! I just know these things! ...You are so crushing on him.''
Tifa let out a provoked sigh of irritation, ''No...I think he's a jerk.''
''A hot jerk...''
Her brow furrowed further, ''An arrogant jerk.''
''An arrogantly hot jerk...''
''Stop it...''
''Stop what?'' Yuffie flashed her a shy, innocently patronising smile.
The brunette looked just about ready to commit murder when the elevator doors gave a delightfully high ding as they slid open, revealing their forms to the ground floor entrance hall, in to which the ninja proceeded to skip cheerily, leaving a reeling Tifa to follow, stomping her feet as she went.
When he could no longer take the increasing tension that was seemingly growing between him and his Presidential superior, the red head quickly began to approach his escape; the elevator, giving only the briefest of glances towards the young blonde, whom was now slightly further from him, and muttered out a parting explanation, his voice, rather higher in pitch than usual, as if it was an excuse rather than the truth, ''Well..I better be off now Sir, Tseng will probably be-''
''I hope you're not planning on betraying me...'' Even though it was quieter, the President's voice surpassed over the young Turk's, and his tone was genuine in its silent warning, and yet dangerously close to being amused in the darkest sense.
Reno didn't even dare to turn around, every nerve in his body seemingly standing on edge in fearing un-surety, and when he gave a response, even he was surprised at the way it was almost choked from his lips, ''Betray you Sir?''
''I know, you know.''
A played chuckle of amusement escaped the red head, ''I don't know what you're-''
Again the blonde's soft voice was able to overpower his own in its authority, ''Don't insult me Reno...'' Though still having not turned around, the young Turk was able to sense the blonde's approach, as he took a few steps, almost potent in their air, towards him, ''Now...I will ask you again-''
He spun back around to once again face him at this point, though still made sure to keep his own aquamarine eyes from ever meeting his superior's, ''Listen Sir, I really don't know what you're talking about.''
True he wasn't interrupted this time, but the moment the last word passed his lips, the blonde drew uncomfortably close, and snarled threateningly, though still complete in his repose, and undoubtedly calm in his tone, making his words altogether more feared, ''Don't lie to me Reno...don't ever...lie to me...''
After a few passing moments, the red head tried desperately to calm himself, and proceeded to slowly allow his flickering gaze to ascend and meet with the cold, almost hollow blue gaze of the President, and eventually broke down in his persistent restraint, ''How did you find out...that I knew?''
''Well apart from the obvious...you're a Turk, you have been trained by the best, I knew you would work it out eventually, if you hadn't...well, I probably would have fired you for incompetence.''
If he hadn't be so unsure of the situation, Reno probably would have laughed at the genuineness of the blonde's final words, but with the matter now open, he felt it was his job to defend the young woman, whom he knew to be the real subject under discussion, ''Don't you think...I mean...isn't it...a little invasive...?''
Again when he spoke, Rufus managed effortlessly to add in almost brush-stroke soft hints of threat, ''If she is a good girl, she's got nothing to worry about.''
''But...Tifa...well I think she's...well she's becoming less...'' He stopped his somewhat nervous stammering, and tilted his gaze once again towards the President's, flashing him a large degree of his own distress, at his now, very personal, position, ''I think she might be beginning to like you...''
The almost displeased smirk that graced the blonde's perfectly sneering lips, was seemingly lined with an unusual increase in arrogance, as though he needed the extra to hide something beneath, though when he spoke, this was barely noticeable, ''Well then...she's more foolish than I thought.''
Reno eyes flared brightly at his superior, an almost daring menace flashing within the aquamarine shade, the insult that had been aired and directed at his friend, whom wasn't there to defend herself, seemingly too much for him to bear, and in an instant, his invisible emotional restrains broke down, and the smallest of growls rumbled deep, within the back of his throat.
Rufus almost exploded into a genuinely amused fit of disbelieving laughter, and when he spoke, his voice literally sounded as if it was, itself an over powering authority, ''Are you challenging me?''
His words seemed to have an immediate effect upon the red head, as if suddenly putting out the invisible flame which had burned up within him, and he proceeded to almost subconsciously play out the three ways of response he knew was expected; backing off, lowering his gaze and turning his voice back to a steady, respectful volume, ''No Sir.''
''Good, I would hate to have to...dispose...of such a talented employee.''
Reno did not need to shift in his focus, which was now directed at the smooth, mark-less floor, to know the truth, and seriousness of the masked threat.
The blonde rotated in one gracefully controlled motion, and began to walk back towards his office, ''Now, hurry along...'' His hand reached the door handle and turned it in place, before flashing another glance over to the young Turk, whom still stood, silently trembling by the elevator, ''Shin-Ra is counting on you.''
''No.'' A slight snarl curled its way from the brunette's otherwise delicate lips, though not directed at the words recipient, but rather so at the lock, in which the key partly grasped within her hand, was seemingly waging its own personal battle with the mechanisms inside.
''Oh come on Tifa!'' The petite girl's tone had seamlessly ascended into a even higher pitched wail, which seemed able to pierce through the air with an effortless ring.
''No...'' Tifa grunted as she gave the key another futile jiggle, her persistence only increased by the desperation to lock herself away from the pestering ninja, whom clearly wasn't deterred in the slightest, as she continued with her desperate attempts at pleading, which came out more as a yowl than an actual response.
''Pleeeeeaaaasssssseeeee!''
The brunette gave a weary sigh, and though her tone shared this feeling, it also had the edge of someone not quite ready to be defeated, ''Don't you have a home to go to?''
''Yeah, but it's boring...'' Yuffie took a step closer, allowing her form to lean gently upon the outside wall of 'Seventh Heaven', whilst pulling on one of her most sickeningly sweet smiles, and joining it with a pair of big, doey eyes, ''I'd much rather hang out with you...''
Tifa wasn't in the mood for a debate, and she knew that tone to well, knowing the ninja was not even close to giving up, she relented her pressured grip upon the door, which she'd managed to unlock just moments before, ''Fine...but on one condition...you have to stop going on about...it.''
''About what?''
''You know what...''
The ninja's eyes flashed with the all to familiar glint of devilish play, ''Oh you mean the whole thing about how you and Rufus are totally into each other, but neither of you will admit it, because you're a stubborn rebel and he's an uptight businessman?''
Tifa glared at her, completely unimpressed, though not totally surprised, ''You never really grasped the whole 'stop going on about it' bit did you?''
''Just admit it and I'll shut up...!'' ... At least momentarily. Her eyes glinted once again, though now toned down noticeably, as if trying to conceal her after thoughts from the brunette, whom already knew that the ninja would never actually shut up.
Even with this realisation, the young woman decided to take the easier opinion, and finally succumbed, though not wholly, as her words had a definite edge of resistance, ''...Maybe...he isn't that bad.''
The pleasure she got from her small victory was evident upon the ninja's face, as her expression brightened immediately, ''See! Doesn't it feel good to get that out!'' She grinned excitedly as she shifted past the brunette and through the now open door, but not before whispering teasingly, ''Little steps Tifa, little steps...''
Meanwhile back at Shin-Ra HQ...
Rufus pushed down upon the cold metallic surface of the door handle, allowing it to be closed with a silent grace, which only his gentle care seemed able to create.
He proceeded to move back over to his desk, with an equal air of quiet weightlessness, the hard soles of his patient leather shoes, seemingly unnoticeable against the soft, brushing of the carpet, and as he lowered his suited form into his Presidential chair, even the small tapping which sounded from the keyboard as his fingers played out upon it, seemed muted in some tamed sense.
The white brightness of the computer screen flickered over to a display of security boxes, in to which the young blonde quickly typed, his authority overriding every digital barrier, and soon he was faced with a sort of desktop folder, labelled clearly 'TLAS'.
He paused only briefly before motioning against the mouse, giving the displayed box a swift double click, forcing its contents to open up, and fill the screen with a covering of various boxes, all of which showed different views of a single space, the moving images within, playing out unknowingly before him, and as he watched the young brunette share some moment of comic relief with her ninja friend, he rested his head comfortably against the chair back.
''I think she might be beginning to like you...''
If anyone had been present to observe his facial expression at that moment of remembrance, they might have been the first to ever witness a genuine look of childlike happiness upon his face, that even Rufus seemed to be unaware of.
A/N= Ok sorry for the wait, I've been SUPER busy...and I'm likely to continue to be so for the next few months, but I'll try and keep these updates to once a week!
Oh and I know, again...not much RufusxTifa interaction in this chapter, but there is a reason...honest!
And I'm afraid that the next few chapters aren't gunna be having lots and lots of RufusxTifa face to face-ness (but d/w there will be a bit) because there's gunna be a gentle leading up to basically just RufusxTifa action...seriously...like chapters of JUST them..., so don't worry you're cravings will be satisfied eventually!
Oh and when Reno says 'I think she might be beginning to like you.'' he doesn't mean in the fancying way, but rather that she's becoming that little less guarded etc, just encase any of you were thinking it sounded off...seeing as Tifa hasn't actually said anything like that...to him at least!