plate_builder | [Open Post]

"Put the phone down, Reeve." There's an audible sigh from the other side of the mechanical cat, the only hint needed that Rufus expected the movement. "It's setiously not safe for you here, right now, nor I doubt for Mr. Valentine.

"Tseng and Elena are missing, I can only fear dead, and some... well, I suppose we could call them 'siblings' of Sephiroth are poking about. You need not be involved in that, which is why I will be discarding the Cait Unit's control after this conversation and not answering my phone."

"No," Reeve counters, no small bit of anger in his voice. "If this is an incident such as you've said, this isn't a time where you should be pretending you can protect me. Reno and Rude need to be out there on some work for you, probably reaching out to Cloud and them. But that means you need someone there with you, more than just a gun in your defense."

And Reeve's magic is good, better than good. He should be there, to help the man he cares about.

"This is not a negotiation, Reeve." If Reeve recalls Rufus' boss tone, then he will recognize it coming across, though there is a hint of something else; worry, perhaps? "Right now, Kadaj thinks I'm a weak invalid who is still fully in hiding, and not in touch with anyone from what was Shinra aside from the Turks. I'm safe."

Kadaj? Who is that? No, Reeve doesn't care. He doesn't...

"Rufus, I don't care what he thinks about you. I know that I belong there, with you. I'm not negotiating things, I'm telling you that I'm coming there now. After I put in a call to Cloud. I need to know everything to speak with him."

Just let him do right, Rufus. If there is something involving Sephiroth going on, he has an obligation to discuss it with AVALANCHE, if they haven't already been informed.

"If you are here, you'll only be in danger. And Reno is already working on contacting Cloud. So, no, you are not coming."

"And if all I care about is how I can keep you safe?"

Because Rufus doesn't get it. That he can't just sit here while Rufus is in trouble. Doesn't he get that he's in love? Dammit.

"There isn't anything you can do to stop me, Rufus."

He will rent a car.

Oh, he gets it. Why else would he be so adamant about keeping Reeve away if he didn't feel the same? It's certainly not for his health. His frustration is very obvious in his words and tone as he speaks.

"I can always have Rude kick your ass ten ways to Friday and take you back home."

"Rude likes me better, and I don't think he'd begrudge the extra firepower in keeping you safe," he counters.

"Reeve..." It's a growl that indicates he's looking for something else to say that emerges in the name, followed by a low hiss. Anything he can say now would be reactionary and cold, but oh does it cross Rufus' mind to tell Reeve that if he shows up it's over between them... except Reeve would know it's a lie and keep insisting on coming.

See, Rufus really underestimates the power those words would have. Very seriously underestimates it. So he keeps staring at Cait.

"We should be with our loved ones in their time of need."

"You'll end up getting hurt, stupid." Childish? Yes, but who cares. It's true in his mind.

"I love you."

That's all the argument he feels is needed.

"I hate you." It's a pouting voice he says it with.

"Please don't say that," Reeve says, and even pouting that gets him a bit hurt.

"Well, it's true." He mutters this, making the Cait unit fold its arms childishly. "Honestly, you'll be in far more danger coming here than I'm in danger. So shouldn't you back down if that's the case?"

[OOC: Reeve may be hurt, but I'm laughing. Rufus is being such a big kid because he can't find good, mature words to say to Reeve... even Reno wouldn't be this childish!]

[OOC: Rufus, nothing short of dumping him will get obedience from Reeve.]

"I don't think it is. And I've had a number of attempts on my life. Protecting you is worth the danger. I should get to make that choice for myself."

Which isn't entirely true. Deciding whether he was putting himself at risk was his decision. Whether he would be allowed into Rufus's presnce or not was Rufus's.

[ooc: Naw, even he finds that too childish/mean. He will just pout.]

It wasn't like he would leave Reeve outside if he came, not with those three liable to be about. Easier to watch their movements, and Reeve's, when they were in one place, or at the very least, suspectee to be.

It doesn't mean he is any happier with Reeve's insistance though, and he is going to lay down an important rule. "If you come, we are not dating so far as those three go. You're just an old employee I see sometimes to help rebuild Shinra."

"If that is what you want," Reeve says, and he hardly feels like he should agree to that. But if that is what it takes for him to be there to help protect his lover, then he'll do it.

"I'll be there soon."

It's an important thing, whether Reeve is fond of it or not, and Rufus is already quite sure he will have to remind Reeve of it, maybe even warn him to watch his expressions. Right now things are tame, he even has Kadaj convinced he doesn't know where 'Mother' is, but it is hard to say how long that will last and he doesn't need Reeve used as a pawn.

Yet he supposes that, if the man has to come, now is the best time. He'll be used to the chair and bandaging, as well as the blanket, Rufus is wearing to pretend that he is still not only injured from the blast at headquarters but also weak from the Stigma; the latter not altogether a lie.

When Reeve does show, he will also be greeted by Reno and Rude, the former looking rather unamused.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with you," Reeve tells Reno bluntly, light shining from all of the materia at his wrists. "Sooner or later you know he's going to send you out there, and he'll be undefended save for his shotgun. Would you prefer he has backup or not?"

Because this, Reno, is not the time for whatever tension is between them. He frankly doesn't care.

"While I agree with you, I'm not looking forward to the fallout." Reno remarks, folding his arms. "We got enough problems without the boss being even more annoyed.ç

"Forgive me if I don't care about his annoyance," Reeve answers. "Would you leave Rude alone that long if his life was threatened?"

Partners, that at least the man should understand.

"If I gotta." Did he expect some other answer from a Turk? They did a lot of things they didn't like, close-knit or not. "Just try not to piss him off much more, would ya? We gotta live with him."

"You know I would live with him too if I could," Reeve counters, voice sharp. Why must they all be so... frustrating?

He supposes it's nothing new. Still, he pauses before he reaches for the door.

"Be careful out there, both of you. Rufus values you as more than employees, whether he shows it or not."

"Yeah, yeah." Reno waves Reeve off dismissively, although he knows it's true. Enough years with Rufus has taufht him how the man operates, as well as how he shows or doesn't show things. Which is why the next words come out. "Good luck."

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Rude likes me better? Really? XD

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