plate_builder | [Open Post]

Reeve must have said something right, if that purring tone in Rufus' voice is any indication. "Now, that sounds like something I'd enjoy having. Though Rude can be conned into such things by cute girls."

It's honestly a well-known fact, that last bit. Rude was a big man, always looked so serious, but he was rather gentle. Liked kids, so far as Rufus knew, and really liked women with long hair. If he'd been asked, the guy would probably wear a bow or play Santa Clause. Then there were the other rumors, about he and Reno... Those were amusing, and Rufus and the Turks were the only ones with the answer to them.

"Tell me, did you ever give our hag of a woman devil horns for Halloween? And the fat man, he'd have to certainly be a pumpkin; at midnight, he becomes entirely useless."

That earns a scoff from Reeve. "By saying such you imply that he was ever useful. Which is, of course, highly unlikely."

As for Scarlet, he would have preferred to just throw a sheet over her and walk away. The woman was worst when she was drunk. Which she always got at parties. Reeve's secretary earned her yearly bonus by helping him avoid her at parties. He was certain it made Scarlet think he was involved with the poor woman.

"I found a few uses, though he was too stupid to ever realize it. And a sheet would be an offense to ghosts." Sometimes, he did regret the fact he could not attend cooperate events after he was supposedly sent away for business those many years, if only because he wanted sometimes to see the shenanigans his Turks could get up to, and with more than just a camera which wasn't always working on those nights.

Of course, then he'd see the woman they were discussing, and how she hung off his old man and any other man she found with power, and he'd decide he was fine where he was. He'd internally joked, more than once, that it was her who had turned him off to women; if there had actually been a choice, which their hadn't. Actually, she had once told him she could change his mind, which was disgusting on multiple levels, not the least of which he seemed to recall her first pass at him was before he even turned eighteen.

But that wasn't a pleasant thought, and so he let go of it for now, and decided it was a good time to find another tack, another topic. "What about you? Considering Cait Sith, I could see you having some amusing costumes."

"You'd be sorely disappointed under that assumption," Reeve sighs. Yes, he did help arrange the parties, but somehow, each and every time, he ended up investing so much time into them that he forgot to outfit himself. Usually he ended up with something bought off the rack at the last moment.

No, Cait had been the most... colorful costume-like creation that Reeve had ever used.

"Too bad. I always had to go as myself when I was younger." He perhaps sounds a little disappointed, but it passes quickly enough, and he chuckles as an idea comes to mind. "Hey, Reeve, why not arrange a Halloween party in Edge for the young ones? It would be good for how people view you, and something you enjoyed besides.

"I promise, no Turks to spoil it."

Well... that sounded like a wonderful idea. "I should definitely see to that, but I'll have to figure out how to get candy for it. And where to set up. But it would be fun."

Children happy and joyous. Reeve was jealous. He hadn't grown up somewhere he could do that. And now he could get involved to some degree. Cait could join him too, be a mascot of sorts. Now Reeve was smiling as he thought about it. Import pumpkins and apples for games. Maybe do face painting. Were there even people who still did that? It would be wonderful.

"Yes, I think that would be a great idea. I should look into that right away."

"I'd suggest asking chemists to help with the candy." Rufus stretches a little in the chair he's in, a motion he seems used to doing. "I'm sure they'd enjoy a break from their work to do something fun, as well."

It was a bit strange, but Rufus somehow felt a small bit of peace at giving Reeve an idea the man actually liked, and less because it was Reeve, more that he was actually able to use his mind for some sort of plotting that didn't include how to kill someone or how he was going to deal with his own P.R. problems when it was found he still lived.

Something he wished to remain a secret a while yet.

"No," Reeve says, frowning at Rufus almost immediately. "Candy isn't the business of chemists, it's the business of cooks. There are plenty of places to get it as well, most candy making wasn't a Midgar marketplace thing. I just need to arrange for it."

Clearly the man is planning, even with his eyes closed and with him laying on the couch. There's a smile curving his lips. No, there were other things they could do. Chocolates were an industry perfected in Icicle, so he'd have to look there. Yes, there was much he could do, and he needed to start early.

"And of course costumes. I should ensure word of this spreads very early, to help encourage local business toward making costumes. That would be a nice financial boost for the area."

"Indeed. It might put some tailors to work, too." But he doesn't say much more than that to Reeve's ideas, though he does add. "The Gold Saucer is still around, isn't it? Perhaps you could see if they might do a parade. I understand kids like Chocobos. I'll go about finances if needed."

Reeve sat up quickly again, grinning despite his pain. Yes, this was a wonderful idea. "Dio owes me a favor. If not a parade, then assistance in arranging a haunted house. Kalm also had a village fair for many years that had monster themed funhouses..."

This was the best idea. He needed paper to write this all down. And the fact that Rufus would offer to fund something... frivolous? That shocked him. But he kept smiling. Don't look a gift-Shinra in the mouth, so to speak. He could do this, and that just, it was strange. He worked for people's needs and forgot about their morale. So he laughed, a deep, joyous laugh. There was going to be Halloween in Edge. "Too bad I can't import a cornfield maze. There was always one in the village I grew up in. But I can probably come up with something else."

"Cloud's hair." He supplies with a sort of dry amusement, knowing it's a terrible joke, and carefully he stands, grabbing up the bottles of water he seems to keep handy now, handing one to Reeve. "If you promise to lay back down, I'll get you some paper to brainstorm on. I think you'd prefer it to having to speak with me."

He knew the sudden change was perhaps a little bit sudden, and so he explains as he starts to his room, probably for the paper he promised. "I also think I should avoid straddling old men again until my hips have healed a bit more, so I'll also give you the paper so I can rest a bit."

Please don't get him started on the ridiculousness of Cloud's hair, because Reeve actually had a ten minute tirade about that. And, of course, he KNEW how much gil had gone into Cloud's hair care. Which had sucked.

But now Rufus was going to escape and Reeve frowned. "You're kidding, right? How am I supposed to write while lying down? If you're tired you're welcome to go provided someone might pass me food. And Elena will write for me. Or you could, but you're clearly tired. Have to be tired if you're mistaking a man like myself for old. I'm not even going to be forty for a number of years."

Rufus stops in his steps, and turns his head with a smirk on his lips, and this time his purr comes with a seductive tone, his body shifting almost imperceptibly as if he's being serious as he speaks. "Oh? You were the one complaining about children to me, weren't you? Would you like me to show you just how much I'm not a child?"

This time Reeve doesn't even blush, doesn't flinch. He just meets Rufus's gaze levelly. Really, they're doing this again? It was almost boring at this point. All he'd done is offered company to the man, maybe asked for some of his own. But if Rufus is going to play this game...

Reeve sits up a little straighter, and he smirks. His partners in the past had agreed on one important fact: his voice. Sure, Rufus might have a purr, but Reeve's voice could get to a deep rumble and he knew how to use it.

"I would agree, but only if I could make suitable use of your pretty little mouth. You'd look good if you were on your knees, mouth busy, eyes begging for more than you can handle."

Yeah, Rufus, he was playing the game before you were, to good effect. Before the last year of Shinra where things got a bit more intense, he had entertained a number of relationships. Just nothing lasting.

Rufus had to admit, this was a very good comeback, different than what he had expected to be honest. He also could admit he understood why there had been a few carefully guarded rumors about Reeve; he could appreciate a voice like that, and had to hide the shiver it sent up his spine, even as he turns to keep playing the game, amused even if Reeve was not.

"Oh? I'm pretty sure you'd be the one begging if I gave you that honor. I may be young, but as I said before, I am not inexperienced; and words are certainly not the only thing my tongue is good for."

Reeve would have been amused to know there were rumors about him in such a fashion, and he probably would have wanted to know what they were. Instead he raised a single eyebrow at the response.

"Perhaps it would be the only thing your tongue would be good for. But I don't beg, princeling. I take what I want. Especially if it gives me the chance to leave a man sore in as many ways as I can devise."

Rufus purses his lips together for a moment before his hand can hide them, apparently trying to stop another laugh from bursting forth. He didn't doubt Reeve for a moment, and if this had been any other sort of situation, he might have even asked him to prove it - was sorely tempted to see how far Reeve would - but he wondered if that were entirely appropriate.

Even considering the fact that Reeve held little interest for Rufus in such a fashion, though he had always been able to find things to approve of if he was using sex for a weapon and could certainly find a few for Reeve if he chose (dark hair, anyone?), there was the fact the man still highly distrusted him, and that they were partial business partners. Not that the latter had stopped him in the past, but there was also the stigma.

It hadn't seemed contagious to him when he was tossed into that truck with many infected, even though that black substance had gotten on him, but it certainly wracked the body something nasty and rather unexpectedly, a risk he would not be willing to take for a game.

Yet he also can't stand to leave it there, so when his hand finally leaves his mouth, he responds very simply. "You're welcome to try any time you'd like, once you're better, but I don't beg either.

"Now, let me get that paper for you?"

Reeve shrugged at the amusement Rufus displayed. His partners hadn't complained. While he might not have had one in a while, he had enough confidence in his experience to not care. And he definitely wasn't going to use his a game on a man who was trying to be a brat.

"Paper and something to use as a writing surface. Or someone to dictate to. And don't hold your breath on your offer, even if it sounds like you have practice."

"Saying 'don't hold you breath' still means you thought about it." As he turns again, he makes sure to give Reeve a very enticing smile, before disappearing into the room he's been using.

After a couple of minutes, Rufus does return to hand Reeve a lined pad of paper, a pen and mechanical pencil attached by their holders to the top, and beneath it a clipboard he can use; not a perfect setup, perhaps, but adequate he hopes.

"When I go to lay down, I'll see if Tseng can cook something for you to eat. Rude is out with Reno again, gathering more information for us. Now, anything else you might need?"

"My materia back," Reeve answers as he starts writing. Already he is fully absorbed in his note taking. And within moments of work in his shorthand he is sketching something. It's like he wasn't even in the conversation before this. When Reeve focuses on something, it ends up getting all of him.

Rufus raises a brow at the switch, a little bit curious about the dedication and absorption the man has for such a simple project. In this way only, he is like Hojo, and unlike Scarlet or Heidegger, who could never seem to focus on one thing, always having to have as my plots and schemes as he or his father did. In a small way, it again makes him feel envious, though he won't say as much, only nodding at the request.

"I'm sure we can give it back, but don't run off, alright? Or torch anything. I worry about Reno and Rude doing that daily as is."

Straightening, he begins towards his room to make any other arrangements needed before he lies down, instructing Elena to bring the materia and Tseng to set about cooking something for Reeve, but to keep an eye on him and make sure he eventually rested.

His duties done for the time being, he does finally lay down to rest, for as long as he can anyway. Unfortunately for Rufus, some nights are longer for rest, and some shorter, with tonight being only a few hours worth of rest before he rouses - not sure, as always, why exactly - and makes his way quietly towards the kitchen, careful not to wake Reeve if he has fallen asleep.

Sorry, Reeve had already checked out for his latest project. Please leave a message with your nearest noteboard or possibly a sticky note on his forehead. In the end it was good Rufus warned Tseng to make sure Reeve rested. Without the Turk to literally take Reeve's work out of his hands, chances were Reeve wouldn't have eaten. And he even had to make sure Reeve ate everything on his plate.

Sleep was easier to convince Reeve of, seeing as his body was pretty insistent on the process. He ended up passing out with his notepad on his chest, not too different from nights in his apartment except for the lack of kitten snuggling him.

The sound of Rufus moving wakes Reeve. It isn't abrupt, just a slow thing, complete with a languid stretch. He has already slept a long period of time. His eyes open slowly and rolls to look for the noise. And then he groaned because that hurt.

"Someone there?"

Tseng was, like Reeve, quite dedicated to his job, whether it was a simple one like taking care of a sick comrade, or taking out a target, which made him perfect for dealing with stubborn men - Reeve and Rufus alike. And also why Rufus had asked Tseng to do the duties, knowing as he did that Elena would probably fall for "five more minutes" for more than an hour before finally getting fed up and throwing a tantrum about not being listened to; something which would easily have awakened him most times.

Of course, 'most times' was really a time before the ShinRa building had collapsed more or less on top of him, as that had been when he had started to change in some small way. Maybe not right after, as he'd escaped just fine if one ignored the damage to his body and the Turks had been right there to find him and spirit him away somewhere safe. After that, though... Well, he had made a pretty bad miscalculation, as had the Turks, and Rufus had ended up with more time to think about things than he would have preferred.

So, sometimes, he didn't seem to wake as he had before to the smallest thing. Perhaps it was just because there was always someone there, keeping an eye on him, and so he could be allowed to rest without fear, or perhaps it was something else - once again he could blame the stigma - but it was whatever it was.

Which means that sometimes, even when he was awake, he felt too tired to do much, and it spares Reeve a snide remark about forgetting where he is, or even some remark about being at 'Prince Charming's House,' and instead just gets a straight answer. "It's Rufus. Go back to sleep. I'm just getting some water."

"Drew a costume for you," Reeve answered, his voice a low and sleepy rumble. It was both fitting and amusing to him. Of course it involved setting up Rufus's wheelchair as a cardboard example of a Shinra Motors car.

He doesn't go back to sleep, but watched Rufus carefully. Sleepy Reeve was a bit like a cat. Sleeps anywhere warm, sprawls out, and watched anything that moves nearby, just in case it might become interesting.

"Should I be concerned?" He ducks into the kitchen area before Reeve can answer, coming back out after a few minutes to bring a cold bottle of water to the man, one for himself in hand, letting Reeve decide if he should answer the earlier question or not.

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