plate_builder | [Open Post]

Rufus spent a long while playing with cameras and other things that sometimes required a stable hand and fine motions to get exactly what was needed. It doesn't mean he won't have issues with the unit, but the basics should be at least something he can handle.

He guides the unit over to the edge carefully, speaking as he does. "I imagine he has some other way down than relying on fall detection. Climbing or sliding like a kid, maybe?"

"Indeed, he can climb. Usually I have things set up so he can easily climb to where he needs to get. He also jumps pretty well. Not as well as a real cat, of course, but he makes to. The gloves have a nice micro-texture to them to improve grip," Reeve smiles at that bit. He was very proud of thinking of that one. It had been a problem for many years until he mentioned it in an offhand matter to a materials scientist at a conference and there you go.

Still, at this point he's almost watching Rufus more than he is the monitor. The joy this man is getting from Cait actually makes Reeve smile.

"Typically, though, Cait has a way that he acts. He's a child's friend. A toy in many eyes, no matter the intention behind him. The secret, of course, is that he's meant to fall. It's cute, it's silly. It's ridiculous. But he can climb, he can jump, and when the circumstances permit, slide."

Interesting. Slapstick robot cat. Reno would be having a field day with that. Rufus can't help but find it amusing himself, and he carefully moves Cait to see if he falls or does something else to get off the bed.

There is a tumbling of video as Cait hits the end of the bed, clearly falling and rolling. Slapstick indeed. And with it comes a bit of a sound of the robot reacting.

"Oh my!" Cait bubbles before the robot immediately gets to his feet.

That subroutine thing was a tiring thing to program, and Reeve's proud of it, almost beaming at his creation.

"Okay, you've got some walking. Let's deal with the hands some. In front of Cait you can see the bookshelf, right? There's a box on it, the brown one. There is no lock. It's a simple thing to open, we're going to have you do that and have Cait take a materia out."

Rufus smirks faintly at the automatic remark, yet seems more curious about how quickly Cait rights himself, shifting the control to see if there's any lag between the motion of getting up and being able to move around.

Reeve's decision to move along on the training will thankfully offer a great way to go about it, and the blond is moving the unit to the bookshelf and grabbing the box easily enough. Getting it open seems to be a little more complicated; Cait may have thumbs, but this would be considered fine motion skills.

It does take control, and Reeve watches as the man works. Leans back in his chair and smiles as Rufus works, and he already knows the man is going to get the hang of this. Rufus is too stubborn, too focused for anything less. All he has to do is watch. Soon enough Rufus has the box open, and Cait's got a materia in his hand.

"Good job," Reeve chuckles warmly, leaning forward again so the sound is just about in Rufus's ear. Sorry, personal space isn't really easy with such a small device. "Now, you can play with that a bit if you like. This model can't use magic, so don't worry about it. But there's another box, under my bed. You'll have to manage to push the blanket up with one hand and pull it out with another. After that I've got a nice paper here with other instructions for things for you to do. You can keep working on it today, or at a later time. I want you to take a week to get used to the unit before I give it access outside."

Stubborn and, even if he's sure some people wouldn't think it, adaptable. He differs from his father in so many ways, and he's glad for that difference. The immutability in his father's ways was a large part of his death, and a large part of Rufus living.

Yet even once he has the box open, the materia out, Rufus doesn't seem ready to move to the next task. Instead, he works the controls until the Cait unit puts the materia down and messes with the box until he's comfortable he knows the controls to open and shut it.

Only after that does he move to try and navigate lifting covers and working for the box underneath it. He doesn't seem to comment, but his face shows that it's not rudeness, just that he's intent on what he's doing.

No, Reeve doesn't think he's being rude. Reeve remembers the single-minded intensity he had felt when he was trying to get Cait running. This all works for him. In the box there is a variety of things, all for the purpose of amusement. Noise makers and awkwardly shaped things. Plenty of things to pick up and move around to work on fine motor skills if he wants. Reeve, meanwhile, reaches into the bag from which he took all of this, and he pulls out a sheet of instructions. Goals for him to work toward.

"Here are other things for you to do. Is it okay if I leave you to this for right now? I have something else to deal with."

After all, not all of the food is fully prepared. He's got his own instructions to deal with. Mostly for reheating and the like, but it's still a thing. He imagines Rufus is going to be distracted for a while.

Rufus looks over when Reeve brings out the list, taking it gently, and gives him a curious look. He doesn't mind continuing to learn the system, but now he's curious about Reeve instead.

"Something else?"

"Yes," Reeve smiles, waving Rufus's attention back to the screen. "I'm a busy man, Rufus. With a title that may one day rival your own for scale of power, though I don't much like power over a lot of people when I could instead have it over a single person. There are always things I can do. Unless you really want me here, hovering next to you, whispering in your ear, reaching out to touch your hands to help guide you through things. Is that what you would prefer?"

And now who is playing games?

Well, that's an interesting response, and now Rufus is certainly more interested in Reeve than the Cait unit. Not the comments about power over many, no that he completely gets with the way they bicker, but the remainder? Interesting. Brings a smirk to his face,

"Reeve, what are you doing? Because it sounds a hell of a lot like a pick-up line."

A pickup line? Now why would he ever do that?

"Pick-up? I'm not strong enough to lift you in that chair," Reeve answers with a chuckle.

"Sounds like something Reno would say." He looks back as if he's going to maneuver the cat around some more, but seems to wait a moment before settling back into the chair and looking at Reeve again. "However, if you really wish to repeat our former conversation, I'd be more than happy to play along."

"Former conversation?" Reeve asks as he pushes to his feet. "Now Rufus, I was just asking a question. Which you preferred. If you preferred that I stayed I believe that says more about you than about me."

Well Rufus, who are you playing with, the cat or him? No, Reeve won't say that.

Rufus chuckles softly at the response, and waves Reeve dismissively away. If it wasn't for the fact he seemed truly amused, maybe even a bit happy, the motion would probably be very offensive to Reeve. As it was, he adds a simple, "You're the one who started it, Mr. Tuesti. I just saw no reason to not finish it."

"You would know it if I started something, Rufus," Reeve answers, quite a bit of amusement in his tone. "If I did, you wouldn't be able to focus on that monitor for even a second. Now, since you've dismissed me, I'll deal with that other work."

Time to get to start figuring out this food thing.

He just laughs at that, but seems to decide to leave Reeve be, returning to learning what he can with the items Reeve had placed in the box under the bed. Eventually, he'll even take to learning to get the Cait unit back on the bed and finding all the ways to navigate him up and down, depending on the time Reeve gives.

There will be plenty of time, during which there will be more noises in the kitchenette like area. Clearly he's only doing coffee. Obviously. But then there are smells of food, nothing burning yet. It's nearly an hour before Reeve returns to Rufus's side, looking over his shoulder as he works with Cait.

"You're doing well," Reeve says with a good bit of approval in his voice. Quite well. The man is a bit of a quick learner, which is interesting. Reeve hadn't known that. "You know, you're smiling right now. I don't know that I've ever seen that from you. Not this... purely pleased with the world. Smile like that at Tseng and you might get him in your bed."

He's naturally curious about what Reeve is doing, but has decided to leave him alone. Whatever he is up to, it will be revealed, although when he begins to smell food he has an idea; and it explains the other bags.

Of course, leaving Rufus alone for an hour means he has figured out how to deal with doors, and he seems to have decided to see what ones he's allowed to open and which he isn't, even while investigating the house.

He'll pull himself away from the tour to look at Reeve, though. "Pretty sure he's seen it, and it hasn't worked yet. Perhaps you'd like to join me instead?"

Provided Rufus isn't removing Cait from the apartment or about to interrogate Reeve about the specifics of the contents of the box that for now is on a shelf above his drafting table, Reeve is okay.

"I can't help but think the man has no interest in the handsome sex," Reeve sighs, and he manages to sound very forlorn. However it doesn't last on his face. "A shame. He really is a loss. And if I were to 'join you' then dinner would get cold."

Such troublesome investigations can wait until later, when Reeve isn't in the room to see him. If Rufus even bothers to try to harass the man by prying where he shouldn't. Rufus even had his morals and limits.

"No, I think Tseng is just difficult." Removing the headset and finding a spot for the controls, he tilts his head. "Dinner? Is that what was in the other bags?"

"Yes," Reeve answers, and then he takes a breath because he's prepared for this. "As much as I hate to say it, Reno was right. Elena too I suppose. I am a bit difficult at times, and foolish. I did not give you the credit you deserved. Your concern for me was warranted, and my behavior was based on... circumstances that I should not have laid at your feet. This partnership of ours is clearly not going to be for a short period of time. You have become an invaluable, if silent, partner for the WRO and the work going on in Edge and you deserve more respect for what you're doing. But I am having difficulty in seeing you as the person you are rather than the man you were."

The more he had thought about it, the more he had realized it. Nearly dying changes people, and Rufus would be no exception. The Turks themselves seemed a bit different when it came right down to it. What was more, Reeve may have had a touch of a talking to from Veld, and that is a man he had plenty of reasons to respect.

"I don't know you, Rufus. That makes this partnership difficult. You may believe I invest myself too much in the people around me, but I feel that knowing people gives life meaning. If I don't know the people I'm working toward, I lose some of what motivates me. And I should extend that same treatment to people I'm working with. At least those that will give me the time of day, so to speak. And thus... dinner. I find it difficult to know a man through work alone, so I figured something a bit less focused on the world outside of here might be good for me knowing you. Though I admit the Halloween thing helped a bit. Very popular by the way."

It's a winding way to apologize, almost as long as the tirade which brought it on, but logical. Both men are talkers, but neither good listeners, and in many ways that causes problems. Add in distrust, and it's a disaster waiting to happen time and again. Honestly, sometimes Reno and his bluntness would be easier, but will never happen with these two.

Understanding this, Rufus sort of chuckles softly at Reeve, or maybe at himself.

"I suppose me caring about someone aside from myself is difficult to accept. Plus, I'm as stubborn and bull-headed as you are, mm?"

"The Turks seem resolved to believe that you care about people other than yourself. I suppose I needed another voice to believe that," Reeve admits. "And you may not be the only one to have called me bull-headed recently. In fact, you're the third."

That admission has him momentarily quiet, a bit upset as he thinks back to one of those. From Rufus and Veld he can take it in the spirit it was given. It was the third that gives him a moment of pause. Then he shakes his head.

"The food will get cold. I don't know all you can eat, I won't be offended if you don't want any of it. Promise I didn't cook it."

Rufus had also technically called himself bull-headed, so there was that." He starts to move towards the kitchen area, but doesn't stop talking. "What voice did you need to hear?"

Sure that wasn't phallic?

No, his weapon is phallic. The chopper was childish and showy

At least he's reasonable... Sephiroth overdid it

Sephiroth likes it long, Cloud thick. And Rufus? Powerful explosions at the end.

Oh my. Sounds dirty!

True. But does that make Reeve magic in bed?

Quite possibly

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