plate_builder | [Open Post]

What Rufus was saying did, of course, make sense. That didn't mean Reeve was any less sullen to hear it. He knew what he needed to do, but could he really take that time to heal?

"This world needs action, Rufus. It doesn't need me lying on a couch feeling bad that I hadn't thought this might happen. People out there are suffering, and I have to help. My WRO would help them. It would be a hope for them. It could heal the pains of the world as it was."

And it was all he had, the only thing left to work toward. All he had was his work.

Rufus doesn't hide the roll of his eyes. Honestly, he'd thought this man was smart, and perhaps he was, but he was also too compassionate, too empathetic. Such emotions, he supposed, could be a good thing - they had helped him before - but at times, they were but a burden. At times, a cold, unfeeling look was needed to secure anything; something Rufus was very used to.

Something he uses now, his eyes looking at Reeve with the look of the Rufus Shinra, the man who had asserted he would rule the company through fear upon his father's murder, who had attempted to kill that self-same man, and who had paid for his callousness many times since, but existed at all times regardless of the softening of his ego and pride.

"Your WRO will not exist with a fool such as yourself running it if he doesn't cool his head and bother to think. People are suffering, and you have to help? Yet at the same time, isn't it also you who said you were not needed, as your idea would live on? What a conflicting load of bullshit." The last word is spat out, as if it were a disgusting piece of food, unsuitable for his pallet.

"I said that once I have it up and running, it will survive without me," Reeve counters, the same anger in his own voice. "I have no intention of making something so flimsy that it will fall apart if something were to happen to myself and my next of kin, unlike what you and your father established. You weren't thought dead for even five minutes before Scarlet and Heidegger self-destructed what took so much time to create, and it only took that long because Hojo wasn't paying attention to it at all. I have no intention of being so important that the world crumbles if I fall. I will start a ball rolling. Momentum will be what matters."

An advisory board that made the decisions, as well as an individual to lead. The board would be empowered to force the individual to step down, and would not have members which were known to the individual in charge. That way they could minimize bribes and coercive methods. He hoped.

Rufus raises a brow at the comment, standing swiftly as he undoes the water bottle's cap again, and just flat out dumps the contents onto Reeve's head, before turning and moving out of the room a lot quicker than he had been, only remarking to Reeve as he leaves, "Calm down and think for a little while, and then we'll talk like civilized adults."

He won't bother to let Reeve get another word in, or if he manages, Rufus will ignore it as he shuts the door leading into his own quarters, not intending to come back out for a time. He also seems to make a point that Reeve will be staying, as only moments after the door is shut, a certain other blond is in the room again, moving over to give Reeve a potion as she remarks. "What on earth did you say?"

Really? Had that really just happened? Reeve was left staring for a moment after Rufus and then he started to shiver from the dampness. Wonderful, he got the metaphor here, but he was really going to lay here, dripping wet?

"Don't suppose you have a towel," Reeve sighed when the blond woman arrived. He took the offered potion and frowned at it. What had he said? A number of things. "I believe that was my observation that Shinra was so unstable that it couldn't survive the loss of him, whereas I intend to make an organization that can continue to do good even if I pass away. Which seems more likely than I'd expected given what has occurred here."

Clearly that was the only offense he could have given Rufus.

The look Elena gives Reeve is one of pure bafflement, as if she doesn't understand why such words would upset her boss. "Well, of course ShinRa couldn't survive without the Boss. There was too much in-fighting, and he never had a chance to really solve that problem after the late President was killed."

As she continues to speak, Elena moves to one side of the room to open a chest, eventually returning with a blanket and a towel for Reeve, handing him the latter and using the former to cover him up.

"You have got to have said something else to make him dump water on you."

Nothing else comes to mind really. Except...

"I made it clear that the way I was going to structure the organization I am establishing, it would continue to run if I died. That I'm not so important, or aim to be so important, that the world falls apart without me."

Which things sort of did without Rufus. No one might like admitting it, but things got a lot harder after the Shinra company was out of the picture. Maybe they had been the enemy, but they had been a unifying factor. Even AVALANCHE hadn't lasted much as an organization after he and Sephiroth were out of the picture. But Reeve put even money on them banding back together if Rufus's survival became known, or perhaps if his reach started to expand and caught their notice. Though, truth told, he knew that Cid was already snooping into why Reeve was able to get funding for some of his projects. At least Barret and Cloud weren't looking into that same point.

"Maybe that's what you said, then." Tucking the blanket around Reeve, Elena gives him a serious look. "Here you are, coming to us after getting the tar beaten out of you and helping you, and you basically just throw it back like it's no real concern if you live or die. Of course he's going to be a bit mad at you.

"I mean, do you really think he doesn't have any emotion at all?"

Yes, Reeve doubted that was the reason he got doused. "I haven't gotten it all set up yet, so my life is important. So I am grateful for your help. Nor do I wish to die. I am just pointing out that there is a point past which that I do become disposable. If he was upset by that then I can only imagine that is because he intends to retain me for longer than my minimum necessity time for my plans so I can serve his before he sends one of you to arrange a convenient accident for me."

"Heyyy," This time, she actually sounds offended. "The boss isn't like that. Not anymore. He's changed a lot since we lost him after the explosion, you know?" And then, that offended tone turns to a face of oh crap, I said too much again, as she waves her hands a little. "Anyway, ignore that and just go to sleep for now! You'll heal faster that way!

"I'll be outside watching for the boys!" With this, Elena beats a hasty Turk exit, leaving Reeve to his towel and his nice, tucked in blanket, as well as the silence of the place.

Yes, Rufus was different now. Different enough to not off Reeve? Perhaps. Didn't stop him from thinking it was a possibility, because he highly doubted there was some other reason Rufus would be offended by Reeve's opinions. Especially since Rufus was only using him. Reeve knew he was a means to an end. They were using one another. Rufus only wanted to keep him around until he wasn't useful. Reeve intended to be around long beyond that point.

It wasn't like Reeve wanted to die. He had a lot to live for. He just knew that if he didn't survive then the world would keep moving without him. Was it wrong to want his ideals to outlast him?

With a sigh he popped the cap off the potion and downed it quickly. Once he had set the empty bottle aside he carefully dried his face and what he could of his hair without agitating his wounds before closing his eyes. Perhaps a bit of sleep would be nice.

Even while he rests, Reeve will probably hear the movement of the Turks, including at least one scolding after a burst of Reno's laughter, probably over Rufus dumping the water on Reeve knowing Reno, but is mostly left alone to rest.

Whenever he does wake again, he'll find Rufus sitting nearby again, reading quietly.

Sleep is a weird thing. It lead to dreams which were highly strange phenomenom. Strange like dreaming that he was fighting a massive Kalm Fang, one big enough to eat his whole car. It was such a terrifying image that, as the mako-distorted creature leaned down to eat him, Reeve shouted in fear and woke.

The sudden sitting up, of course, was desperately painful. Reeve winced as his hand moved right to where he might or might not have a cracked rib and panted to catch his breath. Too bad every breath hurt.

It wasn't easy to calm himself again, but when he did he finally acknowledged the presence in the room. And, god help him, he couldn't help but say the first biting comment that came to mind.

"So you know, spilled water is horrible for leather couches such as this."

Biting in intent, but he didn't have the energy to put any teeth behind it. He knew he should be nicer to the man who had saved his life, saved a good number of lives at this point to be honest. But the coat would be presented at some point and Reeve wasn't ready for that bill.

Rufus somehow doesn't jump at the sudden yell, perhaps because he'd already heard the discontent sounds of a nightmare in Reeve's sleep, and so he's quick to wave away whoever opens the door to check what just happened.

Even quicker is the response he gives, laying the book on his lap. "I'll get another. Besides, fairly sure blood is worse for leather."

Oh. Right. Reeve has the presence of mind to blush faintly at that. Whoops. His fault. Not that he had meant to get hurt. This whole thing was a giant mess really.

"Sorry about that. I will try to avoid it in the future. Perhaps I should learn how to fire a gun."

See, he did think about protecting himself, Rufus. It was just that normally he didn't have to. And normally he used magic.

"It's fine." He doesn't seem anxious to move, but does reach down and hand Reeve an unopened bottle of waste that was sitting by the chair, before straightening back up, obviously not going to mention what caused the water in the first place; let Reeve bring that up when he is ready.

The joke would be on Rufus then. Reeve had no intention of asking. Not about water anyway. Instead his attention went to the book Rufus had.

"Good read?"

There was a good question just what sorts of things did the former boy-king read? Political treatises? Histories? Probably nothing as scandalous as a romance novel.

Truth be known, he'd read one or two romance novels in his time, having found them stashed in Elena's bags, which the blond had left open on accident. He and the others had truly enjoyed that, especially when Reno decided simulating the romance scenes would be a funny idea. Not because of that, mind you, but more for the fact the only person who didn't aim a gun at him when he tried was Rude.

Yet that wasn't his normal reading material, which had mostly consisted of ShinRa reports until recently, when he'd found an interest in a historical texts, medicine and the occasional detective novel of all things. Presently, he flashes the book's cover to Reeve, revealing that he's busy with a history of Wutai.

"It's suitable."

Too bad Reeve didn't know about the detective novels. They were his guilty pleasure, enjoyed only when there was nothing else to do. Which, of course, meant he hadn't read once since the former president had died.

"Suitable," Reeve repeats, mostly because the word choice amuses him. "Suitable for what? Throwing at me when I next insult your family?"

He didn't buy Elena's point at all. He did, though, move to pull back the blanket. There was little that drove him more crazy that sitting around and not doing anything. He had to be moving. Be doing something. And not, he decides, going for the water.

"Suitable to keep my mind busy." The obvious attempt to rile him up fails, and Rufus grabs a bookmark from a coat pocket, sliding it into the book and setting the book to the floor as he watches Reeve obviously intend to start moving. "However, I will be delighted to throw it at you if you do not take proper rest; because whatever you believe, I don't really care about your remark in regards to ShinRa earlier.

"I do however care about the fact you seem to be pushing yourself far too hard.

Yeah, Reeve doubted that very strongly. Rufus didn't really know what Reeve was like when he was pushing himself too hard, but that was mostly because Rufus had never known Reeve when he was doing anything but working too hard. He lived on poor sleep and bad coffee and the need to get just one more thing done. There was no 'seem' to be pushing himself too hard. Reeve was, had been for years, and was sooner or later going to break down from it.

The hope was that he'd manage to get the important things done before then.

"Yes, must have the tools you have selected for use in prime condition," Reeve observed.

No, he didn't know Reeve so well, had no reason to have known him in the past, but he knew very well what pushing oneself too hard looked like. He'd been doing it quite a lot since ShinRa's destruction, more since he had all but been attacked by the stigma. So he had some small idea, at the least.

And again, he keeps from responding angrily to ththe bait, watching Reeve with amused eyes, as if asking if he's spoken his piece, but decides to confirm if he's done. "What else? You have much to get out of your system, right? Go ahead."

"Why help me?" Reeve asks. There, getting it out of his system. He wants to get up and pace, it's something he does a lot, but he can't. "I can't see how it immediately serves you, though I suppose I could understand how it might serve you in the future. But it seems like you and the men that attacked me are on the wrong sides of this issue. They would likely benefit from improved stability from an organization as the one I would establish. Of course they don't understand the goal would be independence, politically and economically, for every nation and city that seeks it. Then there is you..."

The man that clearly wanted his company back in some form. Reeve raised his eyes to Rufus's and he watched quietly for a moment. More than once the man had demonstrated he wouldn't interrupt a thought in process, so Reeve had the time to prepare it now that he had it lingering. "You want Shinra back. I don't know how extensively or to what end other than it's own end. I'm still trying to puzzle out why you would go about that by effectively supporting what would be a rival. What is your goal, Rufus, and why not use a man that was easier to guide to your will rather than one like me?"

The younger man puzzled Reeve, as much now as he had on the day he had returned to the tower and ultimately to power.

As Reeve speaks, Rufus closes his eyes and listens, almost looking as if he were bored by the whole thing, though this is far from the truth. His mind is taking in everything Reeve says clearly, trying to figure out how to explain, how much to say.

Which means that when Reeve is done, Rufus' eyes remain closed and the man remains quiet for a time, before very carefully choosing his words. "As I have said before, my intentions are not to use you, and are very much like your own. I wish to help, not hinder, so of course you can't see a discernible advantage for me.

"However, if you need one to suit whatever trepidation you are feeling, then perhaps the advantage for me is two-fold. To begin, and I'll return to this later, if ShinRa is to rise again, it needs to shed at least some of its reputation as only being trouble; something it has become said to be even if some small good came from it. Two, I have the stigma Reeve..."

He opens his eyes now, holding up his right hand, which has again been covered so as not reveal the offending blackness, and once more his eyes seem distant like he is not fully there.

"I don't know if there is a cure, Reeve, but I hope there is one. There was at least a man who thought there was, but someone killed him. Perhaps if there's enough minds together, a cure can be found, but... Will it be enough in the long run? Will I live through it? Or will I die?"

His eyes focus again, a small sadness in them, his smile faint.

"What I want for ShinRa is for it to exist, to be something that says I existed, somewhere the Turks can return to even if I'm not here. Somewhere, if I survive, that I can call home."

Well... that he supposed he could understand. Making a home for them to return to. Interesting. He supposed he could respect that. But he didn't think he understood this man any better.

"Okay," Reeve said softly, moving to stand. It hurts, but he doesn't care. Because he needs to go. "Why the water?"

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Please, tell me why I can play Elena

Because talent?

I don't want that talen! And lol, Reeve didn't catch the real meaning

Of course not. This is the man who had the brilliant idea to dress his military in white.

ahaha... Rufus... White... Uh....

Insert Freudian slip joke above.

Rufus is all about sex, or is his mother? /shot

There'a a complex for that. And by that I mean mothers and sex

Yup. Time to pull out my Shakespeare?

indeed

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