plate_builder | [Open Post]

"Not really." He chuckles. "Just give me lots of kisses and I'll be content... for a while."

“Like a cat and food. I’m sure lots of kisses will last you, what, three or four hours?”

Teasing, teasing. He leans back in the water and closes his eyes, looking to relax in the water. He WAS a bit sore from everything.

"If they're good kisses, maybe longer." He settles as well, letting Reeve enjoy the warmth of the bath and the lavender he added before. "I have to admit it feels good to have energy again. I got so used to being tired, you know?"

Lavender, such a lovely scent. Clean and soothing and enough to wash the stress from his body.

"I cannot fathom it. Granted I exist in a perpetual state of fatigue just because of my life choices. Being forced into such a state is unimaginable. And to think Cloud kept going with everything he did in spite of it..."

Then again, it was easier to believe when Reeve got to watch that from Rufus.

Rufus chuckles a little at Reeve mentioning Cloud, shrugging whether it can be seen fully or not. "Cloud is stubborn, but I'm sure even he had his bad days. There's no real way to skirt around them with Stigma. They just come."

By the fact he switches tenses, it's obvious there's still a little bit of work to do before he fully accepts that the illness eating away at him is indeed gone, but even Reeve would probably understand that.

"As for you, I think you work on 'I'm so tired, I'm awake' more often than you should."

"They won't come anymore," Reeve counters for Rufus. He'll start correcting if no one else will.

But he closes his eyes and lets his foot slip forward to nudge Rufus's leg.

"I have too much to do."

"Mm... I suppose it will take time for me adjust." He laughs, and then smirks at that foot, reaching down to use a hand and stroke Reeve's leg, almost purring as he does. "I'll accept that answer, but only if I'm on the To Do list."

"Frequently. Provided you are still conveniently placed. I have no clue if you'll stay where you were."

And he wants to be close to Rufus. And now Rufus coudl travel to see him he supposes.

Rufus shrugs a little, though the gesture doesn't seem to be meant to dismiss so much as say he doesn't quite know yet what the future holds. Usually he is many steps ahead of everyone, even himself, but right now the desire to be so is just not there. The desire for a lot isn't there.

"I have yet to plan so far ahead. Every move I've made for the longest time has been made around the ever-present likelihood of death, one way or the other. I'm also still not precisely a figure people would wish to see."

The many steps Rufus always had didn’t previously account for him living a full human span of years, so it will take some time to get him there. Reeve respects that. He sees it even without being told.

“You can still be a world influence out of sight. But now maybe you can find something a bit more comfortable.”

"Perhaps." If Reeve expressed his thoughts, Rufus would certainly agree with them. Between the events after his father's death, the Weapons and Meteor, followed by Stigma; he hadn't thought a great deal of old age. Now he would have to. But not before being entirely himself, smirking as he speaks again. "I could always move in with you and cause a scandal..."

Oh what a novel idea. Reeve found himself laughing heartily over the very idea.

“My apartment doesn’t have room for you, dear. Especially not you nd your companions.”

"Theeen... move in with me?" He grins at Reeve. "Really confuse everyone."

And still he laughs, only because he knows that Rufus can't be serious, right? Right.

"That would be more effective than a spell."

He isn't, not entirely. Reeve and Rufus may be an item, and maybe the world would disregard their relationship in time if they revealed it, but both had lives that would not be suited to living together at this time.

It doesn't mean the suggestion is any less fun, however.

"Spell?"

"Confusion spells. How much do you actually play with materia?"

He really doesn't know what to do if Rufus doesn't know it.

"Rarely." He shrugs, honestly depending on not fighting whenever possible. "But I wouldn't use materia for confusion if possible; I can usually do it myself."

"You really are maddening," Reeve agrees with a chuckle, moving forward to caress his cheek.

"I think that was part of the reason this whole thing between us started, isn't it?" He laughs a bit, but shifts his head to enjoy the carress more fully. "We made each other mad a lot those first few meetings, didn't we?"

Well, that's a good point. He smiles and his hand goes up and ruffles his hair.

"We did. I wanted to punch you."

Ruffling wet hair is not a good thing, and Rufus grabs for Reeve's hand to stop him as soon as he can, infinitely amused at the response.

"I'm sure you would have it I hadn't been an invalid."

Oh come now, the wet hair can be rewetted and dealt with.

"No, I would not have. Tseng might have done me great harm if I tried."

"He wouldn't have." Rufus moves in closer to Reeve, giving him a small kiss and chuckling. "I had expected anger and warned them not to interfere if it was just a single swing. I mean, I was trying to prove I was different, after all."

Reeve only has Rufus's word for that. And as much as he loved the man, he couldn't comment on the past.

"I'm not a brawler, Rufus. I'm a mage. If I wanted more than a single swing, I wouldn't have taken one, I should have burned you."

By now, Reeve should have realized that Rufus had probably given the Turks quite a few orders at their first meetings which had annoyed, disturbed and caused them all to worry. After all, Reeve may have been part of Shinra, even one of the higher ranked ones, but the world was very good at proving it didn't matter and anything could happen.

Yet Rufus himself had been fairly sure that the dark-haired man he was chuckling at right now would hear him out, and would not lay a hand on him; if only for the Stigma. It just had never seemed to be Reeve to kick a man when he was down.

"You wouldn't have done that, either. As much as you hate it, I knew I was basically safe from you doing anything that would leave me permanently injured. Or really, much at all, once you realized I was mostly confined to a wheelchair and suffering from a deadly disease."

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