Aftermath

Author’s Note: No warnings on this one. The story has finally arrived at the end. A special re-thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review and comment. Hopefully everyone had as much fun as I did. ^^

Thank you to...
- Youkofox, for your beta stuff and for being there when I needed you. Don't lose touch, ok? *hugs*
- kamizuki, for your many reviews and blatant honesty. ^^
- KansouAme, for your review. That was one of the most wonderful reviews I've ever received. It made me terribly happy. *hugs*
- Squallfan, for your many reviews and support. The epilogue is here. It's tough to believe it's finally over. *hugs*
- SpookyMuffin, for your review. Your kind words are much appreciated.
- Iggy Lovechild, for your review and well, everything. Our muses are a lot alike, and I wouldn't have it any other way. *hugs*

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Epilogue - Ending

Cold blue eyes narrowed thoughtfully at the glass of melting ice on his desk. A bottle of expensive whiskey sat off to the right, unopened and untouched. Rufus licked his lips, anticipating what the aged amber liquid might feel like against his tongue. It had been so long since he’d allowed himself to indulge in a little drink. His mouth watered at the thought of it; yet he resisted the temptation. He was playing another game, this time a self-imposed willpower check.

The thought had occurred to him that he really didn’t need to be playing games with himself this evening. Over the last few weeks, the pieces of his latest puzzle had all connected to form exactly the picture he’d been trying to put together. Destroying Seneco was his first major accomplishment since he’d been cured of that damned Geostigma. Excitement stirred deep within his very core; Rufus felt like he was finally back in control of his own destiny.

He glanced at the clock as he considered retiring to his private living quarters for some music therapy and relaxation, but he couldn’t bring himself to move from his chair just yet. There was unfinished business he had to see to completion. Tseng had been promising him the final reports on the Seneco situation and had failed to deliver them thus far.

Unable to wait any longer, Rufus hit a button on his phone, speed dialing Tseng’s extension. The Turk picked up almost immediately.

“Yes, sir?”

“Are those reports ready yet?”

“I was just about to bring them to you,” Tseng said.

“No,” Rufus said with deliberate annoyance in his voice. Tseng was silent and didn’t try to interrupt him, causing Rufus’ eyes to sparkle with satisfaction. “Send Reno.”

“I am afraid that Reno is…” Tseng said, hesitating. “not quite up to speed yet.”

“Send him anyway,” Rufus said more forcefully.

“Very well, sir,” Tseng said with reluctance.

Rufus hung up without bothering to say much else. Tseng knew better than to deny him what he wanted.

Reno had been up and around today, having survived his near-death experience with as much grace as could be expected. Rufus had seen the red-head dressed in his company issued suit, strolling past some of his favorite security cameras. Rufus had every intention that he would see Reno in person today, regardless of whatever excuses Tseng tried to make up for him.

Tseng could be a little overprotective of the other Turks at times and ultimately, Rufus didn’t mind. The dark-haired Turk was protective of him, too. It was almost like having an older brother, but yet, sometimes entirely different. Rufus shook his head, trying to dismiss the thought. Tseng had been working for his family for so long; it was nice to have something familiar in a world that was constantly changing. Not that he’d ever say anything about the way he felt; some things were best left unsaid.

Rufus opened the lid on his laptop and lightly touched the enter key to wake up his screen. He opened his security programs and began switching around to check each camera on the system. Watching what people were doing in his building and observing all of the locations his cameras watched were two of his favorite things to do. The ones in Costa del Sol often provided a nice escape for him because of the fantastic view of the shoreline. How he wished he had a good reason to go there again. There was a time when he’d believed that he’d never see the beautiful beaches in person again, but of course all that had changed now that he was no longer dying.

He switched to the camera located in the Turk’s break room. Reno was there alone and talking on his cell phone. Rufus leaned in, trying to see his lips more clearly. There was never any sound and he’d learned to read lips fairly well. It was worth the effort he’d spent to be able to eavesdrop on the conversations people were having.

He studied Reno’s face intently, frowning when the Turk turned his back to the camera for a moment before turning back around. Rufus’ pupils dilated as he watched the Turk’s mouth moving, just waiting for something to make sense to him.

Cloud. Reno was talking about him again. As a matter of fact, Rufus was pretty sure that Reno never actually stopped talking about the blond for very long.

Rufus sat back in his chair and tilted his head to the side. His eyes unfocused as his interest in the conversation waned slightly. It wasn’t that he had no interest in what was going on between his Turk and the blond hero; in fact it was quite the contrary. It was just frustrating to watch because of the limitations of his closed-circuit system. Rufus wanted to be able to hear the entire conversation. He made a mental note to ask very directly about what was going on when Reno finally made it up to his office, in a manner that made it seem like he already knew, of course.

When he finally looked back at the screen, Reno was no longer there. He closed the security program, realizing that he was starting to obsess a little too excessively lately about what his Turks were doing in their personal time. A bit of loneliness started to creep in and invade Rufus’ head space, but he sighed it away with stubborn annoyance; there wasn’t any reason for him to feel that way. He could have anyone or anything he wanted, and yet…

His phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. Rufus was glad for something else to do. He silently thanked Tseng as he picked up the receiver.

“Yes?”

“Is now a good time for Reno to disturb you?” Tseng said, asking respectfully.

“Of course,” Rufus said. “Send him up.”

Reno knocked on his door moments after Rufus hung up his phone. Tseng had been making a courtesy call, because he probably already knew that Rufus rarely ever refused a briefing from Reno, no matter how inconvenient the timing was.

“It’s open,” he said, absorbing himself in staring at the applications bar on his computer. He checked all the windows, making sure that the security program was indeed closed. He really didn’t want Reno to even suspect that he had been watching him.

“Boss,” Reno said, as he opened the door, a smile on his face. “I’m flattered you asked for me, yo.”

Rufus smirked back at the red-head, making sure that his expression remained even and difficult to read, “You know I prefer your frank reports over Tseng’s long-winded ones.”

Reno carried a large file folder under his arm and Rufus found his eyes drawn to the Turk’s posture. His shoulders were drawn inward a bit more than normal and there were shadows under his eyes that indicated he’d not slept well. Rufus gritted his teeth, trying to bottle up the surge of concern for Reno’s well-being that unexpectedly welled up inside him.

“Reno, please, have a seat,” Rufus said, managing not to let his voice waver.

Reno swaggered over to Rufus’ desk and put the file on the corner before plopping down into the chair across from him. He took a deep breath and looked at Rufus expectantly.

“Any details you wanna know?”

Rufus eyed the folder on his desk and then flicked his eyes back to Reno. He tilted his head to the side and leaned forward, pressing his elbows against his desk. Oh, there were details he wanted to know, but not about the Seneco incident. Everything he needed on the official matter was probably right here in front of him in print. His gaze lingered over Reno, just enjoying the sight of him for a moment before he picked up the folder and opened it, gazing at the documents inside. There was also a small data disk attached to the file.

“Is this everything I asked for?”

“Tseng said it was,” Reno said.

“And everything else has been destroyed?”

“As far as I know,” Reno said, sounding rather confident. “Elena confirmed that we took out their live system and backups. There’s nothin’ left of Seneco’s computer network anymore.”

“Very good,” Rufus said, his thoughts churning. It was such a feeling of advantage to have knowledge no one else did. He touched the disk lightly, glad to have it in his possession.

“Did you want me to drop the file in the incinerator when you’re done readin’ it?”

“No need,” Rufus said, not meeting the Turk’s eyes. “I’ll take care of it.”

Rufus scanned the report, increasingly aware that the silence between the two of them was becoming more uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by. Reno seemed restless and fidgety, and kept glancing at the clock on Rufus’ far wall. Something or someone had him on edge and Rufus wasn’t too keen on seeing him so distracted.

Without looking up, Rufus turned another page in the report, holding it up in the air as if trying to decide if he wanted to actually turn to the next page or not, “Something bothering you?”

“Nah,” Reno replied quickly. “I was just thinkin’ about a cigarette.”

“So soon after your miraculous recovery?” Rufus said, asking with faint amusement.

“Well, I just had one, I guess I’m good for awhile,” Reno said, speaking a little faster than he normally did. “And I had something to ask you.”

“Oh?”

“I was wonderin’ if maybe I could have the night off,” Reno said, looking down at his hands as if unsure where to direct his gaze. “You know, so I don’t get bitched at by Tseng if I stay out late.”

Rufus let the page in his hand float downward, his eyes no longer interested in the report at all. As he glanced up, Reno was twirling strands of his red ponytail around his long index finger, clearly a bit worried about what sort of response he was going to invoke from his boss.

“Looking to spend a little time with… Cloud?” Rufus said, his eyes intense and knowing.

“Yeah,” Reno said, not looking very surprised that Rufus had been so forward in asking. “I mean, I owe him—“

“I understand,” Rufus said, interrupting him. Reno silenced, looking at Rufus hopefully. “Is it serious between you two, then?”

“I think so,” Reno said slowly, as if wondering how much Rufus knew. “I guess I just want to make sure.”

Rufus opened his top drawer and pulled out a small pad of paper. Writing very precisely, he noted a few details down and signed his name to the bottom. He ripped off the top sheet and handed it across the desk to Reno.

Reno grabbed the paper eagerly, his hands nearly shaking with anticipation. His hungry aquamarine eyes read over what Rufus had written first and registered shock soon afterwards.

“Three days off?” Reno said, incredulously. “With pay?”

Rufus allowed himself to smile openly for the first time since the Turk had entered his office. He loved seeing that expression on Reno’s face; it was this wonderfully pleasing combination of happiness, surprise, and confusion. For being as unpredictable as the red-head was, Rufus still had no problems invoking the precise response he wanted from him.

“I could just hug you,” Reno said, his words falling out of his mouth at a rapid rate of speed.

“That won’t be necessary,” Rufus said, shaking his head. “Just figure out what you need to and… I expect a full detailed report when you return.”

Reno held his gaze for a moment as Rufus’ request became clear. Rufus didn’t like the idea that Reno was getting close to someone else and yet he didn’t hate the idea that it was Cloud. There was something reassuring about having Cloud emotionally attached to one of his Turks; it meant that the blond would continue to be accessible, which was a good thing. In a way, he wished it wasn’t Reno that Cloud had fixated on, but Rufus couldn’t blame the blond for being interested.

“Sure thing, boss,” Reno said, folding the paper with one hand and putting it into his pants pocket.

A sound rumbled in the distance, drawing ever closer until it was a loud thrumming noise outside Rufus’ window. Without having to look, he recognized the sound of Cloud’s bike; the noise was loud and unmistakable. After a moment the rumbling abruptly silenced as the engine stopped running. Reno laughed nervously and looked at Rufus with a sheepish grin.

“So sure I’d say yes, were you?” Rufus said.

“Rude took him to get his bike earlier today,” Reno said, looking slyly to the side.

“Hm,” Rufus said, trying to look indignant, “You’d better go before I change my mind.”

Rufus refused to avert his eyes, staring long and steadily at Reno as the Turk slowly rose from the chair. Rufus’ lips pressed together as he tried to maintain silence for as long as he could. He could sense Reno’s hesitation; something about that made him feel good, despite the fact that on the surface this was just an employer giving an employee a short paid vacation. Rufus’ mind filled with the entertainment possibilities that Reno might be opening up for him and it took every ounce of self control he had not to show just how pleased with the situation he really was.

“I’ll see you in a few days then,” Reno said.

Rufus nodded silently, maintaining his composure until Reno was out of his office. An ice cube shifted in his glass, making a quiet clinking noise. He stared at it wearily, finally deciding that it would soon be time for him to retire for the evening to his private apartment.

He rose from his seat and smoothed the front his suit jacket, looping the top few buttons closed. Rufus stretched his arms out to his sides for a brief second, allowing his many layers of clothing to settle properly against his body. With a determined deep breath, he picked up the Seneco file and walked to the back of the room.

He stopped in front of a plain looking wall that was only adorned with a small metal plate a bit larger and wider than his hand. Without any conscious thought, he pressed his hand against the panel and the wall shifted to the side, revealing a large metal safe and a numeric keypad on the inside wall. The black painted safe was almost as tall as he was and looked a little menacing in the dark alcove. Rufus briefly found himself wondering if mimics could take on the likeness of a safe as well as a treasure chest.

Rufus punched a few numbers on the keypad and waited for the panel to flash its acceptance of his code. Then his fingers found their way to the combination lock on the front of the safe. With slow precision, he turned the dial to the right and stopped on the first number, then back to the left for the second. Lastly, he looped the knob around and stopped again on the final number.

He turned the handle on the safe and pulled at it with a soft grunt. The door was made of solid lead and quite heavy. Despite the progress he’d been making on his recovery, it was still quite a task to pry the heavy door open. As the door slowly eased in his direction, air that smelled faintly like old paper and dried ink wafted over him.

“Well, long time no see,” Rufus said. “I have something else for you, 211. Make this disappear, won’t you?”

He chuckled out loud, thinking about the codename he’d given his secret vault. The only other person who knew about its existence was Tseng, but Rufus had been very careful not to share the combination with anyone, including the dark-haired Turk.

The origin of the name had been simple enough; back when he’d been vice-president of the company, he’d discovered a secret storage bunker top plate that his father had sought to hide from him. The address of the storage location had borne the numbers 211 and had been a underground cellar built into the sector floor under a tiny building that resembled a shed. The first time Rufus stepped foot inside the small space, he couldn’t believe some of the things his father had been hiding from him.

Once he’d gleaned enough loyalty out of the Turks, he’d begun emptying that storage location, destroying and selling things that seemed unnecessary and reapportioning the rest for his own personal use. The money he’d managed to put together couldn’t have come at a better time; Rufus’ father had tried and failed to cut him off from the company’s money. The old man should have known better than to have tried to isolate his ruthless son, because it only made Rufus more determined to get what he wanted. Rufus had little faith in money anyway, it only made things a little easier. There were much better ways to go about getting things done.

All his efforts had proven worthwhile when Reeve delivered the report to his father during a high profile meeting. The man could barely speak as he stuttered out the fact that the storage cellar had been destroyed and the contents removed. It was probably the most entertaining meeting Rufus had ever been a part of.

It had been so memorable, that he would never let himself forget the stunned and helpless expression his father had been unable to hold back, nor would he forget the very public panic attack that Reeve had demonstrated. This memory constantly reminded him that he should never wear his emotions nor his thoughts in plain view where anyone could pluck them off and use them against him. As much as he hated his father’s failures, each one had taught him a valuable lesson that he wouldn’t be forgetting any time soon.

As a result of that meeting, 211 North Street had ceased to exist in the real world as an address, and became the name for Rufus’ secret storage vault instead. Tseng hadn’t been very amused at the time, stating that perhaps it was a bit immature for him to call his storage vault by that name, but Rufus hadn’t seen the harm in it.

He smiled with amusement as he thought about how brilliant it had been for him to have sent Cloud a package to deliver with Seneco’s name and that address on it. It had been another game, a wild goose chase that ended up planting Cloud in the middle of the dispute they were having with the crime boss, just as Rufus had hoped. His plans couldn’t have possibly gone better. Had Cloud not been involved, Rufus may have lost Reno, which was a thought he could barely process. The Turk was more valuable to Rufus than he let on to anyone.

Rufus had been gambling, betting on the assumption that Cloud wouldn’t be able to resist getting involved in the situation, and it turned out that he had been right on the money. For as different as the two men were at their very core, Rufus knew how to work things that concerned Cloud. The blond couldn’t seem to resist playing the hero and situations like this latest one were easily orchestrated if Rufus made sure that Cloud ended up in the right place at the right time. As long as he never got caught, Rufus figured that he’d be able to continue to manipulate Cloud indefinitely.

He tried to imagine how Cloud had discovered what was inside the package and was positive that he could clearly picture the moody blond’s exact expression upon seeing the contents. Oh, the irony would have been even sweeter if Cloud could have known that it was just a box of simple rolled cigarettes.

Rufus reached inside the vault, leaning over to access the small filing cabinet deep within. As he browsed through the files, his hands brushed against one in particular that read “Sephiroth” and he let his fingertips linger over the lettering for a moment, before filing the Seneco folder alphabetically before it.

He closed the vault door with some effort, pushed the handle down and rolled the combination lock around twice, leaving it centered exactly on the number zero. He punched his code back into the numeric pad and then took a step back, watching as the wall returned to normal and the safe was once again hidden from view.

Thunder sounded outside as Cloud’s bike fired up again, filling Rufus’ office with a steady pulsating vibration. Rufus parted his curtain and looked down at the driveway below, a smirk playing up on his lips. He watched Reno climb onto the back of the bike and hug himself up against the blond. Reno had a small backpack slung over his shoulder; it looked like he truly would be gone for a few days.

Reno glanced up at Rufus’ window, as if he knew that his boss would be watching and their eyes met for a moment. Reno smiled and tilted his head upwards in an acknowledging nod just before Cloud urged the bike forward. Rufus watched the Turk pull his goggles down and then they were out of sight. He listened to the rumble of the bike’s engine as long as he could, until the low hum drifted into silence. Reality settled heavily upon him; Rufus was already starting to miss Reno and he knew that he didn’t want to be alone tonight.

Rufus crossed back over to his desk and pressed Tseng’s speed dial button again for the second time that hour. His eyes fell upon his neglected highball glass; most of the ice had melted completely.

“Yes, sir?”

“Have you any plans this evening?”

“No, sir,” Tseng said without hesitation.

“How about you join me for dinner this evening,” Rufus said, making his command seem more like a suggestion.

“Right now? In your apartment?”

“Indeed,” Rufus said.

Rufus hung up the phone and started to walk out of his office. With a quick second thought, he picked up the bottle of whiskey that had been sitting on his desk, tucking it under his arm.

No more games tonight, Rufus thought with a devious smirk as he navigated the short distance to his penthouse apartment. He was finished testing himself for the day and his mind positively swirled with exciting possibilities that the future would bring. He would taste this whiskey tonight and let the sweet sting remind him that he was truly alive and fully capable of carrying out whatever he put his mind to.

His company had barely managed to continue to exist in the aftermath of several disasters, but somehow it had survived. Things were starting to take a new turn and Rufus could feel the change brewing in the air around him.

When he arrived at his apartment a few minutes later, Rufus raised a single eyebrow at Tseng, who had been waiting patiently for him, standing with perfect posture and professional grace. The Turk bowed respectfully, but didn’t speak. Rufus liked that about the man; Tseng definitely knew when to be quiet.

“I do believe a celebration is in order,” Rufus said, a mildly devious tone creeping into his voice. He handed the bottle of whiskey to Tseng as the Turk followed him into his living room. “Make sure you lock the door.”

Rufus smiled, his lips curling up ruthlessly, not bothering to turn around as he heard the signature click of his front door lock turning into place. A celebration was in order, indeed.

The End.

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A/N: Please review, and be kind. ^_^

(Well, Aftermath has finally arrived at the end. I'm choked up, thinking about the fact that the story has finally stopped pounding within my brain. There is real peace here in my headspace for the first time in like seven months. In a way it feels good, but then again... I'm going to miss working on this project.

Anyway, you may see this story bumped occasionally; it doesn't mean that I'm adding to it -- but I do plan on making edits every so often if I happen to notice something that needs improvement. So don't hate on me if you see this up a the top again in a few months. I just want to make sure the story is as good as it can possibly be. ^^

If you happen to be someone reading this from start to finish, please review and let me know. Just because it's complete and no longer a work-in-progress, doesn't mean that I don't still love to hear what people think. *hugs*

Until my next project... take care everyone. ^_^)