The Rise

Tins was back in town after about three months. And while Reno didn't really need the money yet, and while he was more than happy to hang out around Hedge's porn shop all day, he was back at work. The situation was, you never knew what was going to happen on Midgar's streets, so the fatter the stash you had put away the better. So Reno found himself back at the weapons shop, sorting scrap in the back room.

"Yo, Tins," he called out, voice irritated, "don't you have any real jobs for me?"

"Sorry, Kid. Slow work day." The old man ambled into the back room, his short, stout body more nimble than it should have been. "Sides, I might not be in this game for too much longer."

Reno raised an eyebrow at that.

The man sat down on a work bench, leaning towards Reno and lowering his voice. "Running this thing, it's too much work. I've got my nest egg. Might as well head out to Dollet and retire."

"What am I supposed to do?" Reno asked.

"Who the fuck gives a shit about you, kid?" the old man asked, paternal mood over. He stood up and began to leave the room.

"Yeah, no shit." Reno stopped sorting for a moment, tossing over in his head whether or not he should ask. . . "Hey, Tins, you know anything about Rufus Shinra?"

Tins shrugged. "Not any more than any one else. Heard some guy from Sector 3 accidentally spilled soup on his suit while working construction on Shinra Tower. Heard Rufus had him gutted. That's just a story though."

Reno couldn't decide if he believed it or not.

"Heard he's gonna get a job with Shinra, soon, probably something high up."

"He's not working for them now?"

Tins shrugged. "Not officially. Not until he's legal, anyway."

Reno froze. "Legal? How old is he?"

"I don't know. Maybe 17?"

"The fuck. . ." so the sadistic pervert was just some spoiled brat? Reno didn't know why it mattered, but the thought that Rufus was actually two years younger than him made him sick. He couldn't believe the guy was just a kid. . .

"Why the interest in Shinra's kid?" Tins asked, eyes narrowed.

Reno shrugged. "Saw him around the slums and got to wondering what he was doing here."

"Yeah, well, see him again and run the other direction. Rufus isn't as nice as his old man, and his old man's one mean fucker."

Reno nodded, but figured, it's not like he had any choice in the matter.

* * *

"I've figured it out," Dill said, setting some plates in front of Reno and Hedge. His two friends shared doomed looks before looking down at the green sludge in front of them.

"What exactly," Reno asked, poking the sludge with his fork, "have you figured out?"

"My gimmick. Health food. No one expects it to taste good. . . and above platers will pay a fortune for it if they think it's good for them."

"That's cool and all," Hedge said, "but that doesn't mean we have to eat it, does it?"

Dill's eyes suddenly went very, very hard, his voice deep and foreboding. "Eat."

Reno scooped up a spoonful of oozing, stringy stuff, and held his nose as he stuffed it in his mouth.

"Hey," he said, expression brightening as his fear dissolved, "it doesn't taste like anything at all! I think this is the best thing you've ever made, yo."

"Yeah," Hedge agreed, "it's totally edible."

Dill beamed with pride, already thinking of names for his restaurant.

"I think this calls for a celebration," Hedge said, "maybe after work we could-"

"Sorry, guys," Reno interrupted, before Hedge could suggest another trip to Bumblebee or some place equally nefarious, "I have an evening job to do."

"Too bad, man, you're going to miss a fun night."

"Does fun involve running from Don Corneo's men again?" Reno asked. "Cause if it does, fuck that."

"Screw you, that chick was worth it."

"If you're charging by the pound, maybe." Reno ducked the half-hearted punch that Hedge sent his way as Dill broke out laughing. "Looks like that's my cue to leave."

Reno hopped off his stool and left the pizza place, throwing a short wave goodbye over his shoulder.

Reno's late job wasn't anything too exciting, but it did involve a lot of manual labor. Some client was getting shipments of. . . something. . . sent in, and Reno was security detail and unloader all in one. There were trucks full of the crates, and Reno worked side by side with the client's regular guys to get them unloaded.

It was close to ten by the time that Reno finished, the last truck driving away. His body ached from all the large crates he had had to unload. Reno headed back to his bike, wondering if she was going to start tonight or if he was going to walk her home. When he got there he tensed, aware of a car driving up, and not one of those shipping trucks. The event was suspicious for the mere fact that no one drove cars in the slums, and Reno had about one guess who it could be. The car, black, sleek, and new, stopped in front of him, the door on each side opening and two large men stepping out.

"Reno. If you'll come with us, please."

"Fuck you," Reno replied, pretty sure these guys weren't going to kill him. "I'm tired."

"I'm afraid you don't have any choice in the matter." They weren't blue suits, and they weren't SOLDIERs, as far as Reno could tell, but they were definitely Shinra. Security, maybe, who knows, but only Shinra moved through Midgar with that type of confidence.

"I'm fucking going home," Reno said, swinging a leg to get onto his bike. In a petulant mood, he figured that if Rufus wanted him Rufus could come get him himself.

One of the guys moved to grab him, but Reno ducked down with lightning fast reflexes, sliding off his bike and aiming a punch at the guy's stomach. He came up to the guys side and got into stance to aim a kick at his head, but he had underestimated his partner's speed, and he felt his mouth fill up with blood as his face reeled to the side from a punch. He wound up scrambled on the floor, fingers moving to where the guy's ring had cut open his lip, and then two men used the opportunity to drag him up and slam him into the backseat.

"Fuck." His head hit the window on the other side, and Reno rubbed at it, sure that it would swell up given an hour or so.

The men got into the front seats, silent, and started off. Reno slumped back in his seat, figuring there was nothing for him to do now. He just hoped his bike would still be there when he got back, and not taken apart for scraps or something like that.

They drove in silence the rest of the way, towards the center of the city. Reno knew what was there, the whole city did, but few people were able to gain access to the place. The Shinra elevators. It's what the company used when they needed to move things up or down plate, metal, helicopters, people. Most imports and exports were shipped via the above plate airport, but Reno figured Shinra would need a more covert way of moving certain things.

There were no less than five ID checkpoints before they were on one of the elevators, huge, steel things that could fit several cars at least. The trip up was slow, but not as slow as the normal elevators, and came up directly into Shinra Corp. headquarters.

The henchmen pulled him harshly out of the car, and, one more elevator ride later, he was pushed into a room on what he gathered was the thirtieth floor of Shinra Towers. The door clicked closed behind him, and a young women looked up at him from behind a desk, confusion clear behind that pleasant smile, though it didn't last long.

"Mr. Shinra will be with you shortly."

The room wasn't what he expected. . . small and windowless, it didn't exactly resonate with what he had come to know about Rufus. It did have a modern grey scheme and sleek furniture, and he made himself as comfortable as he could in one of the small chairs. Soon the secretary was in front of him, holding out a wet handkerchief.

"For your lip."

"Umm. . . thanks," Reno replied, head a little muddled. Rufus had seen fit to have him violently abducted from the slums, only to make him wait in this surreal little room? He moved the handkerchief to his lip, flinching when he realized it was wet with rubbing alcohol. Bracing himself, he pressed it against his lip again.

He must have been waiting in that little room for half and hour, but then something on the woman's desk was buzzing.

"Mr. Shinra will see you now," the secretary said, getting up herself. She bent down and grabbed a jacket from underneath her desk, and Reno figured it was probably well past the end of her work day. "Please don't keep Mr. Shinra up for too long. For some one who doesn't technically work here yet, he pulls too many late nights."

Reno sniffed at that, figuring she thought he was another business associate or something. "Yeah, I'll try to keep it short."

He paused before the door, but then he was pushing it in, and the room behind it was much more what he had in mind when he thought Rufus Shinra. It was cavernous. High ceilings, floor-to-ceiling glass, black leather and steel. There was a miniature jungle built along a rounded wall of the wall, brightly lit. A huge black panther laid on the edge of the unenclosed space, and Reno thought it was some kind of statue until it stretched, razor sharp claws extending as it watched Reno move deeper into the room.

Rufus was sitting on a large leather chair behind a sleek black metal desk, clean despite all the things that were on it. His face was saturated in a soft, green light cast from his computer screen, but then he was shutting it off, watching as Reno stopped in front of his desk.

"Come here," he said, moving back so that Reno would have space to stand in front of him.

Reno walked forward and around, coming to a stop in front of Rufus and leaning against the desk. "Most people just call, yo."

Rufus reached a hand up to trace the contours of Reno's cheek, fingers deceptively soft. His fingertips meandered lower and pressed against the edge of his bottom lip, almost hard enough to reopen the cut. "You should really stop getting yourself hurt like this."

Reno bit the inside of his cheek to stop from saying something back to that comment.

Rufus dropped his hand then, leaning back into his chair and spreading his legs. "I was in need of a diversion from work."

Reno looked down before getting to his knees on the cold granite floor. He had barely gotten into position when Rufus' hand was tangled in the hair at the back of his head, pulling him forward into his crotch.

"No hands," Rufus said.

Reno squirmed a little, but kept his hands on the edges of Rufus' thighs. It wasn't a difficult trick for him to get the button and zipper of Rufus' pants undone with just his teeth and tongue, and he was rewarded with the outline of Rufus' half-hard erection against his boxer briefs. Reno leaned forward, wrapping his mouth around the side of it through the thin fabric, sucking as best he could. He smiled as Rufus' breathing slow, became heavier, and nuzzled his cheek against the now very impressive erection.

He used his tongue to coax Rufus' cock through the slit in the fabric, then licked and sucked his way from the base upwards. When he got to the tip he had barely gotten his mouth around the cockhead, tongue just able to lap up the pre-cum there, when Rufus' hand was slamming his mouth down onto the whole thing.

"You're being so obedient today." There was maybe a tinge of disappointment in Rufus' voice, Reno wasn't sure, and he wondered if the sick fuck actually got off on a a little resistance. Reno's nose was pressed up against fine blond pubic hairs, and he remembered how Rufus liked being deep-throated. The hand kept him pressed there until he started gagging, unable to take the deep penetration for much longer, before giving him some slack.

He pulled himself up further on Rufus' cock before bobbing back down, building a rhythm as he fucked his mouth on it. But Rufus' cock really was perfect for sucking off, Reno thought, long and slender, with just the right curve to it. It tasted good too, clean and smooth, and he could feel his own cock getting harder as he sucked on it.

Soon Reno could taste hot semen filling up his mouth. His head was harshly yanked backwards, and he could feel the last few jets of cum splatter on his face. After Rufus was done coming Reno leaned forward again, taking the quickly softening cock into his mouth to suck out any last drops of cum.

The tension on the back of his head eased as Rufus withdrew his hand, moving it instead to adjust himself inside his boxer briefs and zip up his pants. Then his hands were around Reno's head, brushing red hair out of his way, Reno blinking up at him through the cum and saliva on his face.

"You really do look beautiful like this," Rufus said, his lips a soft smirk.

There was a gentle cough from the periphery of the room, and Reno's eyes widened and cheeks flushed when he looked towards the door to see two men standing there. He scrambled to look in the direction opposite from them, grabbing tissues from Rufus' desk to clean up the mess on his face.

"Gentlemen," Rufus said, in way of greeting. "Tseng, will you please take Reno to my room to get cleaned up? And, Heidigger, I believe you have a report to give me."

"Of course, sir."

Reno was still frozen in embarrassment, only half aware of footsteps coming across the room and a gentle but firm hand around his arm. It wasn't until they were in some small, private elevator that he was clear-headed enough to assess the situation.

The man Rufus had called Tseng was a blue suit. Tall, with medium-length black hair that was pulled back in a tight ponytail. There was an exotic slant to his eyes, and Reno guessed he was from Wutai, an interesting fact given Wutai's relationship with Shinra. Muscular, but in a slim way, in a way that reminded Reno of the panther in Rufus' office. Just waiting for the chance to pounce.

"Clean yourself off better," Tseng said, voice deep and slow. "It's an embarrassment."

Reno flushed in anger and embarrassment. "Fuck you. Who are you to talk anyway, some lapdog to Shinra Corp? Folks back in Wutai proud of you?"

"You're one to talk about pride. I'm not the one with Rufus Shinra's cum all over my face."

Reno struck out before he even realized it, turning around to send his fist towards the expressionless man. Tseng was quick, moving out of the way, but Reno smirked to see his ring spread a thin line of red along Tseng's cheek. The smirk was quickly wiped off his face, however, when Tseng grabbed his wrist and twisted it painfully around, using the leverage to thrust him head first into the wall.

"Pretty sure," Reno said, vision blurring dangerously, "Rufus would be pissed if you killed me."

"Yes. But I don't think he'll mind if I rough you up a little."

The elevator chimed as the doors opened, and Rufus felt himself being thrown out of it and into what looked like a penthouse suite. He quickly turned around, putting himself in a defensive position, but Tseng only stood in the elevator. He was leaning against the door to prevent it from closing, calm again, eyes gently assessing Reno.

"Mr. Reno," Tseng said, "what exactly is it that you do down in Sector 9?"

Reno relaxed a little, happy to have their little argument dropped. "Temp work."

"Temp. Work."

"Yeah, you know. Other people have little jobs they need done. I go do them."

Tseng nodded and stepped back into the elevator, not saying another word as the doors closed.

After he left Reno took the opportunity to look around. He had never seen a place like this before, large and lavishly decorated. The elevator opened up to a black marble foyer, which in turned opened up to a huge living space. There were floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies, looking over a Midgar that Reno had never seen before. He put his hands on the glass, amazed. Skyscrapers, glowing and vibrant, laid out below him, a starry night sky above.

He looked back around. The space was one huge, undivided area. A living room slash office area made up the left side, with a desk and some couches and bookshelves, all matching perfectly. The bedroom made up the right side, a few steps leading up to the biggest bed Reno had ever seen, covered with black satin sheets. He could see a marble bathroom through a doorway there, and debated really getting cleaned up, but that thought disappeared as soon as he sat down on the bed.

He had never felt such a thing. He laid down, and it was as if the bed was trying to swallow him whole. Well, he though, kicking off his shoes and pulling off his clothes, it wouldn't hurt to take a nap until Rufus finished.

The chime of the elevator was what woke Reno, always a light sleeper, up. He looked at the clock on the nightstand, red numbers glowing just past two am. Propping himself up on his forearms, he watched as Rufus made his way inside the room.

The blond made his way to the living area first, pouring himself a glass of liquor, before heading to the bedroom. His glass was placed down on the table at the foot of the bed, and he carefully removed his jacket and placed it on a chair. It was followed by his tie, then shirt, then pants, and finally, his boxers.

Reno had never actually seen Rufus completely nude before, so he took the time to enjoy it as Rufus crawled over to him on the bed. The man's skin was flawless, smooth over subtly defined muscles. Reno spread his legs open further to accommodate the other man as he settled above him. His hands moved up to touch the arms on either side of him.

"Nice digs," he said, mostly as a way of relieving the tension and silence he felt had fallen over them. Rufus was just staring at him, blue eyes clear even in the dark, but completely unreadable.

"Are they? I don't stay here enough to know."

A question on his lips, but then Rufus was bending down to capture them, and Reno let his tension melt into the kiss. His hands moved upwards to smooth over the lines of Rufus' back. One of Rufus' hands moved to the cleft of his ass, rubbing circles around the opening there. The kiss deepened, and then it was gone.

"I've wanted to fuck you all night," Rufus whispered harshly, and Reno's breath caught as two fingers pushed themselves into him. "All I could think about was how hot and tight you would feel around me."

The fingers were quickly replaced with something bigger, and Reno wrapped his legs around Rufus' waist as his cock sunk deeper inside of him. Rufus started to fuck him then, too hard, too violent, but, Reno was learning, exactly how he liked it.