[fic] 16candles_fics: Saving Grace
Series: Luminescence [1/16]
Prompt: 11 - Rainy Day Inferno
Title: Saving Grace
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Characters: Rufus Shinra, Tifa Lockhart
Rating: PG13
Summary: A rainy evening. A phone call. A near accident.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all of its characters belong to Square-Enix.
Notes: FINALLY! The long-awaited chapter 1 of this series ~.~ Trust Ai to give me such a difficult pairing to work at. Anyway, it seems promising, this plot. Although 'seems' doesn't exactly comfort me. So! Uhm, yes. This one... it's actually a worn-down, clichéd plot. Like most other romantic plots.
How is it different? I'm... not sure yet. The entire plot is still in the works, unfortunately. Although I could already see an ending. I am that weird. Yeah. But I guess this pairing in this kind of plot should be a roller-coaster ride already ~.~
Chapter 1: Saving Grace
Rain.
He had always disliked the rain. He didn’t know why. He just did.
A slender hand ran through pale blond hair, blue eyes trained hard and long on the misty road in front of him. Perhaps it was a bad idea, doing the driving himself on this rainy evening. But Rufus Shinra was not the one to be insulted. He was a genius, a prodigy. He knew how to pilot a helicopter; a car wouldn't be much of a difficulty for him. He just had several men who would do the driving or piloting in his stead.
It was the same argument he always had with Tseng, one that the Turk could never win against. Not that the Turk ever won against a verbal joust with the young President. The young man believed in status quo but the younger man believed in efficiency. More brains thinking and more people acting meant more work getting done in less time.
His hand gracefully shifted the gear console, his loafered foot stepping on the accelerator a little harder. Water splashed on the pavement as the white sedan drove through the dark streets of Edge. He merely wanted to go home as soon as possible, lie down and sleep.
He’d been thinking about a lot of things lately. Paperwork. Reno and Rude on an assignment. More paperwork. Conference with the board of directors. More paperwork. Tseng and Elena... somewhere. More paperwork. Reeve overseeing the reconstruction of Midgar, expanding it to Edge. More and more paperwork.
And yes, did he mention more paperwork?
Rufus lazily leaned his cheek against a hand as his car slowed down to a cruise, boredom written all over his face. After a year of recovery, he was back again on his feet and his life was once more a routine. Different, as he was rebuilding Midgar instead of destroying it, but still a routine. A cycle of leaving home, going to the office, and then coming home. Never ending. Perhaps he'd blame the peace in Gaia.
Still, peace was better than getting shot by a WEAPON, avoiding being crushed inside a tower, catching a disease and jumping off a building.
Better indeed.
A shrill tone rang inside the car, pulling him out of his thoughts, and Rufus flipped open his phone, muttering a lazy "What is it?" on the receiver. Trust people to call him on such an ungodly hour. And just when he was on his way home, of all times.
"Yo, Boss! Minor problem here."
Rufus rolled his eyes at the loud, annoying voice of Reno. The Turk would always find a problem in just about anything. That one was already given. "Shoot me."
"Well, we won't be able to go home. Give or take a couple of days."
"And this is because?" His tone clearly spoke of boredom and indifference.
"Landslide. Stupid rain has been falling all over Nibelheim for the last few days and it’s making the place creepier. Seriously, we should’ve made this place livelier when we rebuilt it. And Rude can't pull up the helicopter. Zero visibility."
The President had sent the two Turks back to Nibelheim to check the old mako reactor there. He wanted to get rid of all those eyesores. If he wanted to show the people that Shin-Ra was turning a new leaf over, then there was no need for those reactors, the same ones that would remind the people of the mistakes they had done.
It was for the rebirth of Gaia. The rebirth of Shin-Ra under its Benevolent President.
His blue eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze still focused on the road. He could barely see anything with the rain in the middle of the night. "Fine. Don't get yourself killed. Someone still needs to pick up my suit."
"Like I would anyway." There was a moment’s interference then Reno’s voice came over again. “Hey, Boss, are you inside a car?”
Rufus scowled at the rear-view mirror. “I’m on my way home.”
“Are you driving the car?”
His scowl became more pronounced at the inquiry and his grip on the wheel tightened. “Are you insulting me, Reno?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“Hey, of course not, Boss! I was just, you know, asking. And that’s really dangerous, talking on the phone while driving!”
“If you’ve got anything else to report to me-”
“Oh, yeah! That. But, wait, you’re driving the car, right, Boss? Then that just mean I won the bet-”
Static. Rufus guessed that the interference would be because of the rain. Even in Edge, the rain had been incessantly falling for the last few days. It annoyed him. It really did. Plus he didn’t really like that last comment of Reno before he lost him. Bet? What bet? Were they all betting whether he could or could not drive a car at all?
He tapped his fingers on the wheel, waiting impatiently for the static to clear up and Reno to start reporting once more. And to explain what that last remark meant.
A minute passed and Rufus was already reaching the ends of his patience. Trust Reno to tell him the least important thing first before moving on to what he needed to know. And when connection problem happened, he had no choice but to wait.
They, the Turks, were making him, Rufus Shinra, wait.
He stepped once more on the accelerator a little harder, speeding down the dark and empty streets, eager to go home, when a figure suddenly jumped in front of the vehicle, forcing him to stomp on the brakes. The car screeched to a halt and Rufus was thrown forward, his face nearly making intimate contact with the wheel.
“Hey, Boss-”
"SHIT!"
That was definitely a close call.
Rufus tossed his phone on the seat, ignoring Reno's shout of "What happened?" on the other line, and threw open the door. He bolted out of his car, not minding the rain soaking him, wanting to give whoever it was a piece of his mind.
Killing someone in an accident on a rainy evening wasn't one of his top to-do things.
The person, who seemed unhurt and had frozen in his tracks, quickly fled down the street at the sight of him and Rufus cursed even more. Running in the rain after some crazy idiot who tried to kill himself was the least of his priorities in his to-do list as well. He even doubted that he would include something like that.
Whoever he was, Rufus mused as he ran, he was athletic, quickly increasing the length between them. Still, he caught up with him, or rather her, noticing the long dark hair whipping behind, a hand grabbing a lean arm.
"Hey, next time you try to kill yourself, don't-"
Rufus Shinra stopped in mid-sentence, recognizing the face visible under the warm glow of the lamplight, ignoring the cold rain and wind washing over him. It was a face that he hadn't seen for years now, last of which was during her execution day. A jolt of electricity ran through his system and he let go of her arm, falling limply to her side. She didn't seem to feel the urge to run away from him anymore, weariness seemingly to encompass her.
"Lockhart." The face and name of the fighter was still etched in his mind, just as lightning flashed in the darkened skies, bathing them both in light. His blue gaze wandered over the bedraggled, drenched girl, shivering in the cold weather.
"What are you doing here?"
Full chapter guide
Prompt: 11 - Rainy Day Inferno
Title: Saving Grace
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Characters: Rufus Shinra, Tifa Lockhart
Rating: PG13
Summary: A rainy evening. A phone call. A near accident.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all of its characters belong to Square-Enix.
Notes: FINALLY! The long-awaited chapter 1 of this series ~.~ Trust Ai to give me such a difficult pairing to work at. Anyway, it seems promising, this plot. Although 'seems' doesn't exactly comfort me. So! Uhm, yes. This one... it's actually a worn-down, clichéd plot. Like most other romantic plots.
How is it different? I'm... not sure yet. The entire plot is still in the works, unfortunately. Although I could already see an ending. I am that weird. Yeah. But I guess this pairing in this kind of plot should be a roller-coaster ride already ~.~
Chapter 1: Saving Grace
Rain.
He had always disliked the rain. He didn’t know why. He just did.
A slender hand ran through pale blond hair, blue eyes trained hard and long on the misty road in front of him. Perhaps it was a bad idea, doing the driving himself on this rainy evening. But Rufus Shinra was not the one to be insulted. He was a genius, a prodigy. He knew how to pilot a helicopter; a car wouldn't be much of a difficulty for him. He just had several men who would do the driving or piloting in his stead.
It was the same argument he always had with Tseng, one that the Turk could never win against. Not that the Turk ever won against a verbal joust with the young President. The young man believed in status quo but the younger man believed in efficiency. More brains thinking and more people acting meant more work getting done in less time.
His hand gracefully shifted the gear console, his loafered foot stepping on the accelerator a little harder. Water splashed on the pavement as the white sedan drove through the dark streets of Edge. He merely wanted to go home as soon as possible, lie down and sleep.
He’d been thinking about a lot of things lately. Paperwork. Reno and Rude on an assignment. More paperwork. Conference with the board of directors. More paperwork. Tseng and Elena... somewhere. More paperwork. Reeve overseeing the reconstruction of Midgar, expanding it to Edge. More and more paperwork.
And yes, did he mention more paperwork?
Rufus lazily leaned his cheek against a hand as his car slowed down to a cruise, boredom written all over his face. After a year of recovery, he was back again on his feet and his life was once more a routine. Different, as he was rebuilding Midgar instead of destroying it, but still a routine. A cycle of leaving home, going to the office, and then coming home. Never ending. Perhaps he'd blame the peace in Gaia.
Still, peace was better than getting shot by a WEAPON, avoiding being crushed inside a tower, catching a disease and jumping off a building.
Better indeed.
A shrill tone rang inside the car, pulling him out of his thoughts, and Rufus flipped open his phone, muttering a lazy "What is it?" on the receiver. Trust people to call him on such an ungodly hour. And just when he was on his way home, of all times.
"Yo, Boss! Minor problem here."
Rufus rolled his eyes at the loud, annoying voice of Reno. The Turk would always find a problem in just about anything. That one was already given. "Shoot me."
"Well, we won't be able to go home. Give or take a couple of days."
"And this is because?" His tone clearly spoke of boredom and indifference.
"Landslide. Stupid rain has been falling all over Nibelheim for the last few days and it’s making the place creepier. Seriously, we should’ve made this place livelier when we rebuilt it. And Rude can't pull up the helicopter. Zero visibility."
The President had sent the two Turks back to Nibelheim to check the old mako reactor there. He wanted to get rid of all those eyesores. If he wanted to show the people that Shin-Ra was turning a new leaf over, then there was no need for those reactors, the same ones that would remind the people of the mistakes they had done.
It was for the rebirth of Gaia. The rebirth of Shin-Ra under its Benevolent President.
His blue eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze still focused on the road. He could barely see anything with the rain in the middle of the night. "Fine. Don't get yourself killed. Someone still needs to pick up my suit."
"Like I would anyway." There was a moment’s interference then Reno’s voice came over again. “Hey, Boss, are you inside a car?”
Rufus scowled at the rear-view mirror. “I’m on my way home.”
“Are you driving the car?”
His scowl became more pronounced at the inquiry and his grip on the wheel tightened. “Are you insulting me, Reno?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“Hey, of course not, Boss! I was just, you know, asking. And that’s really dangerous, talking on the phone while driving!”
“If you’ve got anything else to report to me-”
“Oh, yeah! That. But, wait, you’re driving the car, right, Boss? Then that just mean I won the bet-”
Static. Rufus guessed that the interference would be because of the rain. Even in Edge, the rain had been incessantly falling for the last few days. It annoyed him. It really did. Plus he didn’t really like that last comment of Reno before he lost him. Bet? What bet? Were they all betting whether he could or could not drive a car at all?
He tapped his fingers on the wheel, waiting impatiently for the static to clear up and Reno to start reporting once more. And to explain what that last remark meant.
A minute passed and Rufus was already reaching the ends of his patience. Trust Reno to tell him the least important thing first before moving on to what he needed to know. And when connection problem happened, he had no choice but to wait.
They, the Turks, were making him, Rufus Shinra, wait.
He stepped once more on the accelerator a little harder, speeding down the dark and empty streets, eager to go home, when a figure suddenly jumped in front of the vehicle, forcing him to stomp on the brakes. The car screeched to a halt and Rufus was thrown forward, his face nearly making intimate contact with the wheel.
“Hey, Boss-”
"SHIT!"
That was definitely a close call.
Rufus tossed his phone on the seat, ignoring Reno's shout of "What happened?" on the other line, and threw open the door. He bolted out of his car, not minding the rain soaking him, wanting to give whoever it was a piece of his mind.
Killing someone in an accident on a rainy evening wasn't one of his top to-do things.
The person, who seemed unhurt and had frozen in his tracks, quickly fled down the street at the sight of him and Rufus cursed even more. Running in the rain after some crazy idiot who tried to kill himself was the least of his priorities in his to-do list as well. He even doubted that he would include something like that.
Whoever he was, Rufus mused as he ran, he was athletic, quickly increasing the length between them. Still, he caught up with him, or rather her, noticing the long dark hair whipping behind, a hand grabbing a lean arm.
"Hey, next time you try to kill yourself, don't-"
Rufus Shinra stopped in mid-sentence, recognizing the face visible under the warm glow of the lamplight, ignoring the cold rain and wind washing over him. It was a face that he hadn't seen for years now, last of which was during her execution day. A jolt of electricity ran through his system and he let go of her arm, falling limply to her side. She didn't seem to feel the urge to run away from him anymore, weariness seemingly to encompass her.
"Lockhart." The face and name of the fighter was still etched in his mind, just as lightning flashed in the darkened skies, bathing them both in light. His blue gaze wandered over the bedraggled, drenched girl, shivering in the cold weather.
"What are you doing here?"
Full chapter guide