Work Text:
Rufus sat down at the restaurant table in the exclusive lounge. The lounge itself was made for the directors, the President and, well, himself. He looked at you, his current guard and sighed.
“Right, sit down.”
You blinked a few times and looked over to him. Did he just ask you to sit down?
“Sorry, Sir?”
“I said sit down. I want someone to talk to and well you’re there,” he said sitting up and gesturing to the table before him.
You quickly did as he’d asked, not wanting to anger the Vice President of Shinra. He smiled a little and lent forward interlacing his long fingers together.
“Good, take the helmet off as well,” he said, gesturing to the helmet that made you look as if you had three eyes.
You nodded again taking your helmet off and enjoying the cool breeze that came with it. You bit your lip a little looking at the Vice President confused and a little nervous.
“Right, tell me your name.”
“It’s Y/N.”
“You been a Guard long Y/N?”
You nod, “Yes sir. My father was one and well. I wanted to impress him follow in his footsteps and all.”
He noted how your voice went down an octave whilst talking about your father. Cocking his head a little to the side?
“Oh? And did it work?”
“No. He wanted me to become SOLIDER. Not something I ever aspired to be. He never really took that much interest in me anyway. When I became a Guard, the first thing he asked after I’d passed training was when I was applying for SOLIDER.”
Rufus smiled a little. He turned when a waitress turned up with a coffee, thanked her and ordered you one as well. You tried to reject but he ignored you and sipped his coffee.
“Disappointed fathers. Something we have very much in common. My Father thinks I’m a waist of space. Wishes I was more like… Him,” Rufus told you as he looked off into the distance.
“Yeah, he was disappointed in me. He always criticised anything I did, even if it was something he asked me to do. Mum was more supportive,” you said crossing your arms and leaning into the table.
Rufus raised an eyebrow. His mum was equally proud of him. She had always been his biggest supporter. He missed her greatly. You noticed the look on Rufu’s face. Easy to read.
“Your mum the same I guess?”
“Yes… Mum was my best supporter. Sometimes a little overly protective of me… She died a few years back. Car crash,” he replied.
Rufus had always had an inclination that it was a… planned car crash. He got a photo of her out of his pocket to show you, and that’s when you spotted your Mum's arm around the shoulder of Rufus’s mum’s arm. Well, her bracelet was what you recognised. How could you not after all you had brought it for her?
“That’s… that’s my mum there,” You explained, pulling your own phone out and showing Rufus the same image, only from your mum’s angle. “Did your mother go to Kalm secondary school?”
Rufus blinked a few times, putting the photo away. He leaned back and sipped his drink, “Looks like we got more than one thing in common. Shit, Fathers and good Mothers who knew each other.”
You grinned, putting your phone away and sitting a little taller. Life was going ok for you. You were happy now. You had cut your father off and were making a living of your own. Even had a small apartment on the top plate, something he never managed. Bodyguarding ShinRa’s higher-ups was well paid. It was either done by top Guards like yourself or Turks. But there wasn’t enough of the Turks to go around so you’d made it to the top of the guards.
“Hmm… I think I’d like you to be one of my exclusive Guards,” Rufus stated with a smile, “it be nice to have someone around who is familiar with having a Father who just sees nothing in you. Plus, if my mother knew yours as a friend then you must have something good in you.”
“Really Sir?”
He nodded and drank his coffee smiling as your own was set in front of you. Today was a good day.