Episode 5

[jaded_grin]

I'm not sure how pleased I am with this one, kids. Man, it's a lot of work to get these people to do stuff! I think next week's will be a monster of a post!

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1          2          3          4          6

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5

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            After Yazoo stormed out of his bath Rufus tried to resume relaxing but it was no use. He knew that his “wife” was right—they simply couldn’t risk someone stumbling upon Yazoo’s secret, and asking him to stay locked up in his room was something that even Rufus couldn’t countenance.

            He heard the door creak and his valet, Denzel, came poking his nose in to see if the coast was clear.

            “Coward,” Rufus called him.

            The boy gave him a cheeky grin and said, “I know better than to get in her way when she’s pissed, Mister ShinRa, sir!”

            “Yes, you certainly do have a remarkable sense of self-preservation,” Rufus murmured, giving up entirely and stepping out of the tub.

            The young man was quick to grab his robe and throw it over his wet shoulders. Rufus left him to drain the bath and clean up the spilled water, preferring instead to go warm up next to the roaring fireplace in the rather large room that was his dressing area. Denzel always started the gas fire early so that the room was nice and toasty after Rufus’s bath.

            He plopped down in a plush chair, willing his headache to subside, and tried to remember what he’d done last night. He’d had fun, that much he knew, but a few clubs after they’d left the Golden Lyric and his night got a little hazy. In the long run he knew it didn’t matter. His marriage to Yazoo was anything but traditional, so any disgusting bugs he might pick up from his various conquests didn’t really affect anyone but himself…or so he liked to think. He also knew that his notorious deeds—though well recorded by the media—were always forgiven him. It was that wonderful social double-standard in which cheating men were praised and cheating wives were vilified. Rufus didn’t care so much provided things always worked in his favor, and while he never dreamed of not cheating on Yazoo, he would never stand for his “wife” having a lover. Even if Yazoo found someone who could overlook the fact that he wasn’t a woman, Rufus still wouldn’t have it. Rufus ShinRa simply did not share.

            “Is that insufferable nuisance gone?” Rufus inquired, hearing Denzel come puttering in to turn the heat down.

            “Yes, Sir—Mrs. ShinRa’s bodyguard showed her the door,” Denzel said, opening the window to let some cool air in before he opened the doors to Rufus’s wardrobe. “He gives me the creeps.”

            Rufus laughed a little at this, standing and shedding his robe, sufficiently dry now to bother with dressing.

            “Yes, well, he said he came recommended from Mrs. ShinRa’s family,” he said, willing to gossip with the boy—ShinRa Senior had damned-near raised Denzel, albeit in the position of a servant.

            “Must’ve had an impressive resume, for you to hire him, Sir,” Denzel said, ready to help in any way possible.

            Rufus yawned and started dressing, idly saying, “I wouldn’t know, he just showed up one day saying the Jenovas had sent him. Like I’d argue with that crazy fucking family.”

            Denzel laughed a little, but in a vaguely worried voice he asked, “Are you sure they sent him, Sir?”

            Rufus paused. He hadn’t really thought about it—Rude had come to ShinRa Technologies Headquarters and had simply informed Rufus that he’d been sent by Premier Jenova to guard his daughter. Rufus hadn’t questioned him. He hadn’t questioned how Rude had gotten an appointment, if he even had one, or if he’d just wandered in and told his secretary to let him in. He’d never had to think about those things, because Rude had guarded Yazoo for years now. He’d done an excellent job of keeping Yazoo safe and chaste and Rufus found no reason to dissect it. If Rude had meant Yazoo harm then it surely would’ve been done by now, and Rufus knew he could never get that lucky anyway.

            “Yeah, well, whatever,” Rufus said, dismissing the boy’s concerns. “Help me finish up here, lazybones.”

            He decided to blow work off in favor of golf. He used a company jet to head to his favorite privately-owned course on a nearby island, hoping that the secluded locale would grant him some privacy. His own muscle accompanied him, of course, and he couldn’t help but look at them and wonder if maybe he should do some kind of check on that huge, scary man Rude.

            Then again, if he broke Yazoo’s neck and ditched the body somewhere, Rufus wouldn’t complain. At least then he wouldn’t have to try to find an alternate location for his trysts…

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            Kadaj snarled at one of the housekeepers when she got too close in her cleaning. He felt bad about it but he wasn’t about to apologize—he was on edge and nervous about seeing the man from Dai Jiao again. He’d tried to convey this to Reno, but no amount of comfort with the man’s language would enable him to properly make his point.

            “Reno, I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to accompany him,” he said again, this time resorting to slapping the next person who got too close. He shooed them out of Reno’s room, snapping, “You aren’t to be in here, anyway! Just because he’s home is no excuse! Out!”

            “Bitchy,” Reno commented, changing after his shower and generally ignoring the whole drama. He didn’t mind his room having a revolving door, for Reno the more the merrier. Kadaj, however, claimed any personal room of Reno’s as his exclusive domain and made no bones about it. “Cateyes, just show him around a bit, nothing big. I ain’t asking you to fuck him, for gods’ sake.”

            Kadaj locked the door for good measure and leaned on it, frowning.

            Reno had sent him home last night when Yuffie had tried to grope him. Kadaj had protested, knowing he was the only sober one, but Reno insisted—even drunk as he’d been he’d managed to get his temper up over having his Cateyes handled. Kadaj had been forced to call in two of Reno’s bouncers to cover for his security. He’d subsequently spent the night alone in Reno’s bed, knowing that his lover was spending the night in someone else’s.

            When Reno started to do up his cuffs, Kadaj moved forward and straightened his collar for him.

            “He looks at me,” he said.

            Reno lifted a brow and caught his eye in the mirror, smirking. “Well, you’re really fucking gorgeous, Cateyes, what d’you expect?”

            “Like he owns me,” Kadaj said, hugging him from behind. He pressed his forehead between Reno’s shoulder-blades and sighed, “You won’t…give me to him, will you?”

            “Well, first off, yo, you don’t belong to nobody, so I can’t give you to anyone,” Reno told him, fastening his watch on and pushing a pair of sunglasses onto his head to keep his wild red hair back. “Second, I been leaving you by yourself too much if you think I’d give you away.”

            Kadaj smiled against his back and let go when Reno turned around to hug him.

            “How many times I gotta tell you, Cateyes—he’s harmless,” Reno insisted, giving him a squeeze before lighting a cigarette over the top of his head. “Show him around, take him a few places, bring him to our meeting tonight and then you come straight home with me, okay?”

            “Okay,” Kadaj said, burrowing into the bare skin of his chest. He always liked when Reno dressed to go roaming the city, liked the way he left his shirt mostly undone and wore his sprung sneakers with his worn, frayed-at-the-hem jeans that fit him perfectly.

            “Alright, let go, I got some stuff to take care of,” Reno told him, kissing the top of his head and letting go of him with a final squeeze. “I’ll see you later tonight at Siderunners.”

            Kadaj called after him, softly saying, “I love you, Reno.”

            The man gave him a wink and said, “I know, baby.”

            Kadaj always tried to tell himself that it meant the same thing, but even as young as he was he knew better.

---

                        Elena tried really hard not let it show that she absolutely could not stand Yazoo ShinRa. It wasn’t the woman herself—she was surprisingly kind and eager to make friends, completely unmindful of her own beauty and rather prone to downplay it with her sophisticated but almost matronly wardrobe. She didn’t have a bad thing to say about anyone, no, so it wasn’t the woman Elena disliked.

            It was what Yazoo was, what she had—which was everything that should belong to Elena.

            They sat in the living-room at opposite ends of one of the couches, sipping tea like proper ladies. Elena hadn’t had tea with anyone since she’d returned to the country, but her manners weren’t rusty. She was proud to see she matched up.

            Finally, after endless small talk that Yazoo seemed to delight in, Elena worked herself up to start really pulling the woman into her plan. Summoning up tears, she wiped at them surreptitiously until Yazoo gently asked, “Elena, are you alright? Is something wrong?”

            “Oh, nothing,” Elena said, laughing a little, putting a little waver into her voice. She wiped the tears on her napkin and smiled, saying, “Honestly, it’s nothing. I just…I just…”

            Yazoo turned to her bodyguard and murmured, “Could you wait outside, please, Rude? We need some privacy, I think.”

            Elena hid her smirk behind her napkin and then dabbed prettily at her eyes, irritated to see that her mascara was running.

            “Now, Elena, I know that we haven’t always been friends,” Yazoo softly said, giving her an earnest look from those freakish green eyes. Frankly, Elena found the whole race of them disgusting—a bunch of depraved barbarians more cat than person who all worshipped The Mother and danced naked under the full moon.  “I blame myself for that, for never taking the time to get to know you. Please, could you trust me with what is bothering you?”

            “I’m just…so unhappy,” Elena sobbed, burying her face in her napkin, hunching her shoulders to look vulnerable and fragile. A moment later she felt Yazoo’s ring-laden hand grasp her shoulder and give a comforting squeeze. “You don’t know what it’s like! He paws me and he uses me and…and…I just can’t take it anymore!”

            She risked a glance up but didn’t see what she expected. Instead of sympathetic understanding, Yazoo was looking to one side with an oddly uncomfortable look on her face.

            “Elena,” she lowly said, looking back at her with sad, unhappy eyes. “I am sorry for your situation…I am sure if he knew how unhappy you are, he would let you go. He loves you so much, he considers himself the luckiest man in the world to have you—if he knew you felt this way, it would break his heart. I’m sure he never intended for you to feel trapped, he’s only ever wanted you to have a wonderful life…”

            Elena’s brain spun into frantic overdrive. She hadn’t counted on the fact that Yazoo—forgiving Yazoo, loving and gentle daughter-in-law to ShinRa Senior—might actually love her father-in-law. Elena had never dreamed that the old man’s affection was gladly returned by his beautiful daughter-in-law.

            “You should speak to him,” Yazoo said, looking on the verge of tears herself. “It will kill him to lose you, but he would never want you to be unhappy.”

            Elena stifled a sob, this time a real one of frustration.

            “I’m sorry,” she whimpered, trying to salvage the situation. “I’m just so selfish! It’s so difficult for me—I love him, I do! He’s the dearest thing to me…it’s just the age difference…”

            Yazoo’s gaze softened and she gently stroked back a wayward strand of Elena’s hair.

            “It’s alright, no relationship is perfect,” she sighed, and looked so very, very sad. “He loves you, you should be very happy about that—not everyone gets to be loved, Elena.”         

            Elena nodded a little, wiping her nose and faking a tremulous smile through her tears.

            “I just could really use a friend,” she said, dabbing at her eyes. “It’s so lonely here when he’s gone…”

            “I understand,” Yazoo said, clearly pleased to be able to help. “I know it’s rather presumptuous of me to ask, Elena—but would you care to join me tomorrow? I have to attend the Spring Ball planning meeting tomorrow morning, and then afterwards I have to join Rufus for the unveiling of the new science division at Headquarters—”

            “Oh! I’ll be there, too!” Elena said, forcing a bubbly cheerfulness into her voice.

            Yazoo smiled widely at her and said, “Perfect! You can come with me from there! I have my weekly book club meeting to attend—I think you’ll quite like the other ladies—and then I’d planned to do some shopping. I would be delighted if you would join me.”

            Elena smiled, pleased that her plan was back on track. In her softest, most pitiful voice, she warbled, “I’d really like that, Yazoo.”

            “And here I’d always thought you didn’t like me,” Yazoo teased, and patted Elena’s cheek. “Here, now—have a fresh napkin and some tea, it cures all ills.”

            Trying very hard not to gloat, Elena did just that.

---

 
           Rufus returned to general mayhem at his home, so much so that his car couldn’t get through the gate thanks to the blockage of vehicles.

            “What in the goddamned hell?” he snarled, trying to see what was happening out his window. He saw the distinctive suits of his personal security busily trying to contain the situation at his gate, but they were in no way succeeding in shooing off whoever was currently blocking his drive.

            “Stay here, Sir, we’ll go straighten it out,” one bodyguard said—Igor or Ivan or something like that. Rufus didn’t care to remember such things.

            Denzel leaned around him, his large eyes even bigger with avid curiosity.

            “Go have a look,” Rufus urged him.

            Denzel gave him a shocked look and asked, “What if it’s dangerous, Sir?”

            “Oh, come on,” Rufus snorted, laughing. “No one is dead yet—seriously, you aren’t a ShinRa, you’re just a kid, so go have a look.”

            “You can be a real dickhead, Sir,” Denzel reminded him.

            “Yeah, get going,” Rufus told him, looking back out at the ruckus and wondering if he should call for SOLDIER backup.

            He saw a tall, auburn-haired man gesturing grandly and surrounded by the most motley-looking entourage Rufus had seen to date. Even from this far away the man’s light blue eyes were arrestingly charismatic, and when they landed on the limo they suddenly narrowed.

            Rufus frantically gestured his other bodyguard to get out and intercept when the man headed their way, which he did. The blue-eyed man, however, stalked majestically to the car with every single pierced, painted, and oddly-dressed person in tow.    

            “Mister ShinRa! I demand the return of my premier star!” the man announced, punctuating this with a dramatic gesture, one hand on his narrow hip.

            “Oh, fuck, he wants that crazy Princess,” Rufus hissed. He’d known that it would come back to bite him in the ass, but he’d figured it would be more in the shape of Yuffie’s irate father, not some strange man who moved and spoke as if an audience was watching him—of course, with all of this drama at the ShinRa place, there probably was an audience watching.

            “Sir, we’ve told you, she left earlier in a cab,” one of the guards explained. “Mr. Rhapsodos, Sir, just take your people and go, wherever she is, she isn’t here.”

            “Oh, fuck off, will you?” the man suggested, and leaned down to rap on the window, peering at it as if he could see through the tinting if he just tried hard enough. “Mister ShinRa, I know you’re in there!”

            “Good job, genius,” Rufus breathed, put off by this bizarre meeting and vastly uncomfortable. Yet another good reason why he shouldn’t bring people home with him.

            “You roll this glass down this second or I swear to the Mother Goddess that I will stand out here and shriek my fool head off until every neighbor you have thinks you are a deviant alcoholic and a closet homosexual to boot!”

            “Oh shit,” Rufus whispered. The world at large didn’t give three shits about sexual preference anymore, but he did—he had a bone-deep and irrational hatred for others implying that he might be bisexual. It was a personal hang-up not helped at all by the fact that he was married to a man of all things.

            “Believe me, sweetheart, if anyone can do it, Genesis Rhapsodos can!” the man shouted, and tipped his head back in the most flagrant display of flamboyance that Rufus had ever seen.

            His entourage broke into applause while Rufus’s guards looked on, bewildered. Technically, they weren’t on private property and Mister Rhapsodos wasn’t doing anything illegal so they couldn’t really hurt him.

            Quailing before this superior use of odd coercion, Rufus unwillingly rolled down the window.

            “Well,” Genesis said, satisfaction in his brightly glowing blue eyes. “Tell me where my White Rose has gone.”

            Rufus swallowed hard, looked around at the various delinquents standing outside of his limo, and meekly offered, “Wutai?”

            Genesis gave him a grin and leaned towards him, purring, “I don’t think so, dearest. You tell me where she’s gone or I make good my threat.”

            Rufus gave him a nervous smile and said, “Honestly, Mister Rhapsodos—”

            “Darling, please, call me Genesis,” the man said, waving his hand around and wrinkling his nose. “Mister Rhapsodos is my father, and may he rot amongst his apples like the putrid corpse he is.”

            Rufus didn’t know whether to laugh or be frightened, honestly. “Inventive,” he commented, and put on his best winning smile when the man’s blue eyes landed on him again. “Listen, Genesis—your little Princess got tossed out of my house by security when she was found rifling through my wife’s jewelry. She’s lucky my wife is an understanding woman or else your little White Pain in the Ass Rose would be in jail right now instead of wandering around scott-free. Are we on the same page?”

            “Page, my dear, is merely an ideal,” Genesis informed him, appearing to mull this over. “Yet she does have a colorful past, my little Rose…I trust, Sir, that you have been honest with me?”

            “I have no reason to lie,” Rufus told him, smiling again. “And you let that little klepto know that if she ever tries to steal from Rufus ShinRa again, her father won’t even have a strand of hair to cry over.”

            “You wouldn’t dare!” Genesis gasped, but it seemed more on principal, or perhaps for his crowd, because he seemed a little bored and not necessarily doubtful of Rufus’s words.     

            “Mister, I own this fucking town,” Rufus reminded him, grinning. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t dare. Last I heard, your Princess was tossed into a taxi by my wife’s bodyguard. Good luck, and get out of my driveway.”

            Denzel and the guards slipped back into the limo while Genesis pondered this, a frown on his handsome face. Before Rufus rolled the window back up, he asked, “Mister ShinRa, what did you think of my play?”

            “I don’t know,” Rufus said, and chuckled a little. “I left when the star did.”

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1          2          3          4          6

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Comments

[garinarayne.livejournal.com]

*dies laughing* Dear god, I LOVE your Genesis. Rufus and Elena should be locked in a room together and not allowed to interact with the rest of society, and Yazoo needs lots of hugs.

"Quailing before this superior use of odd coercion..." Fantastic line, great writing as always.

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Whew! I was a little worried about how Genesis might come across, but I couldn't resist--he's just SO dramatic in the game that I was like, "Oh my gosh, that man is perfectly FANTASTIC!" Glad you liked it! And if I haven't said this before, your Rufus icon is friggin' sweet!

[zilldk.livejournal.com]

Aaah, TWO chapters to read... Crazy pre-christmas stuff already piling up and I'm WAY behind on my reading.

But oooh, this was just perfect! As always of course, but I'm really impressed with the true 'soap-feel' of this. Aah, lots of intrigue already and promises of so much more to come.

Came to think about Angeal... Who might he be in this? I can't imagine him not beeing one of the true good guys, but... Ah, I guess I've just been in an Angeal-kind of mood lately. *grin*

[etrix.livejournal.com]

I have to agree with garinarayne, Rufus and Elena are annoying brats and I know they are going to wreck something (everything) for everyone else and they'll be all 'what's your problem?'

Rufus especially. He's got a hot, sweet wife who's eager to please and he tosses her... him... over for a schizo like Yuffie? Idiot!

Your Genesis was completely awesome. And I do mean that in the 'staring with awe' way. He actually managed to shame/embarrass a brat like Rufus into doing something he didn't want to. Go, Genesis!

Rufus needs you in his life as his own personal tormentor. (Can you imagine how much Junior would squirm if Genesis and Yazoo wound up being friends? They could meet through the Board at the Theatre.) Somebody else Rufus would have to ask Reno to find him a hitman for.

Rude's even more mysterious. Delicious!

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Hehee! I'm glad you're getting into it! Yeah, Rufus is going to be my character overhaul victim, but not before some real trauma goes down and we have a huge crime on our hands. I'm really having too much fun with this!

[merytsetesh.livejournal.com]

Huh. Everyone seems to hate Rufus, but I don't. I feel a little sorry for him. He's a straight man married to a man pretty enough to be a woman (which has got to be confusing). He never had a choice, and the only way he can get sex is too cheat on Yazoo, and although Yazzy's the perfect wife and all Rufus could ever want, he doesn't have the right parts. Otherwise, I'm sure Rufus would be madly in love with Yazoo.

Now Tseng, on the other hand, scares me.

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

It's probably because he has a tendency to be an ass to the people around him, including Yazoo. Their relationship is going to evolve a little (I mean, this IS a soap so it kinda HAS to :D) and I think he's going to be my character turn-around fella. I haven't decided yet. I wish there was a way to run polls in LJ...I got some things I need feedback on...Meh! I like Rufus, too, though! And Tseng is definitely scary!

[etrix.livejournal.com]

I think the reason Rufus is getting dumped on is because he's acting like a baby. Yazoo was also forced into the marraige (and to acting like a girl since birth) but he's trying to deal with the situation with grace and maturity.

Rufus just sulks and pouts, and flounces off to get drunk and act badly where the press can take embarrassing pictures.

PLUS he completely disrespects any feelings Yazoo may have on the subject. As if his 'wife' isn't allowed to be unhappy their marriage because, after all, he got to marry Rufus Shinra! so he should feel lucky.

I'll feel sorry for him when he acknowledges that he's not the only one who got screwed.

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, there's a crime coming and then we get to meet Angeal, who just happens to be the bestest good guy of them all! I'm glad you're liking this! I'm having a great time writing it! I went and bought all kinds of rag magazines and crap this weekend to do some studying on nasty star habits--and I keep the tele on SOAP network, so I'm getting ideas left and right!

[zilldk.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I can't wait to meet Angeal then! Yum! He kinda hogs my brain at the moment, in all the bestest ways imaginable.

Mmm, have been dying to ask: What are your plans for our young, sexy boys Cloud and Zack in this? Ah, I know, you probably won't tell me anything (because you're just evil like that) but I'm SO CURIOUS! *grin*

[ldyavalon.livejournal.com]

Ooooooooh, I LOVED Gen-Gen in this fic :)

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[white-jenna.livejournal.com]

Well, I was beat to it pretty much word for word, but I am loving GenGen in this. He's just too perfect. :D

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I wanted him to be really dramatic and amazing and I'm going to make sure he has lots of "screen time"! (icon edit)

[nivell.livejournal.com]

Yay, you brought in Genesis! I love how he's so flamboyant. Haha.

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm really excited to have him around, he's just so YUMMY!

[sphinxofthenile.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, so now we have Genesis! Hahahaha, that little act was possibly gleefully evil. *chuckles* Elena is being a total bitch, but I love how you write her (okay, everyone in this, actually.) Wondering where the Reno/Kadaj/Yazoo thing is going now... two Cateyes, interesting. :D

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

I think you're the first person to note that he calls them both Cateyes--and there is some serious trouble brewing there, for sure! I'm going to try to focus more on Elena for a few episodes--it's kinda hard to give everyone the amount of "screen time" they deserve! So, we'll do it in chunks, oh well :D

[sphinxofthenile.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, now we might have an ulterior motive why Reno might not be very keen on refusing Rufus's request.

[f-mystic.livejournal.com]

*applauds madly* I could never do it to Genesis, but you managed it perfectly. The second I saw "auburn-haired" I thought "Oh no, she didn't", but you did, and it was riotous! And their conversation - absolutely delicious!

Rufus and Elena deserve each other, but strangely, I could see them being happy together. I know, odd.

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're still enjoying the soap! I couldn't resist making Genesis flaming and ferocious--his Crisis Core appearances were all so STAGED and dramatic, he just lent himself too well to it :D Yeah, Rufus and Elena need to have lots of little brats together and find new meaning for the word "misery." They both suck. But Rufus is kinda growing on me... ;)

[subcon-ruler.livejournal.com]

Damn it, I've never played Crisis Core so I have no idea who the hell Genesis is XD he sounds terribly amusing though.

Best line ever: “You can be a real dickhead, Sir,” Denzel reminded him. XD

I have to say that there is so much sexual tension here!! The whole Rude and Yazoo thing, the Elena and Reno thing, the Kadaj and Reno thing, the... well I guess everyone wants Reno XD It is so very soap-y, and wonderful. I won't lie though, I can't wait until someone gets laid. Particularly Yazoo. XD Poor boy deserves it... And then I want Rufus to flip the fuck out. Hell yes. Okay I'm going to read now, because there are still 31 more parts... lmao.

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

This is a Genesis Rhapsodos

Isn't he fabulous, darling?!

Hehe, yeah, Denzel is a hoot, I need to add more of him. Yes, the drama is coming! Hang on tight!

[subcon-ruler.livejournal.com]

Ooooh. He IS fabulous. And looks like he lends himself VERY well to your characterization. The first thing I said when seeing the pic was "HELL to the gay." lmao.

Denzel amuses me. I liked the bit with him and Marlene. Gotta say I agree with her more, though... No sympathy for Rufus here!