Episode 28

[jaded_grin]

Alright! Well, everything is back on, but for some reason LJ will not let me do a double LJ-cut, so whatever. Unfortunately, that means that the posts are MUCH SMALLER than I wanted them to be!!! Sorry about the long delay! Between "Land Hurricanes", no electricity, no internet, no hot water, etc. I've been really swamped and unhappy! But here we are! * Edited 14 May - Paragraph moved back to last episode*

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28

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            Elena was shaking hard when she finally came home, and she was in no way prepared to see the house abuzz with activity.

            Eyes wide, she wandered into the main hallway to see a stately, slender blond woman directing movers, her gestures imperious, and her voice curt and commanding.

            “Excuse me,” Elena said, stalking over to her, startled to see a feminized version of Rufus ShinRa’s face looking back at her, all aristocratic bone structure and beauty. “What in the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

            “Elena, correct?” the woman asked, and her smirk made the smaller woman glower. “I’m moving my things back into my suite—no! You there! That armoire goes into the dressing room! Turn around!”

            The movers scrambled to obey while Elena processed this startling and outrageous information.

            “Look, lady, you can’t just move in here, you know?” she began, taking offense. Fuck, she left the house for awhile and things went to pot!

            “My dear, I believe that I can do just about anything I want,” the woman said, not smug, just sure of herself. “Please, pardon my manners; I’m Scarlet, Ronald’s ex-wife and Rufus’s mother.”

            Elena didn’t take the offered hand, her heart shot up into her throat when she realized what this might mean—Ronald’s ex-wife moving back in, the potential that she would be moved out.

            More importantly, Reno not only not getting his money, but Elena with no way to provide it to him, because she had no doubt that he’d cleaned her account out as soon as he’d caught onto her little defection.

            “Look, Scarlet, you can’t do this!” she stammered, suddenly very frightened. “I live here, now! I take care of Ronald, he’s mine.”

            “Well,” Scarlet said, and smirked again, amused but angry all the same. “Perhaps you should learn to take better of care your things, then. I’m afraid you’ve done a terrible job with him, and he’s rather sick of your antics.”

            She swung around, her back to Elena, and said, “Run along, little girl. I expect he’ll want you out as quickly as you can manage to pack.”

            Elena trembled and her fists clenched tight, her mouth thinning out in determination.

            She had much more to lose here than just a place to live and a generous patron.

            She had her life to protect.

            “I don’t think so,” she hissed, and grabbed the woman’s slender arm to yank her around.

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            Zack Fair did not consider himself a mystery.

            He’d been great in his time, he’d been a legend of his field.

            But that was all gone now.

            He sat in his suite, his head in his hands and his eyes closed.

            Though he still practiced his movements, still worked through his motions, he could feel what he’d been slipping away. He supposed it was for the best since he was no longer the man he’d been, but it pained him to see it slipping away.

            Ever since he’d been a child big enough to walk, he’d been trained for war, for a lifetime commitment to his mentor and their ward…but things had gone so terribly, horribly, and irrevocably wrong.

            In the space of a heartbeat he’d made a decision that had forced him away from the life he’d been raised to live, made him an outcast, made him a fugitive.

            And here he was, far from home, those he loved left behind and vowing that he was dead to them. Dead to them. He could never return to his father’s house, because now he had no father—he was disowned, alone in the world.

            He slowly got up and went to the closet, pulling open the door and shifting aside the panel he’d placed at the back, revealing a length of something wrapped in cloth.

            Gently, reverently, he brushed the cloth away and light gleamed on oiled metal, picking up the glint of a blade wrought centuries before his birth. The intricate, coiled handle was warm to his touch, the metal alive with some force of its own. Down the channel of the wide, flat blade was traced the scroll-work inscriptions of his life—the names of all of those who had protected the Family before him, generations of those who had been called to serve.

            And it had all stopped with him.

            “I’m sorry,” he whispered, tears springing in his eyes as the events played out in his mind’s eye. His fingers lovingly traced the inscriptions as he knelt there before the relic of his own tarnished, wasted life.

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            “It’s getting late,” Kadaj said.

            Tseng nuzzled his hair, tickling his lips across the boy’s nape as he murmured, “Yes.”

            “I should go,” Kadaj whispered, but made no move to leave the comfort of the big bed or Tseng’s arms.

            “There is time, yet,” Tseng sighed, and glanced at his cell phone. Mei Li had called again not long ago to inform him that Reno had come home and was dressing to go out for the night. “Reno isn’t home this evening, he is going out.”

            Kadaj stiffened in his embrace, the tension singing down the slender length of his spine.

            Tseng rolled him, covering his back and leaning over his shoulder to whisper against his cheek, “Come back to Dai Jiao with me. There is nothing for you here.”

            Kadaj twitched a little, and softly said, “I can’t leave him, don’t you see that? He still needs me, whatever you may think.”

            Tseng sighed, but he knew that if Reno was given enough rope, he would hang himself where Kadaj was concerned.

            “Who else needs you, my Jewel?” he asked, thinking of that dark-haired man and scowling a little.

            Kadaj shrugged and asked, “Who doesn’t? They all rely on me, Reno’s beauties, all of my meimei’s and didi’s. Should I ever leave, that place will fall apart.”

            Tseng silently considered this before he lowly said, “Do not allow him to mislead you, Kadaj. Reno ran his business quite well before he found you, and he will run it well once you are gone. He is a cunning one—he gives you the illusion of helplessness, of need, and all in order to keep you locked so tightly to him that you feel as if you would abandon him by striking out on your own. It is how he keeps all of your ‘little sisters and brothers’, as you call them. Never for one moment believe that he cannot survive without you, for I am sure he already grooms another to take your place, and another after that.”

            He kissed Kadaj’s soft, round cheek and breathed, “He is without emotion or attachment, Kadaj. He has no grasp of these things. He is an animal…and he always will be.”

            Kadaj turned in his embrace and kissed him, deep and hungry. His jade-green eyes were unflinching and cold when he said, “If he is an animal, then I am the one who collared him, Tseng. For me, he will heel.”

            “We shall see about that,” Tseng said, impressed with his ferocity, with his determination.

            There was nothing that would stand against his Jewel and he knew it.

            Now all he had to do was make sure that determination had no chance to sway Reno, for if there was any creature on this earth that he would attach himself to, surely it was Kadaj.

            Surely.

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            Yazoo found that when he sat down in his beautiful new dress, the high-cut left side exposed the lacy top of his stockings along with several scandalous inches of skin. He wore his stockings just above mid-thigh, so the dress was not cut obscenely high, but he hadn’t factored his low stockings into the equation when he’d been measured and, much to his consternation, a good deal of his thigh was exposed. He might not have noticed it at all had he not caught Reno blatantly staring, his eyes half-lidded and his mouth curved into a soft, appreciative smile. Though it caused a delicious feeling to blossom in the pit of Yazoo’s stomach, he was too much a lady to allow for such manners, and promptly pulled the long edge of the skirt over his leg to cover it. He much preferred exposing his dainty knees to giving Reno an eyeful of his lingerie.

            Reno just chuckled, but that hungry look didn’t fade any, and Yazoo was silently both thrilled and terrified to see it.

            True to his word, Reno took Yazoo someplace a little less open, to one of his more exclusive restaurants where the private booths were small, cozy, and romantically enclosed rooms with heavy and lush velvet drapes for doors that could be left open or closed as the patron pleased. During the meal Yazoo managed to arrange the catering for Reeve’s opening through one of Reno’s teams, and the man graciously allowed it cost-free provided he could be Yazoo’s date for the evening.

            “Why, Reno, I couldn’t possibly,” Yazoo laughed, teasing. He felt oddly daring and it made him giddy with delight. He’d never flirted before, he’d never learned how, but he followed Reno’s teasing lead and found that it was quite fun and exciting. “I have a husband, you know.”

            “I can fix that for you,” Reno told him, grinning, done with his food.

            “You talk so about your friend,” Yazoo laughed, cocking his head, allowing himself to wonder what it would be like to finally be kissed. Though he had admitted to himself that he wanted Reno as a lover, the details of it rather frightened him and he found himself shying away from anything more than just imagining a kiss.

            “You’re blushing,” Reno remarked, lighting a cigarette. “What on earth are you thinking of?”

            Yazoo bit his lip and murmured, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

            He was pleased with himself when Reno just chuckled and eyed him appreciatively. He’d never really had a chance to explore this side of himself, and it felt strong, it felt amazing to know he could coax and entice desire from someone. He was beginning to understand why people strayed from their marriage beds, and suddenly the idea of being like the other jaded, open women of Midgar was infinitely more appealing.

            “I’ll be back, I need to go to the Ladies’,” he said, sliding out of the booth carefully, leaving the drapes pulled back. He was conscious of Reno’s eyes on him as he walked away and tried to keep his nerves from showing in his fluid walk. With a soft, happy smile on his face, he went into the ladies room and touched up his makeup, checking his teeth for any stray bits of dinner and squirting on just a spritz more of perfume.

            “You can do this,” he whispered, encouraging the lovely, sophisticated woman in the mirror, even giving her a saucy wink before he headed back out.

            Yazoo hadn’t gotten far from the ladies’ room when he spied someone standing next to Reno at their table, inside of their booth. He slowed to a stop and just watched for a moment, heart sinking. He recognized Miss Lockhart from visits to his father-in-law’s official office. The buxom, lithe woman was head of Events Planning for President ShinRa, and Yazoo had occasionally spoken with her.

            Still, he was dismayed to realize that her work outfits did her no justice. Her evening gown was cut low on her slim but muscular back, revealing creamy skin that looked as smooth as silk. The dress clung to every substantial curve, hugging her tiny waist and the roundness of her bottom and hips to flare out at the knee. Her dark hair was piled in curls on her head and her dangling earrings bobbed against her swan-like neck as she talked and laughed with Reno.

            With Reno. Who was looking up at her with that wicked, handsome smirk on his face, his cigarette held negligently in his hand and his blue eyes dancing with flirtatious delight.

            Yazoo’s excitement slowly withered, seeing his smirk widen to his familiar grin, seeing his free hand lift to offer Miss Lockhart his card. His eyes were sultry now, darker, his smile more dangerous, and all of Yazoo’s illusions melted in the face of a look that had never once been turned on him.

            “Silly,” Yazoo breathed to himself, laughing at how stupid he’d been, pretending to be so cosmopolitan, and deluding himself into believing that he could ever have Reno as his lover. Here, right in front of him, was his reminder that his incorrigible and complex friend liked women. What chance did Yazoo stand against someone like Tifa? Against a million women like Tifa? Reno had them crawling all over him and that seemed to suit him just fine. Yes, he’d said he would’ve kissed Yazoo in Kalm, but perhaps he’d just been trying to spare his feelings, to make him feel better with a gentle lie when he’d seen how upset Yazoo was. Because when it came down to it, beneath all of this effort, beneath this façade of femininity, Yazoo was a…man.

            Blinking hard, he laughed again, feeling so ridiculous for his daydreams. He felt like he was fourteen again, indulging in grand dreams that came to nothing—he bitterly thought that he should’ve learned by now not to be so eager to have something that simply wasn’t meant for him.

            With sad, resigned eyes, he waited until Tifa had sashayed off and quietly made his way back to their table, fully humbled by his realization.

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belatrix_labe  has done another awesome installment of pics, but thanks to the oddity of LJ I can't post them all. Here is a sneak-peek, and I will do a separate post with the rest later!

    Mei Li - by Belatrix!

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Comments

[sephbuttons.livejournal.com]

I am glad to see you got your internet back :)
What a great chapter! I loved it. You left us in suspense again, but hey, I didn't expect the 'hubba hubba' stuff to happen oh so easy.

I am glad Zack continues to speak to you and reaveal his secrets little by little. So excited to find out more. My heart skipped a beat when he reminisced over his sword *tear* so sad!!!! And 'Family'?!?!?! His mistery just keeps growing.

You did a great job of introducing Tiffa, her position as an event organizer fits her so well. I wonder what are you planning for her. I never really liked her too much (especially after Advent Children) but I am finding that your soap has made me like characters I otherwise disliked, and vice versa, so I am up for anything you put on a plate!! :)

Is there going to be a cat fight between Scarlet and Elena? Wow, I would love to see that! of course, Scarlet would win, no doubt :)

Man, you know what I am really looking forward to? The galla. Reeve's opening night just screams 'something big is gonna happen' (or is that my brain screaming?) and I just can't wait for all of this suspense to climax. I think I'm like a 5 year old in line to see Hannah Montana....

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Yay for internet! Yes, the Good Stuff is happening quickly, but Yazoo is determined and is also ripe for the plucking, so that is helping to speed things along :D

Zack's past is slowly coming to me, lol!

Tifa was a surprise, really, I didn't expect her to show up! But I'm glad that my Soap is mixing things up for you! It was my intention to make people take a second look at all of the characters, so I'm glad to hear that is working!

And the Gala shall indeed be the event of the year, hehe!

Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!