For backwatertrooper
Sep. 9th, 2018 05:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
afterlabordayThere was a saying about "idle hands," wasn't there, and how they related to the devil? It wasn't a saying Rufus had paid much attention to in the past, and it didn't entirely fit the situation at hand, yet it still came to mind somehow as he poked around the staff record he had in hand.
Honestly, he didn't really care who was coming in and out of ShinRa on a small scale, but on a larger scale he kept track of what he would be inheriting if his father finally bit the dust - something he was actively working on handling - as well as what, or who, he might be up against.
This particular record he had landed on, however, was of quite a curious nature; not an entirely unexpected one, but curious nonetheless, and he honestly had to thank the incessant gossip of the office ladies for once.
It had also led to his having to pull a few strings to have the person on the staff record assigned as one of his guards for this meeting he had to attend, and, as he knew the other guards assigned to him at least somewhat, Rufus had sent for this particular one and was now waiting for him to show up.
Honestly, he didn't really care who was coming in and out of ShinRa on a small scale, but on a larger scale he kept track of what he would be inheriting if his father finally bit the dust - something he was actively working on handling - as well as what, or who, he might be up against.
This particular record he had landed on, however, was of quite a curious nature; not an entirely unexpected one, but curious nonetheless, and he honestly had to thank the incessant gossip of the office ladies for once.
It had also led to his having to pull a few strings to have the person on the staff record assigned as one of his guards for this meeting he had to attend, and, as he knew the other guards assigned to him at least somewhat, Rufus had sent for this particular one and was now waiting for him to show up.
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Date: 2018-09-21 09:58 pm (UTC)Staring for a beat, Cloud probably looked as incredulous as he felt before he snorted loudly.
"... Maybe, but even if... that'd get me past the physical exam, it's not gonna magically make the mako test a positive. And I want to do this on my own merit." Pausing, he shook his head, eyes narrowing. "Besides. There's no reason for you to do something like that."
That was the thing he didn't get. Why were they even having this conversation, in this way? Rufus had no reason to be less implicitly and more explicitly implying these things were possible and within reach, if he wanted them. He was literally nobody, and it'd give Rufus absolutely nothing to do something like that.
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Date: 2018-09-22 01:05 am (UTC)No, this was all curiosity on his part. A game of cat and mouse; or maybe scientist and mouse? And Cloud was certainly keeping Rufus curious enough to keep playing. Indeed, his mind was already working hours and days ahead, though he was still also fully immersed in the now.
"That's a rare answer..."
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Date: 2018-09-22 10:06 pm (UTC)That wasn't the sort of help he wanted. He did want to do this on his own merit, with his own strength. The sort of help he wanted was closer to Zack helping him train and get more combat-related knowledge than anything else.
"Was that it?" Frowning, Cloud cocked his head. Was that the test Rufus had called him up here to pass before the mission? He couldn't see any other use, even if that, in itself, seemed like a dumb test. It wasn't like Rufus really had (or would have) to acknowledge him at all while he was on duty, so all this seemed... excessive.
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Date: 2018-09-23 04:20 pm (UTC)So perhaps the meeting was in part for that reason, but perhaps not. He was still more interested in the rumors, as compared to a ShinRa grunt who had never shown any sign of working against the company. That the rumors and said grunt were linked was just coincidence in his mind, and since he'd attained what he wanted for the moment...
"That was it." His voice is dismissive, though anyone looking could see the amusement hidden in his eyes. "You may go back to the unit now."
Rufus could imagine that in Cloud's mind this would seem like the end. The son of the president would have no more call to speak with such a lowly creature outside of orders given, and that waiting patiently until the trip was over would be more than enough.
Unfortunately, he would be very wrong on the thought if it was truly there, as Rufus was far from done. Curiosity piqued, he'd make sure Cloud was stuck babysitting most of the trip, and barring other trouble, he might just convince a few of the others on his guard detail to discreetly repeat some of the rumors which caused him to want to meet Cloud in the first place where the boy could hear them.
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Date: 2018-09-23 09:01 pm (UTC)A few days that were more exhausting than they had any right to be, since what he mostly did was standing around, either behind Rufus or at the door of whatever current room he was in. Far more annoying though, was being talked about as if he wasn't there by some other in Rufus' detail, and what they said...
Cloud had to catch himself from turning to look at Rufus every time he thought about that after he'd heard it that morning. It seemed... utterly stupid. Why would anyone believe that? There were lots of blond people in the world!
... It was just, his mother had always steadfastly refused to talk about it, and while he didn't know what the mansion near the town had been used for, it'd been owned by the Shinra family before it'd been put into the company's service, everyone knew that.
Another glance he caught just in time, and Cloud suppressed a growl, fantasizing about going back in time and throwing his breakfast at the gossipers. It was really hard to focus on his job like this!
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Date: 2018-09-24 11:37 pm (UTC)At least, up until the last day or so of the meetings he had.
Never one to be idle, Rufus had continued to dig after meeting Cloud. He knew everything similar to he and his father, even the determination the other young man showed, applied to more people than the Shinra family, but something just told him to dig.
A few days, several records, and a handful of calls later, he'd found his answer; and he wasn't entirely sure what to think about it. It had even crossed his mind to call and ask his father if he knew, try to get a rise out of him, but had decided it would end up going the wrong way.
The old man didn't care in the least about things like that, considering he barely seemed to care about the child he had bothered to keep around as his heir. So anything said to him would have been met with some slight or offense, and he wasn't in the mood for that sort of game. It was why he hadn't been returning Cloud's looks the whole day, why he had summoned the boy to his room a time after dinner that same night.
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Date: 2018-09-26 10:04 pm (UTC)Rufus probably already knew he was there, because he'd passed at least one of the other guys on the detail (and Cloud was pretty sure there were at least three Turks involved, so what Rufus needed a couple Infantry for, he wasn't sure.
Maybe it was about not looking like he had as much security as he did, though. The Turks were smartly dressed, but honestly wouldn't look weird in an office, and none of them were visibly armed, compared to the uniformed and definitely visibly armed Infantry (or SOLDIER, but there were no SOLDIER here).
Huffing, Cloud straightened up and knocked on the door.
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Date: 2018-09-26 10:33 pm (UTC)The knock earns a moment's silence before Rufus opens the door, giving Cloud a small nod and moving aside to let him in. "Have a seat, I've got something to speak with you about."
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Date: 2018-09-27 11:02 pm (UTC)"... That's usually never good, when someone says that," Cloud said, feeling reasonably bold even if he still also felt awkwardly exposed without the uniform and the helmet and the uniform scarf. They were layers he'd become used to, in some ways.
Still, with another look around the room, he found a chair to sit in, if a little hesitantly.
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Date: 2018-09-28 05:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-09-29 12:16 pm (UTC)'Cause if this was his idea of dating, he had a lot to work on, and Cloud knew that even with no real experience in that area. Regardless of whether he'd been planning to say that or not, Cloud's attention was quickly snagged by back by Rufus and the folder, more than what he was saying.
".... yeah? Why?" Frowning, he looked from the folder up to Rufus, eyes narrowing. "What is it?"
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Date: 2018-09-29 11:58 pm (UTC)Cloud, however, might need advice from him after this. Or at the least assurance that his father was, indeed, an asshole. Which is probably why he hands the other blond the folder rather than speaking, letting him read everything he had found and out together to substantiate the rumors.
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Date: 2018-09-30 07:58 pm (UTC)Listening to the rumours over the last few days had been annoying, but now...
"... And this isn't a joke?" Cloud slowly looked up, face scrunched into something that was halfway between an incredulous stare and a confused grimace.
He wasn't sure, but maybe he would have preferred the chocobo jokes to be true.
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Date: 2018-09-30 08:34 pm (UTC)"It would be a rather lame joke, wouldn't it?" He keeps his eyes on Cloud as he speaks, and if Cloud tries to judge his sincerity he will find he's very sincere.
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Date: 2018-10-01 07:43 pm (UTC)Incredulous and confused still.
He supposed, technically it didn't matter. It wouldn't change anything, really. Trying to think of a man he'd only seen at a distance or on TV as his biological father was just... weird. Distant.
"... What happens now?"
Looking back up at Rufus - at someone who technically was his brother as weird as that was to consider, Cloud frowned.
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Date: 2018-10-01 10:54 pm (UTC)"As to what happens, I don't know. I can tell you flat out, however, that my father wouldn't admit to what's in that file. Or at least that it created offspring."
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Date: 2018-10-02 07:47 pm (UTC)"That's okay," Cloud said, shaking his head and snorting again, but it was sharper, more decisive this time, "I don't care who he is."
A pause as Cloud frowned, fiddling with the edges of the folder. That wasn't quite right.
"... She said he was dead, so I've not... exactly been wondering what it'd be like, if he was around. It hasn't mattered, but... I did kinda wonder who he was. So I guess, that part matters."
Privately, he wondered if he would need to do something or if his mother had been... as okay with it at the time it happened as she could have been. Claiming whoever his father was was dead was probably easier when it came to dealing with Nibelheim's population in general, no matter who he'd been, though.
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Date: 2018-10-02 10:48 pm (UTC)Then again, he had always been bitter, or at least he would tell himself that, as he had few memories which didn't feature some negative emotion when related to his father.
Of course, that had no true bearing on this situation, so he merely shrugs again. "I figured it would be best to be honest in this situation, about what I found."
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Date: 2018-10-03 08:31 pm (UTC)Ambitions that would be more of a potential threat, though admittedly in that case he'd definitely started in the completely wrong end of the company. But then, he hardly had the sort of education that'd allow for much else to start with, at least.
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Date: 2018-10-04 12:11 am (UTC)"I probably would have still said something, yes. I'm not afraid of a challenge, and know you wouldn't be one... or anyone, for that matter.
"But I'll admit I also wanted to see your reaction."
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Date: 2018-10-04 10:30 pm (UTC)Not that Rufus was wrong, he would hardly be a challenge.
"It's..." Shrugging, Cloud looked down to the folder on the coffee table again, chewing his lip. "Still seems like it ought to be a prank."
Mostly because of how completely improbable it felt, how utterly out of left field. It'd make more sense if his father had been someone random - a maintenance worker for the reactor perhaps, or just from one of the surrounding towns.
I'm so sorry, Cloud...
Date: 2018-10-05 12:45 am (UTC)"Trust me, this is not my idea of a prank." Rufus moves to sit down on the couch in the room, watching Cloud as he speaks. "I'm more likely to invite the person I wonder about to be my guard, then drop the same rumors I heard so he could hear them too..."
He's so unimpressed pfftt
Date: 2018-10-05 11:57 pm (UTC)It wasn't quite a full squawk, Cloud was not relaxed enough to react as openly as that, but his voice cracked upwards. Staring at Rufus for several second, Cloud slumped into the couch and crossed his arms over his chest.
Then, with another glance sideways to Rufus, rolled his eyes.
"Y'know, that's needlessly complicated." It was freeing to not have to add in 'sir' anywhere. He wasn't on duty and right now, he wasn't even here as an employee, so like hell he would. "Do you invent plots when there isn't any, to keep yourself entertained, too?"
Rufus aims for impressive or "impressive" - honestly, he has a dark sense of humor
Date: 2018-10-06 09:18 pm (UTC)As the situation was what it was, he refrains from that little game of awkwardness.
"Complicated is much more amusing, but I don't make up plots. I have plenty of real ones going on around me at all times that I don't need to."
neither of that from Cloud, for now pfftt
Date: 2018-10-07 10:18 pm (UTC)"Of course it it." Flatly wry, though less accusatory and just exasperated. "You really do like what you do."
It's a comment, slightly thoughtful, but also another flat assessment, and Cloud's hasn't yet perfected the ability to look removed and aloof; he looks a little wary instead, frowning slightly. Not surprising, he supposes, considering Rufus position and the sort of surroundings ShinRa must have cultivated to get where it wanted.
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From:Sorry Cloud... xD
From:wow RUDE
From:No, Rude's the big bald guy... /shot/
From:such an easy joke to make haha
From:Yup... and finally dragging myself back
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