Log: Complete

[un-ruffled.livejournal.com]

When; Thursday, when the water is poisoned.
Rating; PG (omgwtfnosecks!)
Characters; Reno [wanton_turk] & Rufus [un_ruffled]
Summary; Wherein Reno falls ill, nurse!Rufus makes a brief appearance, the housekeeper goes woefully missing, and common sense is tossed out the window while Reno serenades Rufus onto the couch for some cuddle time. ...Sort of.
Log;

A sound of shattering glass rung through the apartment. The water. Something wasn't right, and then one thing came to mind. Kaen. It was that bastard. The bastard's name was Kaen, wasn't it? Okay, sure he made a warning about poisoning the water system but why did it have to be after Reno just finished off a glass of it? Of all the days that he decides to actually drink something other than alcohol is the day that one of the stupid 'gods' in this place decides to mess with it. Wonderful. Absolutely spectacular. His stomach was churning and felt like someone was shoving rusted dulled knifes, no, sporks into his abdomen. Burning rage of blinding pain and unlimited loathing filled in the places where he didn't feel like he was dying.

The whole reason why Reno even decided to get a drink of water was of his previous engagements the other day. He had gone to Club Automatica with Zack to talk about their martial status and the stories of what it was like to be 'married' to their 'wives'. The Turk's mind, when not screaming bloody murder, was still mused over their discussions. Staggering off onto the couch after unable to stand standing, or rather leaning, in the kitchen, Reno didn't give to shakes of anything about if there was medicine in the apartment that could fix his agony. This place really did everything in its power to piss on his good days, didn't it?

Just as soon as the sharp strike of glass against marble tile registered in his mind, Rufus was up from his seat by the window and quickly stepping out the bedroom door. Kitchen. The sound had come from the kitchen, he thought, quickly clicking off the safety on his shotgun. As he neared the site, however, his attention caught.

Water.

Brows drawing together, Rufus pressed closer to the wall before quickly swiveling to side, double-barrel pointed at an intruder... who simply wasn't there. 'Then...?'

Carefully, he traced his gaze from the spilled water to the shards of glass on the floor, only to land on a disheveled Turk laying in a heap of misery on his dark leather couch. Logically, his mind had reasoned out the entire situation in a heartbeat - Kaen's warning message earlier that day coupled with the evidence on the tiles only led to one conclusion. Still, it was disconcerting and the thinning of his lips was evidence enough of his displeasure.

Tucking the gun carefully into the holster of his white overcoat, Rufus carefully paced his steps as he approached Reno. It was doubtful that the redhead had taken a lethal amount - regardless of how often he was teased, Reno was not Tseng's second-in-command for an obscure reason. Still, the chance remained, and Rufus was none too pleased to recognize the unsettled sense clenched deep in his throat. Raising a hand to touch the male, Rufus hesitated once and settled for a light nudge at his felled employee's shoulder.

And despite the decided bluntness in his question, there was a hint of softness to his tone that gave away his concern: "Still alive, Reno?"

Reno was going to seriously hurt someone for this, or at least pray that he was not the only idiot that fell for this joke gone horribly wrong. He was in a world of pain. Agony. Suffering. And everything that could be used to describe his misery. He swore that once he got better that he'd never drink any water in this stupid city ever again. So what if his kidneys would shut down thanks to dehydration or something similar to it. This Turk was not about to go through this kind of hell ever again just to flush the alcohol from his system, not like it did any real good, but it kept him from having a 'beer belly'.

Just as he was almost done sulking and feeling sorry with an additive of anger for his stupid self, he felt someone nudge him. That 'someone' was obviously Rufus, since he shared the place with no one else. Well, there was Jojo, but Jojo stay in his jar...floating. Jojo was quite the cute fetus. "I think." Reno groaned as he answered his boss. His head began swirling in the most nauseating manner. "And to be quite frank, I wish I wasn't."

Man, this was embarrassing. Reno, a well trained and experienced Turk, dumbed down to nothing more than a dead-weight after drinking only a glass of water. How potent had this poison been anyways? Oh, what did it matter in the end? The fiery redhead felt unspeakable pains and nausea that he would never to be wished on anyone he knew. Except Tseng. Maybe. Just maybe. Though it was nice to hear that Rufus concerned for his well being, or at least if he was dead or not. Maybe Rufus only sounded like he was concerned because he didn't want to have to replace him. Damnit. He needed to stay optimistic here, being a pessimist was someone else's job. Death by water was NOT something he'd want for on his autopsy.

So Reno was conscious; incapacitated, but conscious enough to answer with the humor he'd become notoriously known for. That much was a good sign; whatever plans Rufus had mentally set in motion to replace the Turk were halted in favor of a small, ironic upward-quirk of his lips. "Good." He nodded, pulling back for a moment to re-asses the situation. Aside from occasional hangovers and a sheer laziness to join the land of the living in early mornings, Reno hardly ever left himself at such a vulnerable a state before him.

What did one do when one's poisoned lover was laying face first on a couch, possibly courting death due to an unwanted dose of a demi-god's acid saliva? Rufus hardly had any experience with serious illnesses thanks to the cure materia ShinRa's scientists kept well-stocked, and the incidents with Geostigma and building-leaping were barely passable as useful comparisons. Of course, when he was afflicted with Geostigma, Tseng had often tended to the bandages, yet as Reno was at the moment, poisoned...

Leaning forward, Rufus pressed at Reno's shoulder again to catch his attention, almost blinking in surprise when he felt the near feverish heat the other emanated even through a layer of clothing. What was it his maid always did when he fell ill as a child? Suddenly, Rufus was pressing his thoughts to remember. "You need to turn over, Reno."

Was it just him or did things just get really cold all of a sudden. Sure he called his boss an ice storm, but it didn't mean that he was actually capable of lowering the temperature around him. Shivers were starting to set in and Reno really seemed to reconsider reading the news and waiting for announcements before ingesting any sort of food substance. Wasn't this a bit fast to be getting this sick anyways? What happened to his immune system? Did that thing give it quits on this day too; if it did Reno really did have the best luck ever. He loved the world and life. Really. He did. Just not at this moment, or any that would be similar to it.

Now what was this? Moving? Rufus ShinRa wanted him to move? Things we already bad enough without him moving, and now there was a request for him to move? He loved the man, dearly, but there was no way that he'd move. "Make me." would have been what he stated in retaliation, but no thanks to his current condition, he kept his mouth shut. Dizzying darkness and great bundles of sharp pains where being felt all over. Reno was losing a battle to a glass of water that some bastard spat in; the irony here was almost funny enough to laugh.

There was a long pause and no movements made until Reno finally decided that to comply with the orders that he received from Rufus. Slowly, he pushed himself off of the surface of the synthetic fibers and rolled over to lie on his back. Turk felt like he was on a dissection table and he was the specimen.

Now sure that Reno was in no upcoming danger of suffocating on the couch, Rufus allowed himself a pleased expression - one which he assumed went unseen by the ill redhead. The tips of his fingers ghosted lightly over Reno's temple, and the ShinRa President frowned thoughtfully in response to what he found. If the heated flesh was of any indication, then Reno was most likely developing a fever - a rapid one if he had only taken a sip from the water before. And despite the fact that red was a color that well-suited the Turk, the unhealthy flush that tinged his skin definitely did little to allay Rufus' mind.

At the same time, it was common knowledge that despite how ruthless a leader, how sharp-minded and clear-cut Rufus was during meetings -- that same know-how hardly translated into any profoundly life-altering skill in medicine and treatment. Biting back a frustrated breath, the blonde swiveled around to retrieve a phone and dial a number he had long since memorized.

It took two rings, and there was the blessed chirp of the hotel's customer service receptionist. Grimly, Rufus spoke into the receiver: "Housekeeping to Apartment 1, Room 60."

A moment of silence before: "Ah-- I'm sorry, but that might--"

"Now."

"Yes, but we're a little short-handed due to the--"

"Water poisoning. Yes, I realized. However, the president of a multi-corporal industry of rather questionable ties and ethics," here, his gaze flitted over to Reno, "is heaving the entire contents of his breakfast up and onto what may soon become his death bed. Should you fail to offer assistance, I may be forced into swift action which may or may not include phoning several suit-wearing investigative forces well-versed in torture and activities of a similar morally-absent nature."

Another brief pause. "...Oh... Oh! I'll send someone right over, sir."

"Thank you." And with that, he returned the phone to its hanger on the wall and left to return to the redhead's side. There were no pills or cure materia to be found in the apartment, and what he did have - a sleeping pill - was undoubtedly useless in treating poison. Considering Kaen's trick, water was also inaccessible. The answer had been obvious enough, and now he merely needed to wait for it to arrive. So what to do until then? His gaze fell on Reno's prone body. Still shivering. Frowning, Rufus set his shotgun and other necessities on the nearby coffee table. His coat would be enough to keep Reno warm for the moment, he believed, or at least it would until the blonde could properly order the housekeeper around, anyway. "Should the housekeeper refer to you as ShinRa," he began, "do not argue." And with a satisfied nod at his brilliant planning, Rufus shrugged off his overcoat and draped it over the Turk.

Wherever the hell the housekeeping service was, it had better arrive soon.

I hate this fucking place. I hate this fucking place. I so fuckin-- OW.' Reno's mental mantra went before a sharp pain struck him. Mumbling and cursing under his breath, the Turk tried not to whine like a little child about how his 'tummy ached' and about how the world was all 'spinney' or how it was 'chilly' while Rufus was on the phone calling apparently their housekeeper. Someone that Reno's never seen actually in person, but then again he was never really 'home' a lot in the first place. But the fact that Rufus ShinRa seemed to be a bit panicked over his current state made it completely worth while. Okay, maybe not completely, but it was so worth it. He could have laughed, if he wasn't so miserable, at some of the words that poured out from the blonde's mouth as he wrestled with the housekeeper.

It was nice to actually see proof that he cared for him. Real nice.

The phone conversation ended and the redhead could see the as nice as it was, he really didn't like to see his boss nearly frantic. “I’ll be ShinRa any day, if it makes the pain go away..." Reno gave Rufus his best grin he could. "And Ruffles, don't worry that pretty head of yours too much. I want to go home with you eventually...alright?"

Sure he was in a world of pain, but nothing compared to the Mako injections, though they were getting there...fast. Pulling at the ends of the coat, he wrapped himself up with white linen snuggling the extra warmth and hopefully ending his trembling. It was really embarrassing to be this vulnerable. This weak. Reno's the man's bodyguard. He shouldn't be trembling or feeling any of what he did. Conflicted. He settled on focusing on the scent of Rufus ShinRa that engulfed the overcoat.

And though the overcoat seemed to be doing its job of keeping Reno suitably warm, much less could have been said about the housekeeper, who (and here Rufus gave his wrist watch a chilling glance) was twenty-three minutes late in coming. Twenty-five, actually, if he took into account the extra two minutes he set aside for the receptionist to alert the housekeeper, properly have her equip herself with clean water and medication, and take the fifty-nine flights up the elevator to his room.

Hired help in the hotel obviously left competency to be desired.

Sparing Reno another glance, Rufus rose from his perch on the armchair nearest the couch and made his way to the kitchen. Perhaps the redhead's condition wasn't worsening, but he wasn't exactly healing in the (now) twenty-seven minutes since Rufus had requested aid which apparently was not coming any time soon with thanks to the receptionist's inability to register a thinly veiled threat that he was going to damn well shove Tseng's gun and holster down her throat.

But. He released a soft, controlled breath. No matter. He was President Rufus ShinRa of Midgar's largest Electric Company. He faced down extra-terrestrial cell clones falsely handi-capped while blotchy mold grew and festered on his arms as a hobby. He made leaping from sixty-story building windows a fashionable, if not to be repeated ever again, sport. What was caring for a temporarily ill Reno compared to that? Nothing was the answer. And, reaching into the freezer to retrieve ice cubes, Rufus was dead set on being the best damned nurse sit-in for the incompetent housemaid.

Placing the ice cubes in a bowl, Rufus then grabbed a small towel and returned with both items in hand. If their current water sources were unavailable, then melted ice would do just as well. As he settled beside Reno, Rufus rubbed the ice cube against the washcloth for any hint of water; when his efforts finally proved fruitful, he set it on the other's temple. First, he had to bring down the fever.

A quick glance at his watch showed forty-one minutes since the maid was supposed to come.

Reno mused over how Rufus kept checking back to his watch periodically. Being punctual was something that the president stressed, a fact that the redhead knew very well. Though Rufus was even more anal than his father had been about, not like he really listen to the old geezer. He was hired to work for and protect the lard bucket's son. No where had it been in his contract that he should answer to the dead man's nightly beckons and whines. Who would have known that the roles would be reversed, certainly not this defiant Turk. 'He's pacing...' Reno thought. 'Guess this housekeeping service is about to see a very grumpy Rufus ShinRa. That is. Whenever they decide to bring themselves up here.'

The pain was beginning dull and the Mako injections he received all those years earlier, worked their magic to dull the pangs. Though the room wouldn't stop spinning nor would the gagging feeling he was feeling settle down. However, the cold compress that his blonde paragon of anesthetized grace placed on his head was making the pounding headache that he neglected to bother with earlier. Resting brilliant orbs of lucid green and blue, Reno relaxed shuffling around on the couch with the coat finding his sweet spot on the sofa.

Finally finding his little niche in the couch and was about to fall asleep but the Turk felt the need to grab something, or someone, and cuddle it. Eyeing Rufus with a half-opened eye, Reno sent messages with his mind to the blonde's head hoping that he'd magically be able to understand them.

But unfortunately for Reno, the only message Rufus received from the blatant stare was that the cold compress needed to be changed. "Are you still cold?" he asked, voice even as he reached for the cloth and dipped it into the basin of melted ice. After submerging it for a few moments, the blonde wrung out excess water (as he'd seen Tseng do often when he tended to his wounds) and replaced it on Reno's forehead. His hand lingered for a fraction of a heartbeat, and it was then that Rufus felt for any tell-tale signs that the other's fever had receded. Somewhat warm, but his skin wasn't quite so clammy anymore; Rufus took it as a good sign.

Head canting for a moment, the blonde allowed himself a moment to trace chilled fingers through the few stray strands of red hair. Reno looked better than he did an hour before, certainly, but his eyes were tired, exhausted, and he was wasting valuable recuperation time staring at him like a sick puppy.

"Ducks are out to take over the world..." Reno spouted out randomly. It definitely wasn't what he was thinking about in the slightest. "...and penguins are going to save it!" Fever or not, there was something wrong with the way words were being strung through his head to his mouth. The Turk meant to say that he wasn't too cold anymore and that he wanted Rufus to come and snuggle with him. Where the penguins and ducks came from, Reno didn't know though it highly concerned him.

The couch felt like it was spinning around and around as it orbited Rufus ShinRa. So pathetically, Reno tried yet again to say the right words this time. "Not close enough for me to see...where's my love...." Well, that was a decent start. At least it would end up bringing his blonde bag of chips closer and maybe in 'sneak attack cuddle' distance. "You end up dead in the end." And then it had to go crashing and burning, didn't it? If Reno's head didn't feel as if there were mini gremlins pounding away at his brain, then he'd opt to try for a head-desking.

Gracefully arching a brow in response to the answer he was awarded, Rufus managed a polite, if not slightly confused, nod of his head. "Penguins," he echoed hollowly, almost amused at the situation if it weren't for the fact that Reno was so obviously hallucinating. So much for better. Letting his hand drop back to his lap, Rufus rose to his feet and set the basin on the table. "Perhaps you should rest while I find a proper coverlet."

Upon finding a soft quilt tucked away in the closet, Rufus allowed himself another moment to muse over the drivel Reno's mind had conjured. 'Dead in the end.' Rather morbid, considering his previous statement of villainous ducks and hero-type penguins (though imagining Cloud Strife as a penguin offered no shortage of amusement, really). Lips curling, Rufus returned to peel his overcoat from the redhead's grasp before readily replacing it with the coverlet. A satisfied nod, and then: "Rest and get well."

Frowning the sicken redhead wasn't so keen on how things were turning out. He wanted hugs and cuddles. Tender loving care! Not to be seen as delusional or that he was hallucinating! Though kiwi trees had always been there, hadn't they? Oh man, Reno's mind was going, but at least there was something that he knew that he wanted. Reaching out and grabbing at Rufus, a feat that was almost too painful and exhausting to do, and tugged at one of his many layers. "If you're not here to hear me scream... Am I silent like a dream?" Reno's voice spat out. The word choice worked and hopefully they'd stay that way. “Where all the dragons are my friends. Each night we meet our bitter ends."

The word choice could have been better but Reno kept going, hoping that something would eventually pour out that would basically sum up what he was trying to say. "Do I need you to make me real like Wheeler spinning his own wheel...? Quantum strings within my brain popping sanities insane." The Turk was getting desperate now. And in a last futile attempt to say anything for the rest of the night, he opened his mouth for one more sentence.

"I'm nobody without you..."

Jackpot. This was what he'd been trying to say for the past hour or so. Though not exactly precise. Reno tugged harder on his employer's clothing not taking anymore changes with words. Was he really that insensitive that he couldn't figure out that he wanted more than just a few ghostly touches with chilled fingers? You could pile blankets on him, but that would be empty warmth against his heated skin. It wasn't like Rufus could get sick either; he was like this because of the water. So there would be no harm or consequences.

Blinking as the meaning behind Reno's words finally dawned on him, Rufus spared the other male a glance which clearly questioned the other's logic. If anyone had told him days earlier that a sick Reno was also a poetic one, he certainly would have called said person absolutely mad. With a soft shake of his head, Rufus mentally tallied all the times he'd allowed the other male to over-step boundaries with hardly a say. He'd never been overly fond of touching, especially not if it included Reno's ridiculous 'cuddle sessions,' but the other male seemed to thrive off of it. But to join the redhead on the already small leather couch? Near impossible. ...And yet the earnest way the other spoke drew something like a soft, resigned sigh from him.

Casting Reno a withering look as though to say 'only this one time,' Rufus pulled back the coverlet and slid beside Reno in one smooth motion. At least now he would stop tugging at his clothes.

And almost like a quiet after-thought, he added: "Should you fall ill again in the near future, I sincerely hope it is not accompanied by another serenade."

Not wanting to risk saying something about penguins or about that kiwi tree in their kitchen covered in materia and cigarettes as if it were some sort of Christmas tree or about the strange shark that was circling their coffee table and Rufus's shotgun, Reno just nodded contently and wrapped his arms around his employer. Sure he'd get irritated at the amount of heat that the two of them would start to generate but the redhead would deal with it. He'd just kick off some of the coverlet or something.

Attention and affection were the same in his book. The more attention you gave that person meant that the more you loved them. It was simple really. Besides, it was Rufus's fault for not giving him his necessary doses of attention.

Though after a few moments of silence he couldn't help but see what would come out of his mouth. It was like gambling, but with words and the worse thing that could happen wasn't so bad. Plus he could always make up for it later. "I am destroyer I am lover~" Reno sang ignoring his body's pangs. "And when I kiss I like to smother ♥" Grinning at the words that just existed his mouth, the redhead took the moment to 'smother' Rufus in a kiss. He was sick, but not contagious...hopefully.

But if the idiot was contagious and still stubbornly trying for more physical affection, a pay dock the moment they returned to Midgar was only the least Rufus could offer in return. Though on the other hand, the strategic replacement of his lips with the throw pillow was just as pleasant an option; it was a shame the nearest one was probably pressed flush against the couch far from his reach. Pressing his lips tightly shut, the blonde indulged Reno with a quick peck before he shifted his face away and pressed it to the other's shoulder. At least the other male couldn't try anything laying as they were like that.

"Perhaps when you feel better, but not right now," Rufus uttered, primly shifting a hand to rest on the fabric of the other's shirt. "And before you decide to argue by...singing," he continued (and Reno did have a nice baritone if it weren't for the fact that he sounded drunk and incoherent at the time), "I would like to remind you that we have plenty of time for that later. For now you need to rest." And as if to emphasize his point, Rufus arched closer and lightly pressed his lips to the other's collarbone. It was as close to a get well kiss as the other would receive, anyway. "All right?"

A grin almost as the ones he usually bares plastered on his face, Reno settled for another snuggle and a squeeze for his response. So what if he was not allowed to give anymore kisses or anything related to the sort until he was better? Rufus brought up a valid point. They had more than enough time for this later, especially if never found a way back home. Of which the Turk thought about for a few moments, how was Midgar now? They left right in the middle of reconstruction and all of the most experienced members, not including the fact that the president was right here, missing. Midgar functional, but not as it was before all of that nasty Meteor and Sephiroth mess. And if things are as what the "gods" say, then only one person is allowed to leave at a time. Would that mean he would have to wait to collect and secure five different exit ways before actually leaving? Did he even want to mess with that?

The shark, who had introduced himself as a female named, Foo-Foo and the Kiwi tree that somehow learned how to speak, both told him that it was better for him not to mess with it. The fact that he was listening to a shark and a kiwi tree was a strange fact in its own. Luckily he wasn't talking to Foo-Foo and the tree because he had the feeling that Rufus might actually start reconsidering finding him a replacement.

This day was turning for the better. It was like the Cold Snap Day, which turned out nicely, very nicely and then proceeded to cause certain body parts to be sore for the next day. It wasn't bad though, nothing a few extra cushions and careful sitting, or just replacing the sitting with standing, wouldn't solve. His president really should look into doing those kinds of things more often. Guess not today though, seeing that he was sick in all.

Taking Reno's grin as his response enough, Rufus resigned himself to his fate as the redhead's latest addition to a one-man pillow collection. It was probably safe to consider finding a pet, if only to distract Reno's attention from its one track streak onto something more productive -- perhaps another black panther like Dark Nation. At the very least, the panther would be useful for whenever the housekeeper chose to arrive; for Rufus had it in mind that if s/he ever did, a painfully long lecture (or threat, either one worked) was in order. Having a panther nip at their heels wasn't a terrible addition, either, he mused, a small smirk lighting his features.

Absently pulling the coverlet higher, Rufus mentally listed the few schemes he had in mind to repay the hotel staff for its incompetence and inefficient manner of following orders. Two minutes, he had allotted. Instead, he managed Reno himself, alone, with only ice cubes and a water basin. It was almost terribly pitiful that he was forced to take action himself, but--.

But, he supposed, the day itself hadn't been terrible. Idly, he threaded his index finger through strands of Reno's pony tail. No, not bad at all.

It was well into the next morning by the time room service arrived.