Games People Play

*******

by nekojita

*******

Tseng’s left eye twitched as he stared across the packed stateroom at his employer. Something… wasn’t right. He had spent more years than he cared to count as a Turk, had developed a special sixth sense about things that had saved his life on numerous occasions and that sense right now was blaring in his head, warning him that *something* was off. There was a danger here in this room, yet he had gone over everything himself, had checked with all of the Turks on duty save one, had overseen the security feeds himself and was confirming his own visual clearance and nothing was wrong that he could ascertain. Rufus Shinra was a mere ten feet away, a slight smile on his face as he chatted with a diplomat from Wutai who actually appeared pleased to be here.

At his side was Reno, dressed in a dark grey and black suit that complimented Rufus’ white and black outfit, his red hair pulled back into a neat ponytail and a glass of wine half-empty in his right hand. For once he was mindful of how much alcohol he was drinking at one of these events, which alone was cause for Tseng’s concern; Reno usually attended these social events under very loud protest and on the understanding that he could either drink as much as possible or even get to harm someone. While it was true that Reno considered himself ‘working’ tonight, hence him remaining near Rufus instead of wandering around to see whatever type of mischief he could get himself into, he was on rather good behavior – *unnaturally* good behavior.

In fact, *both* of them were remarkably well-behaved. Reno appeared calm and mostly quiet as he remained at Rufus’ side, granting an occasional smile and remark to whomever came up to speak to SHINRA’s president and then leaning in closer to have a private conversation with Rufus, one that would leave them either smiling or grimacing slightly whenever they were alone. As for Rufus, he was rather engaging tonight, allowing people to speak to him – albeit briefly – and remaining in full view, with only a hint of his feared glare or coldness from time to time. There was no attempt from either of them to sneak off, no sign of their tempers or of a burgeoning fight….

That* must be what had Tseng’s sense of alarm on edge; it was simply unheard of to have Rufus and Reno together for more than a couple of hours, especially with so many other people involved, and *not* have some sort of disagreement arise between the two of them. By now they should be arguing and either attempting to injuring the other or having sex, probably both. He had seen it happen too many times before for the pattern to break, yet here they were, standing next to each other and smiling while Reno sipped what was only his third glass of wine that night and Rufus actually laughed with no sign of bitterness.

Someone must have drugged the two men. If Tseng hadn’t have watched over them so closely, he would assume that they had been switched with body doubles or mental tampering was involved, so it could only be something in the food or wine. He pulled out his phone and barked out an order to Michael and Ling to immediately investigate the catering company.

******

Rufus watched as the Wutian ambassador bowed slightly and walked away. Once he was out of earshot, he smirked at his lover. "So, he mentioned the war without referring to Sephiroth. That means you owe me one story about a mission during that time, which I define the parameters." He smiled in delight at the thought of pinning the elusive bastard down.

Reno cursed before he sipped his wine, having no doubt thought that he would have won that round. Rufus himself was rather surprised, since Zhang had referred to Sephiroth and Genesis in the past. Ah well, he supposed that all mattered was that he had won this round and that Reno owed him the truth.

"Mr. President, you appear happy tonight. I don’t know how you manage to keep from being so bored by these events," Theresa Stonewright drawled as she sidled next to him, a full glass of white wine in her hand. Trailing behind her was her latest ‘toy’, a handsome young man half her age.

Rufus managed a polite smile as he nodded to the owner of half of Midgar’s upscale clothing stores. "I suppose one becomes inured to them over the years." He made no move to kiss or touch the hand that she held out to him, which she dropped after a moment’s hesitation. Theresa was still a very attractive woman with her dark hair and golden skin, barely touched by her years either by the wonders of science or Materia, and he knew better than to be seen seeming to pay favorable attention to anyone. If it wasn’t fodder for some illicit affair, then it would be grounds for some merger talks that would plague him for weeks to come.

"I imagine so, considering how long you’ve been attending functions such as these." She glanced past him at Reno and dismissed him after a few seconds appraisal, probably not considering him worth her time when she much favored men like her ‘toy’, built taller and with more obvious muscle. Rufus allowed himself a smile as he imagined how quickly Reno could take the man down and with how little effort.

"They are a necessary evil." He adjusted the cuffs of his white shirt and mentally checked on how much longer they had to be here before they could leave; SHINRA was the biggest sponsor for WRO’s latest inoculation effort so probably another half an hour.

"Hmm, yes. One is expected to arrive, write a nice big check and eat a few skimpy shrimp on toast in return." Theresa waved her wine glass around. "The wine was better at the events your father hosted. I must talk to Tuesti about hiring better caterers."

Rufus watched her leave while doing his best to not glare. Beside him, Reno grinned as he sidled closer to exchange his empty wine glass for a full one from the tray that one of the servers had left behind. "Eh, for shitty wine *I* think it’s not half bad," the bastard remarked before taking a sip. He glanced at Rufus from over the glass’ rim, his eyes bright with amusement. "So, since she mentioned the asshole, you owe me another head bashin’."

Despite the annoyance that flashed through Rufus, he managed a smile as he brushed the fingers of his gloved right hand along the tattoo on his lover’s left cheek. "Tseng’s going to be so pleased to know that you’re to be assigned three ‘special’ missions." He caged his answer in case anyone overheard.

Reno chuckled as he closed his eyes and tilted his head into the caress. "Yeah, well, we givin’ him any grief tonight?" When he opened his eyes, they were glowing slightly. "An’ it’s not like I’m exactly comin’ out ahead here," he pointed out with a hint of surliness.

No, and the thought of all the ‘points’ that Rufus had scored tonight was what kept any annoyance or concern at the thought of Reno getting to partake in extra missions just so he had the fun in taking out targets. Their little game to pass the time and manage to finagle what they wanted out of each other – the truth about Reno’s past for Rufus and bloodshed for Reno – was proving very amusing so far tonight.

"I guess you’re just not that lucky."

"Hmph, I think these people just like kissin’ your ass," Reno drawled before he tossed back the wine.

"I’m sure if we were at a dinner of assassins and paid thugs, our positions would be reversed," he responded with a smile.

That earned him a genuine laugh, which made several people standing around them turn to stare, including Elena and Kali. Reno reached out to trail a hand along the front of Rufus’ coat, pausing over where one of Rufus’ guns was concealed, his eyelids heavy and his tongue flicking along his full lower lip. "They’d still be kissin’ your ass." His voice took on a husky tone.

Rufus caught his hand and dragged it up to his own lips to brush them across the rough knuckles. "Jealous?"

"Nah, just pissed off that I might not get ‘nother chance to beat up the rookies tonight." Reno’s tongue stuck out a little farther as he pulled his hand free.

This time it was Rufus’ turn to laugh. "I think that they’re going to be traumatized enough with the five times you’ll be ‘tutoring’ them in the future."

"That’s if I’m still alive after you hear some of the shit we pulled," Reno grumbled, but he was smiling all the same.

Rufus narrowed his eyes at the comment, but the reality was that he wanted to know the truth, wanted to know what his lover and Tseng had been hiding from him all these years. This game had been a way to make tonight bearable, but it was also a way to find out things without stumbling upon them too late or getting into a knock-down, drag-out fight with his boyfriend. A few dead bodies and Turk rookies sent to Medical was a slight price to pay as an alternative.

"I’m sure you’ll come up with some way to stay in my good graces," he told Reno as he reached for a glass of wine. He had just picked it up when Tseng appeared and grabbed hold of his wrist.

"Sir, I’m not sure you should be drinking that," Tseng told him with a disproving frown. "Not until I’ve verified that it’s safe."

Rufus stared at him in disbelief for several seconds. "Are you seriously telling me that someone slipped past your security and tampered with it?" He motioned to the room around him, at the seemingly healthy people busy chatting and eating, and then at Reno who certainly appeared perfectly fine.

Tseng’s frown deepened. "We checked for poisons, but not psychotropic drugs."

Rufus continued to stare at him, while Reno took to laughing. "You think we’ve been drugged? Why?"

"Sir…."

"Why, Tseng?" Rufus made sure the question came across as an order.

"Because of your abnormal behavior, Sir." Tseng had the audacity to look him straight in the face as he answered.

If they weren’t attracting any attention beforehand, they certainly were now with the way Reno was laughing hysterically while hanging onto Rufus’ shoulders, and Elena and Kali were removing all of the wine glasses around them as Tseng had a death grip on the glass in Rufus’ hand. Rufus seriously debated allowing Reno to begin his ‘head bashin’ a little early.

*******

Reno headed to the bedroom while Rufus slammed the door behind him, busy barking orders into his cell phone. Ah, someone was in *such* a lovely mood, and for once it wasn’t really his fault. Well, wasn’t entirely his fault – Rufus was just as much to blame as him, and most of the bastard’s bad mood was focused on Tseng. While Reno felt sorry for his friend and supervisor, he was just happy that he should be avoiding most of the fall-out on this one since *he* wasn’t the idiot who had mistaken Rufus in a good mood for a drugged out president. Holy hell, what had Tseng been thinking?

To be fair, he could see where Tseng had been going with that one – it wasn’t often that Rufus was in a good mood when forced to attend a WRO function. That’s why Reno much preferred to spend them either up in some balcony on sniper duty or outside if possible, and if he *had* to go as Rufus’ date then he would be as drunk as hell and as far away from his lover as possible. But Tseng *and* Rufus had wanted him to stick nearby as added security, so that meant limited alcohol and no hiding in the broom closets looking up porn on his cell phone, dammit.

So when Rufus had joked about making a game out of it the other night, some stupid way of killing time, he had jumped on the chance of… *something* to make the damn situation bearable. Of course the bastard had to twist things to get what he wanted, but Reno had been able to work in some fun stuff for himself as well, to the point that they both were satisfied with the rules and the rewards. Rufus would find some shit out, but then again he usually did in the end so it didn’t seem like that big of a loss. Just as long as Reno got to have some fun since he wouldn’t be able to thrash it out with Rufus in the middle of some stuffy party – not without Tseng coming down hard on his ass.

He shrugged out of the black jacket and let it drop to the floor before undoing the buttons of his grey shirt. The dress pants and boxers had just dropped as well when Rufus had walked into the bedroom, an annoyed expression on his face as he snapped the phone shut. "So, have fun bitchin’ Tseng out or what?"

"I can’t believe the man actually believed we had been drugged simply because we weren’t fighting or traumatizing everyone." Rufus tossed the phone aside and stared at Reno. "That’s a thousand gil suit you’re abusing."

"What the hell do I care, I didn’ buy it," Reno pointed out with some amusement as he noted his lover’s rising temper. "An’ why do you care when it’s not yours?"

"Because *I* was the idiot who did pay for it," Rufus answered as he stalked across the room. "Nice to see you have the same respect for your clothes as well." He ignored the mess on the floor to snap the tie that held back Reno’s hair.

"Eh, all it’s for is ta be used. You fuss too much over tha weirdest shit." He slid his arms over Rufus’ shoulder and shifted closer. The man was *such* an anal-retentive bastard, worrying about the past and clothes and a bunch of other shit when he should just live in the moment. Ah well, Reno could work with the quirks; they were pains at times but they could also serve as handy distractions.

"Whereas you take certain things for granted," Rufus murmured before leaning in for a kiss. Figuring that there was going to be a lecture in the near future, Reno decided to enjoy the moment and get drunk as soon as it ended – it was either that or start a fight.

He pushed at the heavy material covering Rufus’ shoulders until the white jacket ended up on the floor, and had to stifle a laugh at the pained look on his lover’s face before he shoved him onto the bed. He quickly straddled Rufus’ lap as he undid the straps of the black vest. "Oh come on, a few wrinkles won’t hurt anything."

"Says the man who’s ruined half my wardrobe." But Rufus was smiling as he spoke, the fingers of his right hand buried in Reno’s long hair.

"You enjoy punishing me for every bit of that destruction." Reno pushed the vest aside and started working on the shirt beneath it as he rocked his hips forward. "It’s just some kinky foreplay to you."

"This from the man who laughed every time he won the right to kill or maim someone tonight." Rufus smiled up at him for a moment, and then in a move that would do a Turk proud flipped him onto his back, easily reversing their positions. "I think the kinky one here is you," he murmured as he leaned down to nuzzle Reno’s neck while busy shrugging out of his clothes.

Reno shivered at the feel of warm breath along his sensitive neck. "Eh, have I ever denied it?" He reached out for his lover, only to have his wrists caught and stretched out over his head, pressed back onto the pillows in a silent command to ‘stay’.

Rufus stared down at him for a few seconds before answering. "I believe you rather delight in it." He shifted back enough to remove his pants and boxers, then his socks as he stared at Reno’s nude body. "Did you think that Tseng might be… concerned about our behavior tonight?"

Well, he hadn’t thought that Rufus would be so direct in asking that question, dammit. Reno tried a seductive grin and squirming a little until he realized that a distraction wouldn’t work. "Ah, see, he really does expect us to either fuck or fight. I just figured he’d be busy checking the bathrooms for a dead body or something, not the wine for being spiked." That had been a new one for Tseng reactions and had ruined the fun a little.

Rufus’ hands left Reno’s wrists and slid into his hair, tightening on the strands. "You just love to play with people, don’t you?" Rufus asked the question in a quiet, deep voice, his expression curious but his eyes a hint too narrowed.

Reno bared his teeth as he jerked his hips upward. "Oh get off it, *President*. Like you don’ enjoy seein’ people jump when you say so. Only way ta survive this long is knowin’ how people are gonna twist when you pull their tails."

The room was quiet for several seconds as they stared at each other, then Rufus chuckled as he leaned closer, causing their erections to rub against each other as he pushed Reno harder against the bed. "You do make a compelling point. The only thing is, you never quite seem to jump in the direction I anticipate," he murmured against Reno’s lips.

"Yeah, well, that’s why I’m *here*," Reno whispered back as he tilted his mouth into the kiss, his wrists kept pinned to the bed even as he rocked his hips upward. All these years, and he was here because Rufus had yet to get bored with him, had yet to figure him out. All these years, and Rufus had yet to prove himself to be just some simple rich boy, a good fuck with the money to back it up, a way to put it to the old bastard who wrote the checks. For such a simple ‘game’, they sure as hell couldn’t seem to find a way to end it.

"I thought it was for the endless supply of liquor," Rufus quipped before kissing him breathless, and Reno had to give it to the bastard for that one. He nipped at Rufus’ tongue as he wrapped his legs around his lover’s waist, moaning as strong hands stroked along his sides. He finally moved his own hands so he could comb one of them through Rufus’ hair, could rake the other down the man’s back and pull his ass closer to where he wanted it.

Rufus got him back for the bite by marking him on his neck hard enough to leave a bruise, not that he cared as long as the bastard was reaching for the lube at the same time. He almost snatched it away to do the job himself but was prevented, and had to settle for putting on a show of writhing slowly and tossing his head about while Rufus finger-fucked him to get his lover to hurry up. The sight of Rufus Shinra of all people damn near panting in frustration, blond hair disheveled and falling into his face as he tried to hold back just long enough almost made Reno laugh if he wasn’t so damn horny, until he growled out his lover’s name and added a ‘please’ to it as well. Some people were just so easy to manipulate.

"You better not bitch tomorrow," Rufus gritted out as he slicked up his cock, his hand trembling as he knelt between Reno’s thighs.

"I’ll be too busy killin’ someone ta- ah!" Reno arched his back as Rufus thrust inside, pleasure sweetly laced with a hint of burning ache as the suddenness of it. He was given a moment to catch his breath before Rufus moved, setting a fast pace that jarred his nerves with an electric rush of ecstasy. "Oh yeah," he sighed in satisfaction as he urged his lover on.

"You’ll be in my office, telling me what the hell you were up to while I was stuck in Junon," Rufus insisted as he snapped his hips forward, smiling with smug satisfaction when Reno moaned at the bliss washing through him as a result when he really wanted to curse just then. "I believe… you owe me quite a few secrets."

Damn bastard always had to strive for the upper hand. Reno bared his teeth as he dug his nails into Rufus’ arms, but all the asshole did was pound into him even harder, faster, his hand wrapped around his cock and stroking just as fast until it was so difficult to think. "You… me…owe too…." His vision blurred from the bliss coursing through him, but he could hear Rufus’ heavy breathing, could feel the flesh shuddering beneath his fingertips and against his thighs.

"Owe me more," Rufus grunted against his right ear as he pulled on Reno’s hair, the chain cold against his flushed skin wherever it touched.

The brief answer made Reno laugh as he gave in to the intoxicating pleasure building inside of him, letting it crash through him as Rufus continued to assault him with those deep hard thrusts that made him rock his hips up for more. He retaliated with clenching around the bastard, drawing him in as he pulled him down, pulled him closer, wrapped so tight around him as he came that Rufus cried out his name and followed him seconds later.

Maybe he did have to owe the smug prick ‘more’ for Rufus’ pride to be soothed, for the game to hold any interest. But Rufus never seemed to realize that as long as Reno got what he wanted that he was happy, and he never needed as much as some rich spoiled brat. A great fuck now and then, some alcohol to pass the time, good friends at his side and some heads to cave in for fun. A home to come to with a comfy bed and if that ‘great fuck’ was there, someone who could put up with his shit and could go toe to toe with him, then all the better. Though really, sometimes he wondered at how complicated Rufus could make even the simplest of games….

"Stop poking me," Rufus grumbled as he batted Reno’s left hand away from the side of his head.

"Oi, you’re tha one sprawled out on me," Reno complained as he tried to move off of his hair. "An’ damn heavy." He poked his lover once again for emphasis, this time in the ribs. Rufus had put on some weight after recovering from Geostigma, and it had been all muscle.

Rufus lifted his head from Reno’s chest and glared. "*Some* of us are more than skin and bones."

"Some of us get paid ta go crawlin’ through air ducts so don’t get all shitty about it," Reno pointed out with a bit of pride.

Rufus actually smiled as he rolled onto the mattress beside Reno. "You manage to have an answer to everything."

Reno grunted as he stretched out a few kinks and sore muscles then shifted onto his side. "Eh, I better after being a Turk for so long." Quick thinking and an even faster mouth had saved his life on more occasions than he could count.

"Just don’t think to foist off smart remarks when it’s your time to pay up, or else I’ll make sure that Tseng sends you out after a bunch of geriatric targets and washed out rookies." Rufus gave him a cool look as he issued the threat before leaving the bed in favor of the bathroom.

Reno watched him leave and contemplated how much trouble he would be in for drowning the boss. Surely Tseng wouldn’t mind too much after what had happened tonight – he probably couldn’t completely drown the bastard, but a little water in the lungs couldn’t hurt, right? Just a bit of payback for the both of them, he told himself as he climbed off of the bed….

*******

Return to Archive