InsaneJournal

An Encounter with a Wild Beast [FFVII]
Title: An Encounter with a Wild Beast
Fandom: FFVII
Claim: Rufus/Reno, fics in an arc, 1000+ words each
Wordcount: 1088
Characters/Pairings included: Dark Nation, unnamed attendant
Rating: T to be safe
Warnings: None.
Summary: Silly, just for fun. Could alternately be called Reno's Very Bad Morning.
Spoilers: None.

Morning light filtered softly through the windows of Rufus’ bedroom as Reno lay in a blissful state of half-sleep, snuggled happily into Rufus’ chest. His half-conscious thoughts wandered from memories to dreamscapes, and in a more lucid moment he planted a gentle kiss on the other man’s shoulder. It was right about then that something landed ominously at the foot of the bed.

Reno jumped and turned to find himself staring face to face with a large furry creature, vaguely resembling a cat, except one more similar to something Reno was sure he had had to fight out somewhere in the wilderness at some point. He normally would have immediately kicked the thing off the bed or something, but out of a combination of utter confusion and the background thought that the animal didn’t actually seem dangerous he ended up just staring at it. And, you know, curling away from the creature so that his feet would not be within easy biting range, blankets or no. And setting up his pillow in front of him as a shield. Couldn’t be too careful. The animal peered curiously back at Reno for a moment, seeming vaguely perplexed by his presence, then apparently decided he wasn’t threatening and casually laid down.

Reno’s first instinct rested solidly in the realm of beating the thing to death, except for the fact that the presence of a dangerous wild animal in Rufus’ room would be more than a little odd, and Rufus, only now vaguely arising from slumber, seemed not a bit perturbed by this. Apparently in Rufus’ room, large scary cat-things were a common occurrence.

“Rufus,” he said in a voice calm only by force of will and with a nod toward the unexpected visitor, “What the fuck is that?” Meanwhile, Rufus continued on as if absolutely nothing was out of place.

“What is Dark Nation doing here?” he asked sleepily, which got an incredulous look from the Turk.

“That’s your pet?” Somehow whenever Rufus had ever mentioned the animal previously, Reno had envisioned a dog. You know, the kind of thing somebody would normally think of to go along with the word pet. Not something captured out of some exotic forest and as unusual as the name its owner had given it. Then again, Reno wondered why he would have expected anything normal out of a pet kept by Rufus Shinra. The man probably didn’t know the meaning of the word.

The animal, upon hearing Reno’s question, responded with an indignant huff and a glare, and Reno somehow managed to press himself further into the headboard.

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry.” He turned to Rufus with a look that he hoped very clearly said do something, dammit. To Reno’s frustration, all Rufus did was chuckle quietly.

“He’s not going to eat you if that’s what you’re worried about,” Rufus assured. “He’s quite tame.” Reno peered skeptically at the animal, who glared back with creepy little beady eyes. “I don’t think he likes sharing the bed with an unfamiliar person, though,” the Vice President added as an ominous afterthought, which resulted in a terrified squeak followed by a thud as Reno and the pillow he had been hiding behind landed on the floor. Dark Nation peered quizzically over the edge of the bed at Reno as Rufus’ quiet chuckling turned to hysterical laughter. 

“Yeah, yeah, funny,” the Turk muttered irritatedly. The animal’s curious gaze seemed only to add to the mockery, and he stuck his tongue out at it.

“You should have seen your face,” Rufus commented amusedly, rolling over so he was face to face with the Turk sitting on the floor. “...you okay down there?”

The humiliated redhead probably would have had several choice things to say to that if there hadn’t at that moment appeared a rather embarrassed man in the doorway, which necessitated the Turk then pressing himself against the side of the bed and using the pillow to compensate for a distinct lack of clothing. He hoped that from the viewpoint of the new arrival he wouldn’t be visible at all. It wasn’t exactly a secret that he and Rufus were together, but it wasn’t exactly common knowledge either, and frankly naked Turk on the floor would probably not be an easy thing to explain. As it was, he could just barely see the person who had appeared, which probably meant the other was unlikely to notice him. Now if only the damn cat-thing would stop staring at him he might be able to relax.

“Gah, there he is!” the man exclaimed frantically, turning to Rufus apologetically. “I’m sorry, sir, I was taking him for a walk and he got away and he can move pretty fast when he wants to and,” he was cut off by a command from his superior.

“Out!” Rufus ordered, and the man took a step back instinctively, then stepped forward again with a hand outstretched toward the animal.

“Okay, lemme just get...”

“Dark Nation can stay,” Rufus added icily. “You, out.” The man opened his mouth as if to make one more attempt at an explanation or an apology, then closed it again.

“Yes, sir,” came a meek reply as the man stepped back out of the room.

“And close the door.”

“Yes, sir.” It was not until the door was shut and whoever that had been was probably a safe distance away that Reno let himself breathe again. Rufus, too, let out a relieved if exasperated sigh, and leaned over to face the Turk again.

“Sorry about that,” he said with a slight frown, “I really must find someone more competent to take care of Dark Nation.” Reno just nodded in reply. He wasn’t quite sure that it was the people who were the problem, but he wasn’t going to argue. As if to make the whole thing more humiliating, the damn animal jumped down from the bed and licked Reno on the cheek before he had a chance to defend himself. The feeling sent a shiver down his spine, and a few minutes before probably would have made him scream, but at this point, he couldn’t quite bring himself to care.

“Look,” Rufus said in a voice entirely too cheerful, “he likes you.” As if to emphasize the point, the animal made a rumbling purring noise and nuzzled Reno’s shoulder.

“Good,” the Turk muttered. “Just what I always wanted...”