"Reno?" Rufus recognizes his voice from the other room when he heard Reno come in, coming out of his bedroom wearing only white pajama pants, hair still damp. Only the Turks would dare to enter his rooms uninvited without knocking.
"Do what do I owe the pleasure of this surprise visit?" He asks as he looks Reno over. Clearly not official business and Reno had even made the effort to get a bottle of wine. He's not going to ask if Reno is alright. That's not what Reno was here for and Rufus wasn't going to initiate a conversation he knew neither of them wanted to have at the moment.
"You didn't have to bring me anything but I'm touched. Is this an attempt to seduce me tonight?" He selects only one glass from a shelf along with the bottle opener, handing the opener to Reno.
Ah, well. Over the years he's seen Rufus in plenty of different states of undress. Sometimes more than this. He was a sassy teenager, alright? And he always thought he could get one over on him, being older and all, like a couple of measly years made any sort of difference in their maturity levels. It was cute that he tried, though. He just accepts the bottle opener with a little laugh.
"Eh, mama always said never visit someone's place empty-handed," he says, and sniggers again because he doesn't have a mama and they both know it. Wherever he heard that, though, it's technically correct. That's an etiquette thing. Not that he gives a damn about etiquette, he's just... making up excuses to show up. Like at least if he has wine, they can focus on that and not anything else. Like why he'd show up in Rufus's house unannounced in the middle of the evening. He uncaps the bottle and moves over to pour it in the, wow, single glass offered. 'Kay. "And you know I don't need wine to seduce you, boss. I'd go for hard drugs instead."
A ha ha ha ha ha... damn maybe he should've actually done that.
Rufus laughs, shaking his head. "Your mama raised you well." He brought the glass to his lips to try it. It wasn't terrible but he really didn't know anything about wine to be able to tell if it was cheap or not. But the gesture was appreciated. He didn't think about putting on a shirt, it wasn't as if this would be the first time Reno saw him undressed and he doubted it would make him uncomfortable.
"Is that so? What kind of drugs?" It wasn't like he had anything interesting planned that night aside from paperwork which he really didn't want to do and decided he wasn't going to do. He had never taken any kind of strong drugs aside from the pain relievers for Geostigma so he was curious now. "I have the evening free and I don't have anywhere else to be."
Oh Rufus. Reno gives a nice, decent appreciative laugh at that, setting the bottle down. This is why he loves him, you know? Because anyone else would say drugs, oh my word, absolutely not, how dare you suggest such a thing, but Rufus practically jumps at the mention as if he's serious about it. Drugs? Fuck yeah, hook me up. They could absolutely not ever, but the thought puts a smile on his face where there hasn't been much of one in days. Maybe even weeks.
"Oh, I dunno. You look like a coke kinda gal to me," he teases. Teases. Jesus christ, Rufus on drugs would be a monster. A hilarious monster, maybe, but the last thing he needs is to make a coke fiend out of his boss. Hell, even he hasn't touched the stuff in... fuck, years. Years and years. And it was only just a few times, it's not like he had a habit or anything. How the hell would he have functioned? No way. Once it gets in the way of his job, it's gonezo. Hence why he isn't all that pressed about not being offered a glass. He's not been drinking much since the bar incident.
"Sadly I didn't bring any with me, so you'll have to settle for the mediocre wine. I'm glad y'ain't busy, though. I'm bored and you're the only fun person around." Yeah. Sure. That's why he's here.
There is a flicker of disappointment across Rufus's face. He had lived a very sheltered life so now that he had more freedom available he was going to take advantage of it in however he could. But he won't press it since he doesn't really want to go anywhere tonight.
"Then make yourself comfortable. How fortunate we're both bored tonight," he remarks as he drapes himself over a low white couch, gesturing for Reno to join him. "A whole evening ahead of us- so many hours to fill. Whatever shall we do?"
Oh he had ideas and it didn't involve finishing off a bottle of cheap wine.
Don't think Reno doesn't see that, Prez. He sees that, and he sees the really relentlessly gay way Rufus lays himself out half-dressed, beckoning him over, his line delivery as plainly obvious as a third-rate porno. It's so lame and ironic it's funny, which he knows is the intention. He laughs again, more sardonically this time, a muted heheh as he makes his way over. Not to sit on the couch with him, or on him, but to kneel down in front of it on the floor.
Exhausted as he is by everything, he didn't come here to wallow. Or to play it safe, even if they really do need to be careful. You can exercise caution and still live large, and that's what they're both good at doing. "I'd like to subvert your expectations tonight, if ya don't mind, boss," Reno says, hoping his face communicates what he wants it to. It feels like he should have that mischief in his eye, but he also doesn't feel like he's got the energy for it. He's been missing that spark for awhile now. "Let's color outside the lines. Whaddaya say?"
Rufus leans forward when Reno knelt down in front of him, his eyes bright with anticipation. Like the others, he knew Reno would keep him from any real danger while also satisfying his lust to live outside the walls of the Shinra Building. He had accepted that he would never be able to have the freedom he craved but being back here felt as if he was under house arrest once more.
So Reno's proposition interests him and he doesn't need to know the details to know that Reno is going to make the night exciting. He didn't know what Reno had in mind but he knew that it was going to be an experience that he wouldn't forget. Hopefully, at least. "I say that we do it."
But they both knew that Rufus wouldn't turn this down. This wasn't just being reckless just for the sake of being reckless and putting themselves in danger, Rufus needs this for something else he couldn't find the words for right now. "What do you have in mind?
Of course Rufus says that. Reno can't think of a time Rufus ever said no to something fun and stupid, really, unless maybe he thought it would embarrass or humiliate him. And sometimes, honestly, even if it would, depending on what it is. The trick is to play to the guy's absolutely bonkers ego and take the brunt of the embarrassing shit on yourself. Make it sound like it's his brilliant idea, or like you're doing him a favor. It's especially easy to do when Rufus has that look in his eye, like he's out to get up to some mischief.
He wears that look a lot, as it were. Maybe it's just him, though. Reno's noticed him try to hide it around others, and maybe even around him in the past, too, but things were different way back when. The Rufus they have on their hands now just can't get enough of running wild, it seems like. He knows the story, mostly, of what he's been through in the years the rest of them don't seem to have experienced, and honestly, can you blame the guy? Nope, sure can't.
Reno grins, and some of the life comes back to his face. It feels a little easier to be a little shit when Rufus looks at him like that, no matter how wore out he is. "I say... we get ourselves dressed up real sexy-like and get up to some hoodrat shit. Maybe pick up something nice for the both of us and veg out right here on the couch for awhile. Let the time fly by and not give a shit, y'know?"
Rufus has no idea what 'hoodrat shit' is exactly but he's not going to ask for clarification. It doesn't matter. He wouldn't have agreed to this two years ago but a lot has happened during that time. There is a small, nagging voice in the back of his mind that pulls at him at quiet moments that he needs to stop, let his body heal from the effects of Geostigma, to let himself face what he had been through but he knows he can't indulge it. Instead, he throws himself into work and then into increasingly reckless ventures because it's just easier that way.
So that's why he grins at Reno's suggestion, sitting forward. "I'm not sure if I have anything sexy by hoodrat standards but I'm sure you can come up with something suitable for me to wear." The first time that he had met Reno he had ended up with a broken wrist and fractured collarbone after Reno had given him a large shotgun but after over a decade of pushing the limits of what they were able to get away with.
The expression on Reno's face is all the encouragement that he needs and he stands up, heading towards his bedroom. "Help me pick something out. I don't want to look too recognizable." Which was really asking the impossible but he didn't care.
"That's asking a lot, boss. You're just so fucking iconic!" Reno says with a laugh as he gets up and follows. I mean, really, blond hair and blue eyes, it really isn't all that fucking uncommon. Still, Rufus manages to stand out no matter what he does. Partly because of the white, but also because he's just got that way about him. A, uh, whaddaya call it? Commanding presence. Heh. Yeah.
They'll make it work, though. Reno heads straight to the wardrobe and throws open the doors to snoop through Rufus's clothes. He didn't bring a change of anything to wear himself, but they're not too far from the same size, so maybe he can find something not stupid to borrow. It's just a matter of digging through all the goddamn white and pleather to get to the normal-people shit. "Tell me you got just a normal T-shirt around here somewhere. Black? Fuck, I'll even take blue," he says as he paws through... god what is this crap.
Rufus lets Reno make his way into the walk-in closet, watching him dig through clothes to find something. "I keep my t-shirts in the drawers- here," he strides over to start pulling some open until he found what he was looking for.
"Black, white....I think there may even be blue in here. I had Tseng- or someone- arrange to get me a suitable wardrobe." Not that anyone would have thought Rufus would even think about such mundane details like making sure he had plenty of shirts and socks. He never bothered himself with such trivial things. "I think I may even have black pants somewhere."
"Tseng or someone," Reno parrots with a laugh, shaking his head. Yeah, you know, just whoever, who cares. He abandons the wardrobe to investigate the drawers, instead, and that's much better. "If it was Tseng picking your normal people clothes, you're so screwed..."
Tseng wouldn't know how to dress himself besides a uniform if you held a gun to his head and threatened him with setting fire to the promised land itself. Bless his heart.
Also he just doesn't want to think about Tseng right now.
Reno whips a nice normal black T-shirt from the drawer and holds it up to his own body appraisingly. "Yep, okay, this is good." He chucks it onto the bed for Rufus to put on. Listen, sorry, he's not Tseng or someone, he's not physically dressing Rufus in it manually. Or maybe he would, but he's busy searching for these supposed black pants. What he finds are as good as skinny jeans, "distressed" in that style that tells Reno that, yeah, Tseng probably brought these here. Why does he think that's still in style? It's really not! But it's got a certain, y'know... devil-may-care vibe to it that Reno can appreciate it. He tosses those over on the bed, too. "Those look like they'll be nice and tight. That's important."
Rufus doesn't hesitate to strip down when Reno tosses clothes on the bed, picking up the pants with surprise. He's not sure why Tseng would include that in his wardrobe, there must be a reason but he's not going to try to guess that now as he pulls them on along with the shirt.
They are tighter than anything he's worn before and he turns around in front of a mirror to look himself over. He almost doesn't recognize himself but that's the point tonight. He decided he wasn't going to be President Shinra right now anyway, he was going to leave that behind for a bit. It was incredibly irresponsible with everything that was happening but he thought he deserved a night out to get away from it.
"Yes, this will be suitable. What do you think?" He turned around for Reno, rather pleased with how he looks. If he was going to hoodrat it with Reno, he might as well embrace it and go all in.
When Reno turns, he's not really sure what he's expecting. Rufus looking like a doofus in distressed skinny jeans, he guesses. What he's not expecting is for it to look fuckin' cute, or for those stupid as hell pants to make his boss look like he has a way more impudent ass than Reno knows for a fact he does. "Damn," he comments plainly and honestly. What else do you say to that? Maybe this: "I know you got cake, but damn. You know what—no. Gimme that shirt. Trust me on this, it's gonna look way better," he says, and starts to unbutton his own top.
It's not his uniform shirt, but it is a button-down, and it ain't white. It's black, in fact, and since he's a size (at least) smaller, it's going to work out perfect, just you wait. This one Reno does actually step up to dress Rufus in, shedding it off and holding it out for Rufus to put his arms through. Once it's on, he buttons it up only halfway, naturally. Because it's small, the bared skin is a bit less tits out and a bit more dramatically and overwhelmingly gay plunging neckline straight to the ribs, which is of course the intended lewk. Reno steps back to evaluate, one hand on his scrawny hip. Oh, and don't worry about the scar. It's nothing.
That's the reaction he was going for. He's not modest so he's not going to be humble, he knows he's handsome and Reno just confirms it with his reaction. Yes, this was going to work. He took off the t-shirt he was wearing and let Reno help him put on the button-up shirt.
His eyes only linger on the scar for second before he meets Reno's gaze. They aren't going to talk about that night right now. He turns towards Reno before looking at himself in the mirror thoughtfully. After a moment of consideration, he undoes one more button before he nods, satisfied.
"There. No one be expecting me to wear anything like this." He even runs a hand through his hair to loosen it up, pleased.
"Perfect." He laughs as Rufus lets that next button loose ad nods his approval. Couldn't have chosen better himself. Who the fuck invented buttons, anyway? Just leave them all undone! Who has time for this shit? The hair, though... oh, no. Uh-uh. "We gotta do something about your hair. You got hairspray, or somethin'?"
Fuck it. He'll look for that later. He steps in front of Rufus and starts carding his hands through his hair, gently at first and then a bit more vigorously to really ruffle that shit and ruin the part, stroking it all back from his face. It won't stay without something to hold it, and by god if he has to he'll use egg whites, but there's no denying Rufus will look sexy with his hair pushed back. He holds it in place with one hand and steps away from the mirror for Rufus to see. "How 'bout that, hottie?"
If this was any other time and Reno was anyone else, Rufus wouldn't have tolerated anyone calling him that. But he had spent the last two years wasting away, watching black sores spread painfully across his skin. He had felt himself fade away each day as the disease ate at him.
He doesn't answer right away as he looks at himself in the mirror with Reno holding back his hair like that, a smirk on his lips. He still hadn't regained all the weight he had lost but Reno was right. He was hot, his skin unblemished once more and he was going to enjoy this. "Yes, I like that. I'm sure you'll find something to hold it back."
"I know a good trick, but you gotta promise not to complain or ask any questions," Reno says, and lets go of Rufus's hair. He's got a trick, alright—one has to go to the kitchen for. Whoever the hell makes Rufus his food around here, he's sure they must keep it stocked with the basics, and sure enough, there are eggs. Eggs that he has to take the time to separate the whites from, but it doesn't take very long. Once he's got them in a bowl and whipped them up sufficiently, he brings it back to Rufus's room.
And then he sure is slicking the President's hair back with eggs. "Reminds me'a the good ol' days," he says as he dips his bare hand in there and smooths it through Rufus's hair. "I used to do this when I needed a costume change on the fly. Works great, washes out easy. Supposedly it's pretty good for your hair, too."
Rufus raises his eyebrows when Reno comes back with a bowl of eggs, not sure what he was going to do with them until Reno started to work it through his hair. "I don't think I'm going to start using egg in my hair on a regular basis," he laughs but he lets Reno run his hands through his hair.
"I think I'm ready." He gives himself one last look over in the mirror when Reno finishes with his hair before turning towards the other man with delight. "There, do I look like a hoodrat now? At least, no one would be expecting me to wear anything like this."
He's trying at least? The point is an effort was made.
When it's all said and done, Rufus comes out looking pretty snazzy, if he does say so himself. Reno goes to wash the egg off his hands and returns to watch him check himself out. The look Rufus gives him as he turns is just... adorable, honestly, and the stupid thing he says is even more so. He laughs, snorts first and descends into giggles after, reaching out one last time to pop Rufus's collar for him. "You look... hahaha. Sure, boss. Never seen anyone hooder or rattier in all my days."
Yeah.................... about... that...
Anyway, just let the guy have his moment. Reno takes the t-shirt he'd given to Rufus to wear and pulls it on himself. To account for it being bigger on him than his normal clothes, and because he wants to tart himself up, too, He twists the loose bit in the back, ties it into a knot, and tucks it under, folding the hem of the shirt up a little, flashing some midriff. It's not his go-to look, he's more of a chest guy than a hips guy, but it'll work. Can't upstage the queen bee, after all. Then he pulls his ponytail loose and re-ties it higher up. High pony and a belly shirt? Totally a 2005 throwback. It's called fashion, look it up.
Rufus knew Reno was just humoring him, he doubted he looked like he belonged in the slums even now, he was Rufus Shinra and he would never be able to simply ordinary. But it was still rather thrilling to at least set aside the facade of being President Shinra for an evening.
He looks Reno over with approval before nodding with a grin.
"Lead the way then." Rufus trusts that Reno will be able to get them out of the building without any trouble and with little attention. It helped that there was no one around this time of night but he's not afraid of anyone seeing him right now. "How are we making our escape?"
Tseng and Rude may not be around but that didn't mean Tseng didn't have measures in place to protect Rufus while he was away.
Oh, boy. Escape. He hadn't accounted for this, seeing as he'd planned on just staying here and drinking their stupid skunky wine, but at least he's pretty good about thinking on the fly. And it's not like it's the first time he's busted out of this building, whether it was Rufus or someone else. Oftentimes Rufus, though. He never took him to the slums, back in the day, but just about anywhere else... whatever. He knows exactly where they're going and exactly how to get back. He wouldn't bring Rufus along if he'd felt there was any real risk to it. Just some thrills and adventure, that's all. It'll be an enlightening experience for dear Rufie.
"Eh... let's take the service elevator. Not exactly groundbreaking shit, but there's a bunch of borked cameras that way." Not borked as in they don't work—borked as in they point in all the wrong directions. They're meant to catch people coming in, not out, and he's never bothered to wonder whether that was intentional or not. It's the fastest and easiest way out he can come up with on the fly, so off they go.
This was an outing that he had always been denied whenever Reno had sneaked him out when they were younger. He had always wanted to go beneath the Plate to see what things were like down there but it had been expressly forbidden. At least, until now. Tseng was away on a mission or something with Rude, Veld was gone, and his father was dead. No one could stop him and Reno going down there now.
He follows Reno down to the service elevator. He knew all the exits to the Shinra Building as well- not that it had helped him when he was younger since somehow Veld had been able to sense when and where Rufus would make an escape attempt next. But no one appeared as they exited the building into the cool night air and Rufus takes a deep breath, savoring the freedom.
Honestly, the game is a little too easily played these days. There's no Veld, and there's no President Shinra, and there's no... really anybody anymore, honestly. Rufus is the authority. The only eyes they need to watch out for are Tseng's, and... he guesses maybe the other executives, but is he really so concerned about Scarlet or Heidegger? Hah. Screw both of them. Still, it pays to watch their backs, and besides which, it's more fun to enjoy a little subterfuge on the way out. For old times' sake. Dodging the cameras, sneaking out of the elevator and through the halls, darting outside and gallivanting along to some place or another to rustle up a good time. That was easy-peasy topside shit, though. Not today.
"You kiddin'? We're taking the train. Doing this real proper-like." The joke being that taking Rufus on that godforsaken train is not proper at all, and he probably really shouldn't, but that'll be fine, too. He knows what he's doing. Folks see his suit and get right the hell out of his way, all he has to do is make sure Rufus sticks to him like glue. He heads straight for the station, hastening away from Shinra tower before his good sense can kick in and urge him to turn them both back around.
Rufus isn't going to stop and ask if it's a good idea that they take the train. It's not a good idea. None of this night is a good idea. That is what makes it so much fun. Even if he knew he was perfectly safe with Reno, there was still an element of danger that made his eyes bright and
He doesn't look back at the building on their way to the train station. He did stay close to Reno as they encounter a crowd at the platform. He gets a few looks but it seems no one has realized who he is which was strange and oddly liberating.
He lets Reno take the lead since he has no idea how to navigate the system of actually taking the train which seems to involve a process of paying for the fare (which he made no move to pay for, how much could it cost, 10 gil?), getting a ticket, and finding the right platform.
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"Do what do I owe the pleasure of this surprise visit?" He asks as he looks Reno over. Clearly not official business and Reno had even made the effort to get a bottle of wine. He's not going to ask if Reno is alright. That's not what Reno was here for and Rufus wasn't going to initiate a conversation he knew neither of them wanted to have at the moment.
"You didn't have to bring me anything but I'm touched. Is this an attempt to seduce me tonight?" He selects only one glass from a shelf along with the bottle opener, handing the opener to Reno.
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"Eh, mama always said never visit someone's place empty-handed," he says, and sniggers again because he doesn't have a mama and they both know it. Wherever he heard that, though, it's technically correct. That's an etiquette thing. Not that he gives a damn about etiquette, he's just... making up excuses to show up. Like at least if he has wine, they can focus on that and not anything else. Like why he'd show up in Rufus's house unannounced in the middle of the evening. He uncaps the bottle and moves over to pour it in the, wow, single glass offered. 'Kay. "And you know I don't need wine to seduce you, boss. I'd go for hard drugs instead."
A ha ha ha ha ha... damn maybe he should've actually done that.
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"Is that so? What kind of drugs?" It wasn't like he had anything interesting planned that night aside from paperwork which he really didn't want to do and decided he wasn't going to do. He had never taken any kind of strong drugs aside from the pain relievers for Geostigma so he was curious now. "I have the evening free and I don't have anywhere else to be."
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"Oh, I dunno. You look like a coke kinda gal to me," he teases. Teases. Jesus christ, Rufus on drugs would be a monster. A hilarious monster, maybe, but the last thing he needs is to make a coke fiend out of his boss. Hell, even he hasn't touched the stuff in... fuck, years. Years and years. And it was only just a few times, it's not like he had a habit or anything. How the hell would he have functioned? No way. Once it gets in the way of his job, it's gonezo. Hence why he isn't all that pressed about not being offered a glass. He's not been drinking much since the bar incident.
"Sadly I didn't bring any with me, so you'll have to settle for the mediocre wine. I'm glad y'ain't busy, though. I'm bored and you're the only fun person around." Yeah. Sure. That's why he's here.
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"Then make yourself comfortable. How fortunate we're both bored tonight," he remarks as he drapes himself over a low white couch, gesturing for Reno to join him. "A whole evening ahead of us- so many hours to fill. Whatever shall we do?"
Oh he had ideas and it didn't involve finishing off a bottle of cheap wine.
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Exhausted as he is by everything, he didn't come here to wallow. Or to play it safe, even if they really do need to be careful. You can exercise caution and still live large, and that's what they're both good at doing. "I'd like to subvert your expectations tonight, if ya don't mind, boss," Reno says, hoping his face communicates what he wants it to. It feels like he should have that mischief in his eye, but he also doesn't feel like he's got the energy for it. He's been missing that spark for awhile now. "Let's color outside the lines. Whaddaya say?"
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So Reno's proposition interests him and he doesn't need to know the details to know that Reno is going to make the night exciting. He didn't know what Reno had in mind but he knew that it was going to be an experience that he wouldn't forget. Hopefully, at least. "I say that we do it."
But they both knew that Rufus wouldn't turn this down. This wasn't just being reckless just for the sake of being reckless and putting themselves in danger, Rufus needs this for something else he couldn't find the words for right now. "What do you have in mind?
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He wears that look a lot, as it were. Maybe it's just him, though. Reno's noticed him try to hide it around others, and maybe even around him in the past, too, but things were different way back when. The Rufus they have on their hands now just can't get enough of running wild, it seems like. He knows the story, mostly, of what he's been through in the years the rest of them don't seem to have experienced, and honestly, can you blame the guy? Nope, sure can't.
Reno grins, and some of the life comes back to his face. It feels a little easier to be a little shit when Rufus looks at him like that, no matter how wore out he is. "I say... we get ourselves dressed up real sexy-like and get up to some hoodrat shit. Maybe pick up something nice for the both of us and veg out right here on the couch for awhile. Let the time fly by and not give a shit, y'know?"
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So that's why he grins at Reno's suggestion, sitting forward. "I'm not sure if I have anything sexy by hoodrat standards but I'm sure you can come up with something suitable for me to wear." The first time that he had met Reno he had ended up with a broken wrist and fractured collarbone after Reno had given him a large shotgun but after over a decade of pushing the limits of what they were able to get away with.
The expression on Reno's face is all the encouragement that he needs and he stands up, heading towards his bedroom. "Help me pick something out. I don't want to look too recognizable." Which was really asking the impossible but he didn't care.
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They'll make it work, though. Reno heads straight to the wardrobe and throws open the doors to snoop through Rufus's clothes. He didn't bring a change of anything to wear himself, but they're not too far from the same size, so maybe he can find something not stupid to borrow. It's just a matter of digging through all the goddamn white and pleather to get to the normal-people shit. "Tell me you got just a normal T-shirt around here somewhere. Black? Fuck, I'll even take blue," he says as he paws through... god what is this crap.
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"Black, white....I think there may even be blue in here. I had Tseng- or someone- arrange to get me a suitable wardrobe." Not that anyone would have thought Rufus would even think about such mundane details like making sure he had plenty of shirts and socks. He never bothered himself with such trivial things. "I think I may even have black pants somewhere."
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Tseng wouldn't know how to dress himself besides a uniform if you held a gun to his head and threatened him with setting fire to the promised land itself. Bless his heart.
Also he just doesn't want to think about Tseng right now.
Reno whips a nice normal black T-shirt from the drawer and holds it up to his own body appraisingly. "Yep, okay, this is good." He chucks it onto the bed for Rufus to put on. Listen, sorry, he's not Tseng or someone, he's not physically dressing Rufus in it manually. Or maybe he would, but he's busy searching for these supposed black pants. What he finds are as good as skinny jeans, "distressed" in that style that tells Reno that, yeah, Tseng probably brought these here. Why does he think that's still in style? It's really not! But it's got a certain, y'know... devil-may-care vibe to it that Reno can appreciate it. He tosses those over on the bed, too. "Those look like they'll be nice and tight. That's important."
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They are tighter than anything he's worn before and he turns around in front of a mirror to look himself over. He almost doesn't recognize himself but that's the point tonight. He decided he wasn't going to be President Shinra right now anyway, he was going to leave that behind for a bit. It was incredibly irresponsible with everything that was happening but he thought he deserved a night out to get away from it.
"Yes, this will be suitable. What do you think?" He turned around for Reno, rather pleased with how he looks. If he was going to hoodrat it with Reno, he might as well embrace it and go all in.
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It's not his uniform shirt, but it is a button-down, and it ain't white. It's black, in fact, and since he's a size (at least) smaller, it's going to work out perfect, just you wait. This one Reno does actually step up to dress Rufus in, shedding it off and holding it out for Rufus to put his arms through. Once it's on, he buttons it up only halfway, naturally. Because it's small, the bared skin is a bit less tits out and a bit more dramatically and overwhelmingly gay plunging neckline straight to the ribs, which is of course the intended lewk. Reno steps back to evaluate, one hand on his scrawny hip. Oh, and don't worry about the scar. It's nothing.
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His eyes only linger on the scar for second before he meets Reno's gaze. They aren't going to talk about that night right now. He turns towards Reno before looking at himself in the mirror thoughtfully. After a moment of consideration, he undoes one more button before he nods, satisfied.
"There. No one be expecting me to wear anything like this." He even runs a hand through his hair to loosen it up, pleased.
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Fuck it. He'll look for that later. He steps in front of Rufus and starts carding his hands through his hair, gently at first and then a bit more vigorously to really ruffle that shit and ruin the part, stroking it all back from his face. It won't stay without something to hold it, and by god if he has to he'll use egg whites, but there's no denying Rufus will look sexy with his hair pushed back. He holds it in place with one hand and steps away from the mirror for Rufus to see. "How 'bout that, hottie?"
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He doesn't answer right away as he looks at himself in the mirror with Reno holding back his hair like that, a smirk on his lips. He still hadn't regained all the weight he had lost but Reno was right. He was hot, his skin unblemished once more and he was going to enjoy this. "Yes, I like that. I'm sure you'll find something to hold it back."
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And then he sure is slicking the President's hair back with eggs. "Reminds me'a the good ol' days," he says as he dips his bare hand in there and smooths it through Rufus's hair. "I used to do this when I needed a costume change on the fly. Works great, washes out easy. Supposedly it's pretty good for your hair, too."
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"I think I'm ready." He gives himself one last look over in the mirror when Reno finishes with his hair before turning towards the other man with delight. "There, do I look like a hoodrat now? At least, no one would be expecting me to wear anything like this."
He's trying at least? The point is an effort was made.
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Yeah.................... about... that...
Anyway, just let the guy have his moment. Reno takes the t-shirt he'd given to Rufus to wear and pulls it on himself. To account for it being bigger on him than his normal clothes, and because he wants to tart himself up, too, He twists the loose bit in the back, ties it into a knot, and tucks it under, folding the hem of the shirt up a little, flashing some midriff. It's not his go-to look, he's more of a chest guy than a hips guy, but it'll work. Can't upstage the queen bee, after all. Then he pulls his ponytail loose and re-ties it higher up. High pony and a belly shirt? Totally a 2005 throwback. It's called fashion, look it up.
"There. Let's hit it, Ruf."
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He looks Reno over with approval before nodding with a grin.
"Lead the way then." Rufus trusts that Reno will be able to get them out of the building without any trouble and with little attention. It helped that there was no one around this time of night but he's not afraid of anyone seeing him right now. "How are we making our escape?"
Tseng and Rude may not be around but that didn't mean Tseng didn't have measures in place to protect Rufus while he was away.
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"Eh... let's take the service elevator. Not exactly groundbreaking shit, but there's a bunch of borked cameras that way." Not borked as in they don't work—borked as in they point in all the wrong directions. They're meant to catch people coming in, not out, and he's never bothered to wonder whether that was intentional or not. It's the fastest and easiest way out he can come up with on the fly, so off they go.
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He follows Reno down to the service elevator. He knew all the exits to the Shinra Building as well- not that it had helped him when he was younger since somehow Veld had been able to sense when and where Rufus would make an escape attempt next. But no one appeared as they exited the building into the cool night air and Rufus takes a deep breath, savoring the freedom.
"I hope we're not taking a company car."
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"You kiddin'? We're taking the train. Doing this real proper-like." The joke being that taking Rufus on that godforsaken train is not proper at all, and he probably really shouldn't, but that'll be fine, too. He knows what he's doing. Folks see his suit and get right the hell out of his way, all he has to do is make sure Rufus sticks to him like glue. He heads straight for the station, hastening away from Shinra tower before his good sense can kick in and urge him to turn them both back around.
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He doesn't look back at the building on their way to the train station. He did stay close to Reno as they encounter a crowd at the platform. He gets a few looks but it seems no one has realized who he is which was strange and oddly liberating.
He lets Reno take the lead since he has no idea how to navigate the system of actually taking the train which seems to involve a process of paying for the fare (which he made no move to pay for, how much could it cost, 10 gil?), getting a ticket, and finding the right platform.
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