NEVER MIND THIS IS A PSL NOW; [IT'S LIKE A HEART-HEART-HEARTBEAT]

[corporative]

[x | you've gotta march!]

Comments

[striketwice]

I have like a dozen things to say about your pants alone.

[ And they mostly boil down to "what the fuck". Thankfully there's no more arguing to be had, as Rufus ducks into an alley to change. Probably wouldn't be the first time Wall Market has had someone stripping in broad daylight, and most of the locals are too deep into their hangovers to care.

Rufus reappears and Alec has to admit that, though simple, the outfit has the desired effect. If he didn't already know he was looking at Rufus Shinra, he wouldn't know he was looking at Rufus Shinra.

Apparently clothes do make the man. ]

The fuck's an iron?

[ That's a no. ]

So- [ This, as he begins walking, expecting Rufus to follow ] -I gotta know, how hard did daddy cut you off?

[corporative]

[What’s an iron? Rufus pretends to not care whether or not Alec’s serious, though it makes him wonder just what the hell these clothes have been through before he donned him. And the man has any right to remark about his pants?]

Assets are frozen. Everything I owned is now considered company property, and I’m not allowed on premises. I don’t have a place to stay, and on top of that, I’m sure the Turks will be monitoring me now and again.

[He pushes the bag back into Alec’s hands. Why should he carry it?]

To “check in”.

[striketwice]

[ Alec will accept the bag back, just this once. It's his bag, so he'll carry it, even if the clothes inside aren't his and weigh like thirty pounds. He slings the strap over one shoulder, not once breaking stride. ]

Damn. I'd say consider yourself lucky you didn't get whacked for trying to whack your old man, but this is probably a fate worse than death to you, huh?

[ He's really not fond of keeping company with Rufus if Shinra's suits are going to play babysitter now and again. There's a group of people he'd rather not ever cross paths with. ]

[corporative]

[Rufus knows the only reason he was spared from death is because he’s the President’s son. His flesh and blood, the only heir to carry forth Shinra’s legacy. That said, he can’t say he would’ve been so generous. Had the roles been reversed, Rufus would have put a quick end to anyone trying to pull a similar stunt, family or no. All this does is prove to him that his father just isn’t suited for the job. Not like him.]

It’s temporary. I don’t plan on staying down here longer than I have to.

[He doesn’t know where Alec is going, but he doesn’t care to wait and find out. Rufus dives right back into the reason why he contacted him.]

But in order to do that, I need to means to make it reality. You know people; I want those same connections.

[striketwice]

[ Right now, they're not going anywhere in particular. Certainly not back to Alec's place when he knows that Shinra is keeping tabs on their wayward son. He might have to find a way to deal with that if it looks like it's going to be a problem. ]

Just what are you thinking is gonna happen here? I hook you up and you're back topside in time for dinner? It's not gonna be that easy.

[corporative]

I’m not expecting you to work a miracle and get me back up there in a day.

[He’s angry, but he’s not stupid. He knows the system, and how difficult it is for those stuck on the lower rung of the social ladder to claw their way back up. Most don’t make it out — was never really a concern of his until now, until he found himself in a situation where he couldn’t be where he wanted.

A man tries to hawk something edible their way — Best buns in town! — but Rufus acts like he isn’t there, passing by with a chilled expression.]

But if you’re going to tell me that you can’t the make process any easier for me, I’m going to have to call you a liar, Brennan.

[striketwice]

[ Alec is well versed in ignoring the street vendors, and they're well verse in being ignored. The man keeps on barking to any other passersby, heedless of the pair that just kept walking. ]

Alright, sure, I've got resources, but they don't come cheap and a great deal of them are not about to do any favors for the crown prince of Shinra. You're going to have to work for it.

Do you know what that is? Work?

[corporative]

[He glances at Alec sidelong, unimpressed.]

And what is it you think I do all day? Sit and count the gil as it rolls in?

[Every day, he works. Every day is strategizing, management, sitting through board meetings and presentations. Rufus Shinra is hands on and always “on”, his mind steeped in ambition and his body adjusted to four-hours-of-sleep nights. Those who’d care to point it out might label him a workaholic, but there aren’t many who see this as a fault. Only a bright future for Shinra with someone so stalwart at the helm.

Alec acts like he knows him, but he doesn’t, to say that after he’d put together a plan to see his father dead, only to watch it fall to pieces in less than an hour. How much work went straight down the drain.]

[striketwice]

I figured you swam around in all that money of yours, like some kind of evil cartoon character.

[ Alec is perhaps being a bit unfair, but he doesn't like Rufus, and he especially doesn't like the things that come tied to the man's last name. Alec dislikes authority, and he dislikes authority even more when there is a clear imbalance in power.

He's spent his life undermining people like Rufus, and Alec isn't so sure he wants to send him back up to his ivory tower without having learned something first. ]

Fine, you want to get somewhere in the slums, you need to start from the ground up. Build a little trust, and it'll only grease the wheels going forward.

[ That's right Rufus, it's sidequest time. ]

[corporative]

[Does he look like Cloud Strife to you?

The remark about rolling in money is thoroughly ignored. He’ll have to do a lot of that — ignoring — to get Alec to say anything helpful, he thinks.]

I’ll do what it takes. Even if I have to play the part of desperate grounder.

[Given the unwavering way he says it, his determination has only been stoked by his father’s punishment.]

I’m guessing you know where to start, too.

[striketwice]

[ A solid plan, considering Alec always has a smart remark or two or seven at the ready, and Rufus is better off not goading him. He really doesn't need it. ]

Buddy, I hate to break it to you, but starting now, you are a desperate grounder.

[ If an extremely determined one. He can find a lot of faults with Rufus, some imagined, some real, but he certainly can't fault his drive. The guy was willing to kill his own father to get to the top. ]

I might have an idea or two, but first a couple of things: One, how good are you in a fight? And two, you better come up with an alias before I come up with one for you.

[corporative]

[He is not a desperate grounder, and he briskly bites back-]

I'm only dressed like one.

[Your clothes! Are wrinkly!! Alec!!

But even so, Rufus clicks his tongue at the set of questions.]

I'm not bad in a fight. No SOLDIER, but a good shot with a gun if you can find one for me. [Because he assumes that Alec's asking for a reason, and that reason would indeed require a bit of fighting and/or violence. This means the situation would be far more advantageous if he could have some manner of firearm holstered against him. As for an alias-]

You mean you're not just going to introduce me to everyone as "Junior", huh?

[striketwice]

[ Iron them your own damn self, rich boy! ]

I very strongly considered it, but you've had a rough day so I figured I'd throw you a bone. It's on the table if you can't think of anything decent, though.

[ Guns aren't terribly hard to come by down here. There are weapon shops pretty much everywhere, but that shouldn't be a problem. Might be better for Rufus to be armed no matter what, just in case. ]

This leads to thing number three: how much money do you actually have?

[corporative]

[They're your clothes, you jerk!]

I'm not going to let you keep calling me Junior. You've gotten away with it long enough. If you want to call me something false, then call me…

[He mashes together names in his head. Runs through the Shinra personnel list, tumbles them around like a lotto and spits out the most reasonable amalgamation he can think of.

A mundane name, so he thinks of a mundane man. At least the “R” is shared.] Reeve. [Last name, he needs a last name. Whose last name could he steal that wouldn’t raise eyebrows in an introduction? None that he knows— except for a man that was never given one. Sephiroth. Can’t go by it completely, though, so what about—] Roth. Reeve Roth.

[There, a name. Call him by it if you want to, Alec, but it’s temporary and he’ll not spend hours mulling it over.

He gestures at Alec’s bag. What money he has is in there, though the other man’ll have to dig around in his pants pockets to find it.]

Loose change, at best. About three thousand.

[striketwice]

[ Ah, to be a fly on the wall of Rufus' brain to watch that thought process. It doesn't escape Alec's notice that he chooses the name of someone he worked with, but at least the last name is different enough that no one will think twice about it.

Really, all this tells him is Rufus really needs to get out of the office more.

(And now he has.) ]

Well okay, Reeve. [ Ick, that's a little weird. ] Let's just go with R, since you seem to like that letter enough.

Three thousand is probably just enough to get you a halfway decent weapon. Doesn't leave you anything for food and lodgings, though.

[corporative]

R's fine. I don't care enough to make it into a debate.

[#sassy, but he continues.]

What about all that money I gave you for the job?

[All that money that used to be his, you know. Do you feel that pull of expectation and obligation, Alec?]

[striketwice]

[ Oooh, Rufus doesn't care. Big tough guy. Alec simply rolls his eyes, though he quickly stops walking altogether.

He does indeed feel that pull of expectation, and he doesn't like it at all. ]

You mean my money? My money that I am in no way obligated to share with you? That money?

[corporative]

[Rufus stops, too, once he pulls a few paces ahead, turning to look at Alec critically.]

Yeah, that money. The money you wouldn’t have were it not for me in the first place.

[Spin an arrangement, his mind says.]

...You’d be reimbursed once I’m back where I need to be. Double the amount of what you spent. Consider it an investment for the future.

[striketwice]

Oh no. No no no. That's not how transactions work. I don't owe you jack. You hired me, I did my job, I got paid. That doesn't place me in your debt, that's business.

[ You know, business? Rufus is supposedly very big on that sort of thing.

With no ceremony, Alec un-slings his bag from his shoulder and shoves it at Rufus again, giving it a little shake so it jingles - whether that's the ungodly amount of metal hanging from the clothes inside, or the gil still sitting in the pockets is up for debate. ]

If you want cash, you need to earn it just like everybody else. I am not your bank.

[corporative]

[Rufus takes a step back, steadying himself when Alec practically shoves the bag back into his arms.]

I'm asking for a loan, not a hand-out.

[Said like he's the one who's got the right to be insulted this time. He might have been born into wealth and luxury, but he doesn't like being perceived as someone who's too lazy to put in the effort to achieve his goals. He's not begging for help, he's trying to arrange something mutually beneficial for both parties, he thinks.

He narrows his eyes at the other man.]

So then what good are you? If you're planning on pointing me in the right direction for some work, then do it. Otherwise, stop wasting my time.

[striketwice]

[ Whether Rufus takes the bag back or not, Alec lets go. Let it hit the ground for all he cares. It's not his million-gil duds in there. ]

If you truly think I'm that useless, you wouldn't have called me in the first place. I'm not your friend, not your bank, and I'm not lending you money. Not now.

[ Which would imply that he had been thinking about it, until Rufus went and pushed all the wrong buttons. ]

But the fact of the matter is I'm all you got. You're not gonna find a whole lot of sympathy down here, so the sooner you learn you're not the one calling the shots, the better off you'll be.

[ He jabs a finger down the street a ways, at one of the many shops all crammed together, sign swaying lazily in the midday breeze. ]

Weapon shop's right over there. Go get yourself armed.

[corporative]

[If Rufus is pushing all the wrong buttons, then so is Alec. He can feel another “fuck you” right on the tip of his tongue, begging to be released, but this time he thinks better of it. And yeah, he holds onto that bag, gripping it tight and then slinging it over his shoulder. He’ll sell his goddamn clothes if he has to; it’d be more helpful than him, right now.]

Don’t talk down to me. [Cold, sharp. There’s only so much of Alec’s attitude he’ll take, even if he expects the other man to deal with his own.

With that, he’s going to turn on his heel and head towards the vendor. The man, initially put-off by Rufus’ bad mood, helps this grouchy customer all the same — and minutes later, Rufus has a familiar weapon held in one hand, along with a gun strap to keep it slotted neatly against his back: an automatic shotgun.

A far cry from his, of course, which is custom made and balanced just right. But though it’s basic, it packs a punch, it’ll get the job done, and he knows how to use it.

Is he returning to Alec? No. You come over here, you jerk.]

[striketwice]

[ He can do whatever he damn well pleases, including talking down to Rufus motherfucking Shinra. But it's just as well he holds his tongue - both of them do, even if Alec isn't aware of it - and Rufus stalks off to go look down his nose at the vendor or whatever the fuck.

Alec seriously considers just leaving, just splitting back to his home and hiding in his room of monitors and computer equipment while Rufus flounders around out here on his own. It's very temping, but there's some part of him that just won't let him do it.

Rufus' dad sent him down here as a punishment, but Alec sees it as a lesson, and ditching the guy won't make him learn anything. Maybe he still won't learn anything, but Alec has the opportunity to try.

He's not in the weapon shop for long, but it's long enough for Alec to cool off somewhat. He still hates Rufus Shinra and everything he stands for with his entire being, and that will probably never change, but he's less immediately angry.

But of course Rufus is still being a brat. Alec shoves his hands in his pockets and wanders over, as if he was totally headed that way anyway. ]

You get what you need?

[corporative]

[Rufus seems to be in a similar mood, if not purposefully icier. Still, he glances at Alec as he comes this way, satisfied that he doesn't have to make the trek back to him like some trained dog.]

Yeah.

[He holds out the shotgun by its stock to show him. Basic, but well-made for something you find in the dredges of Wall Market.]

And now I've got maybe 100 gil to work with. You going to share your big plans that require me to use a boomstick to earn income?

[striketwice]

[ Let him have his petty victory. Alec is (somewhat) trying to be the bigger man here. No bets on how long that will actually last before Rufus' whole "rich kid, big man in charge" shtick gets under his skin again. ]

Well, I was figuring you could shoot some things. You know, work off some of that aggression and rake in a little gil at the same time.

[ He gives that shotgun a once over, an eyebrow hiking up. ]

I never would have figured you for a shotgun kind of guy.