[ He grins right back, a wide and sharp thing that shows too many teeth, as if to say "just try it". If Rufus is going to be patronizing, then he's more than earned the right to be irritating. ]
Dunno. Something with a little more finesse, maybe.
[ Like a gold-plated pistol or some such bs. (Ha.) ]
Anyway, come on, I know a guy.
[ Dealing info doesn't always pay the bills, and a great deal of Alec's work is done for free, despite the front that he puts up with Rufus and anyone else who can more than afford to pay him, so he dabbles in odd jobs now and then. It so happens that Wall Market is the home of one of Alec's many contacts - a man who keeps his ear to the ground about the troubles all over the slums and points him in the direction of any gil to be found. ]
[Let’s not talk about gold-plated pistols. Rufus isn’t that Shinra.
Still, he follows without giving him any more lip. There are plenty of contacts to be made in Wall Market, a place that even Shinra couldn’t be bothered to touch, and he’s not surprised to hear that Alec “knows a guy”. It was part of the reason why he reached out in the first place.
So he follows, the crowd buzzing all around them, clumped together at the vendors touting sales and rare items like schools of fish. Rufus passes by and they don't even say a word, don't even turn their heads; the clothes have their desired effect, he has to admit that much.]
A shotgun demands attention. Gets straight to the point. Like how I prefer to do business.
[Except when he's planning a secret assassination plot to murder his father.]
[ As far as Alec is concerned, one Shinra is no different from the other. He has yet to be proven wrong. ]
Can you go like twenty-four hours without saying the b-word? Just curious.
[ Get your head out of the office, Rufus!!
After a bit of walking, Alec veers off the beaten path down a little side street and into the open front door of what can only be an eatery of some kind. The place smells of grease and maybe something burning, but it's probably fine. Though it's mostly empty, there are a few people sitting miserably around the mismatched tables and cobbled-together booths, still wearing their nighttime finery and fighting off hangovers with plates of greasy something-or-other. It's best not to look.
Alec zeroes in on a booth in the corner, where a scraggly fellow in a stocking hat is hunched over the table, snoring loudly. He might be drooling a little.
Before he slides into the seat across from the man, he says to Rufus, ]
[He was born and bred for business; that’s like telling him to stop breathing air. His mind’s been melded to think in how he can better strike deals (manipulate) to get what he wants. And if not that, find a more forcible way to do it. Daddy would be proud, no doubt.
But he doesn’t offer much of anything else as they walk. When they near the eatery, he smells it before he sees it — and the interior confirms what he had imagined. A place for the bad decisions of the night before to settle in, to let them rot and stink in the daylight and let one’s body deal with the consequences.
This really is below him.
Rufus isn’t an ignorant man, despite how much money he’s worth. He knows what life is like in the slums (and maybe that’s just worse, for he does nothing about it, just like his father), and he isn’t surprised to see such an unflattering group of grounders congregated in one small space. But it drives home his situation, illustrates that he’s not where he should be. For the first time since being dropped off on the lower plate, it bothers him in a way that runs deeper than mere agitation.
Maybe that’s why, after sliding in his seat next to Alec, he responds by hitting his palm on the booth to get the sleeping man's attention, jostling a lopsided napkin holder in dire need of a refill.]
[ Oh for the love of- can Rufus go two seconds without feeling the need to be in charge of everything? Apparently fucking not, and he catches Alec off-guard so much that his knee-jerk reaction is to pull a move that would probably have his old mentor laughing until he cried if he saw it.
He gives Rufus a solid smack on the back of the head. ]
What did I just fucking say?
[ Thankfully, or not so thankfully in Rufus' case, their man is a sound sleeper - or else a very good actor. He doesn't so much as stir.
Alec leans around his less-than-helpful compatriot to catch the attention of the woman behind the counter, waving his hand and motioning to their sleeping friend. She nods in understanding and disappears into the kitchen. ]
Until you know how things work, maybe let me do the talking, huh?
[Did Alec just hit him on the back of the head? The motion is so sudden that it jars him right out of trying to get the man’s attention and straight into indignant disapproval.]
Do that again, and I really will put holes through you.
[They’re really coming off as great buddies, aren’t they.
Despite his irritation, Rufus casts around to get a feel of what’s going on. Alec’s getting the attention of someone else, no doubt to signal that he wants to strike up more than just idle conversation. So, this hole-in-the-wall has a whole process? He’d expect that from someone like Don Corneo and his bevy of lackeys, but he isn’t sure that’s the level of questionable they’re working with today.
But Alec is right, though he’d never say it. He doesn’t know for sure.]
I’m not going to hold my tongue if there’s something important to say.
[Just so YOU KNOW. Rufus crosses his arms and leans back against the booth, waiting.]
[ Once again, the look Alec shoots his way dares him to try it. Rufus is not going to put holes in the one guy down here helping him out - even if he is being a shit about it. ]
Yeah, you do that.
[ Rufus is free to sit there pouting like a petulant child for a bit, because it takes another few moments for the place's lone waitress to reappear, bearing a plate of something that probably started life as food but is now more like 90% gravy. There's some fries in there? Maybe?
In any case, it looks horrendous, and smells like they probably dumped the contents of the kitchen's grease trap into it. The woman slides the plate in front of their sleeping friend without ceremony and heads back to her place behind the counter. From there, it doesn't take long for the man across the table to awaken, apparently stirred by the smell of mid-afternoon breakfast. ]
Huh, wuzzat?
[ He sits up rather abruptly, blinking a few times. A grin splits through his facial hair when he spots Alec and Rufus, and it somehow gets even wider when he spots the plate of food. He sets in with gusto. It's safe to say a good portion of that gravy makes it into his beard. ]
Alec! Been a while. I figured you didn't have any more use for little ol' me.
I always have a use for your ugly mug, Bobby. [ He jerks a thumb at Rufus, and as easily as anything says, ] This is my buddy Reeve. He's new in town, looking for work. Preferably the kind he can do with bullets.
[Even Rufus can’t avoid crinkling his nose at the sight of… something on a plate being brought out and slid before the sleeping man. It looks awful and it smells worse. He wouldn’t even feed it to his dog. But lo and behold, the scent is enough to awaken Alec’s contact, who then proceeds dig into the stuff like he hasn’t eaten in a decade as Rufus watches. It’s a truly nauseating sight, observing the gravy-like substance stick to his facial hair; this is ten times worse than watching Palmer melt butter into his tea.
At least he’s a jovial sort, which is a promising start, though there’s no way Shinra’s heir is going to stow away his frown, not when the stench of that food is swirling between them. He chimes in anyway, eyes fixed on Bobby.]
And preferably the kind that pays well, too. Heard good things about you, after all.
[Which is bullshit — he’s heard nothing about this mess of a man until now.]
[ Bobby flashes a grin at Rufus, which is no less a nauseating sight than when he's chomping away on his food. ]
Sweet talker, huh? You need to work on your smile, son. It'll be more convincing that way.
[ Alec can't quite stifle his chuckle in time, but he wasn't trying all that hard to begin with. Hello Rufus, welcome to a world where no one feels the need to sugarcoat anything for you because of your status. Down here, Rufus has no status. He's just another guy.
Still, the disparity between Rufus' words and his expression doesn't seem to put Bobby off from providing what's asked of him, and he chews thoughtfully for a moment or two. ]
Sectors 4 and 5 are your best bets, then. The folks over in 4 especially are in a tizzy over a nest of drakes that are a little too close for comfort. Big money if you can bring down big momma, but she's got her brood looking out for her.
Otherwise 5 is your more standard fare. Wererats and the like sneaking under fences. Nothing special there.
[ Alec gives a noncommittal shrug, casting a glance at "Reeve" to gauge his reaction. ]
Sounds like a good enough place to start, what do you say?
[Oh, they think they’re so clever. Rufus won’t give them the satisfaction of a real reaction; in fact, he gives them a smile, coupled with a hum of consideration. All of it drips with patronization, but he listens at the jobs laid out for them.
Sector 4 and 5, delegated to cleaning up the monsters that had snuck into where people didn’t want them. Basically, playing the part of exterminator for those willing to take up the job and deal with either the danger… or the tedium.
One sounds like it pays more, which is all the matters, and so—]
Sector 4, then. We can handle ourselves.
[Has Rufus ever fought a drake before? Well, no, that’s more of a SOLDIER or Shinra infantry specialization. But he’s not without his own training — his father made sure of it, and as the years passed, he learned to enjoy it to an extent — and he’s gone through enough VR sessions in tandem with the “real thing” to feel confident enough in this task.
He looks to Bobby again, wry.]
So this is what you do? Sit and wait for a meal, then drop some info for anyone who comes asking? [Sounds like a cheap version of Alec, and he glances sidelong at him.] Sounds like you were overpaid.
[ Rufus would go for the big fish first, so Alec's hardly surprised when he zeroes in on the biggest bounty. Funny how there is also a "we" now, but Alec won't argue that point right here and now. There will be plenty of time for that on their way over to Sector 4.
Bobby shrugs, making a gesture with his fork that sends a bit of gravy dangerously close to spattering on Rufus. It hits the edge of the table instead. ]
It's a living.
[ Alec, for his part, simply grins right back at Rufus. ]
Maybe I was. Doesn't matter now, does it?
But anyway, it's been fun, but we'd better go while there's still daylight. Don't drown in all that gravy, you old bastard.
[ While Bobby gives him a mock salute and sets into his meal in earnest, Alec makes a motion for Rufus to get up so they can leave. Though before he exits the booth, Alec drops a handful of gil on the table - enough to cover the food plus a little extra, which Bobby scoops up in in his free hand without looking.
Alec ushers Rufus out of the restaurant after that. The midday air in Wall Market isn't exactly fresh, but it sure feels it after being in that place. ]
[The gravy lands too close to him, but then again, these are Alec’s clothes so he doesn’t care quite as much. It’s more the smell that gets to him. But what else is there to say? They’ve a lead on the job, and Rufus isn’t inclined to extend this conversation further.]
Right. Thanks.
[The words are more dismissal than actual gratitude, and soon he’s following Alec out, but not without noting the payment left behind.
The lower plate scent of smog fills his lungs, and he decides that it’s far better than the inside of that questionably greasy establishment.]
But Alec likes Bobby. The man may be lacking in table manners, but he's been around the block and remains well connected despite Alec never not seeing him in that dingy hole of a diner. ]
Wow, I'm surprised you're asking instead of just assuming I'm coming along. Did you breathe in too much grease in there?
[ Alec spreads his hands. By all accounts, he looks perfectly average, and he doesn't seem to carry any sort of visible weapon. It would be difficult to tell that Alec spent a pretty good chunk of his life as a merc. ]
I'll go, but only so someone's around to call for help when you're getting your ass chewed on.
[Some SOLDIERs didn't look like much, all lithe body mass, but underestimate them and their enemies were in a world of hurt. Materia, too, can lend magical might to someone otherwise useless in a fight.]
But if you want to join me just so you can enjoy the show, I won't say no. Either way-
[He turns, choosing to leave Wall Market through the south entrance.]
[ True, Alec is hiding an awful lot, but it's certainly not something he's going to show to Rufus Shinra of all people. That's a surefire way to land himself in a lab, and he does not want that at all.
Rufus starts off, the big man in charge again, and Alec gives another roll of his eyes before jogging a few paces to catch up. ]
I didn't realize you knew where you were going. By all means, lead on, oh fearless leader.
[He has a very vague idea of where he’s going, but Rufus knows the general framework of Midgar, especially the fact that the trains will be the easiest way of getting from point A to point B if you’re living on the lower plate.]
My namesake [his “namesake”, meaning Reeve] is a man who won’t let you go five minutes without going into great detail about the layout of this city. I’ve had it drilled into my head at this point.
[Though Reeve usually prefaces all of that with some ongoing project of his — an interstate, the upkeep of the pillars, the balance of what is built on the plate versus what supports it beneath — which has Rufus constantly trying to direct him to his father instead. The man’s priorities were all askew, even for an urban planner.]
Guess I should thank him at least once after all this, though.
[ Alec would have figured that the lower plate would be beneath (ha) pretty much everyone in Shinra, so learning that its layout was brought up with Rufus rather frequently is something of a surprise. Alright, so maybe Rufus isn't going to get himself lost if they stay on the beaten path, as it were.
The second they venture out of the Sectors proper and into the more wild areas, well... all bets are off. ]
Thank him twice, since you're borrowing his name and all.
[ Not that he expects Rufus Shinra to say thank you to anyone for any reason, ever. ]
[Said in a way that means that Rufus doesn't care if he does or doesn't. Really, the man should be flattered that his name is the first that came to mind.
It doesn't take too long to locate the train station, nor to wait for one going in the right direction that'll take them to Sector 4. Onboard, Rufus finds a nice corner to himself and stays there, unwilling to pay the other passengers any attention. A usual security system scans their IDs a handful of times on the way, and as the lights flash across them all in a thin beam, he has no doubt that he's being registered as "Rufus Shinra" in the system after a bit of code-wrangling. He wonders who has high enough clearance at HQ to see it ping in their operations, and what they might be thinking; if this is amusing to them, if they think it's a proper comeuppance, or if they're ignoring it with without a second thought.
Either way, this thought process threatens to send him into another irritable mood, so he breaks the silence sometime before they arrive to entice it away.]
[ Alec does kind of wonder how Rufus' ID is being flagged as they zip along through scan after scan on their way over. No doubt his dear old dad has that well in hand, making sure the proper people are aware and pay it no mind. Idly, he wonders if Rufus is going to want a fake ID to avoid the embarrassment, but that's way more effort than he's willing to put in for the fallen prince, so he won't bring it up. ]
I sure didn't.
[ Nor does he seem to be offering that information. ]
[Information that Alec's not willing to share, that much is obvious. But it’s information that might be pertinent to know for a variety of reasons, given Rufus’ new situation, and so he begins the process of trying to reel it out of him, one inch at a time.
He glances over at him with a faint cant of the head, corners of his lips tugged up into a tilted smile.
Hmm.] You know, at the end of all this monster-slaying, I’m still going to need a place to stay. Until I have enough income to stand on my own two feet again.
[Does making himself seem lesser and in need of help feed Alec’s ego in such a way that’ll make him more amenable? Rufus’ pride might sting a little at the attempt, but it’s worth testing the waters for. Playing the game comes easy to him.]
[ You can't play a player, Rufus. Especially when Alec is already well-acquainted with Rufus' ego and attitude. There is no sympathy to be found in this well that has long run dry. ]
Then you better hope this monster-slaying pays really well.
[ Alec has already made it abundantly clear that he's a very private person, and it doesn't get much more private than his own home. ]
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finalflight2020-04-22 12:49 pm
no subject
Dunno. Something with a little more finesse, maybe.
[ Like a gold-plated pistol or some such bs. (Ha.) ]
Anyway, come on, I know a guy.
[ Dealing info doesn't always pay the bills, and a great deal of Alec's work is done for free, despite the front that he puts up with Rufus and anyone else who can more than afford to pay him, so he dabbles in odd jobs now and then. It so happens that Wall Market is the home of one of Alec's many contacts - a man who keeps his ear to the ground about the troubles all over the slums and points him in the direction of any gil to be found. ]
no subject
Still, he follows without giving him any more lip. There are plenty of contacts to be made in Wall Market, a place that even Shinra couldn’t be bothered to touch, and he’s not surprised to hear that Alec “knows a guy”. It was part of the reason why he reached out in the first place.
So he follows, the crowd buzzing all around them, clumped together at the vendors touting sales and rare items like schools of fish. Rufus passes by and they don't even say a word, don't even turn their heads; the clothes have their desired effect, he has to admit that much.]
A shotgun demands attention. Gets straight to the point. Like how I prefer to do business.
[Except when he's planning a secret assassination plot to murder his father.]
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Can you go like twenty-four hours without saying the b-word? Just curious.
[ Get your head out of the office, Rufus!!
After a bit of walking, Alec veers off the beaten path down a little side street and into the open front door of what can only be an eatery of some kind. The place smells of grease and maybe something burning, but it's probably fine. Though it's mostly empty, there are a few people sitting miserably around the mismatched tables and cobbled-together booths, still wearing their nighttime finery and fighting off hangovers with plates of greasy something-or-other. It's best not to look.
Alec zeroes in on a booth in the corner, where a scraggly fellow in a stocking hat is hunched over the table, snoring loudly. He might be drooling a little.
Before he slides into the seat across from the man, he says to Rufus, ]
Try not to say anything to embarrass me.
no subject
But he doesn’t offer much of anything else as they walk. When they near the eatery, he smells it before he sees it — and the interior confirms what he had imagined. A place for the bad decisions of the night before to settle in, to let them rot and stink in the daylight and let one’s body deal with the consequences.
This really is below him.
Rufus isn’t an ignorant man, despite how much money he’s worth. He knows what life is like in the slums (and maybe that’s just worse, for he does nothing about it, just like his father), and he isn’t surprised to see such an unflattering group of grounders congregated in one small space. But it drives home his situation, illustrates that he’s not where he should be. For the first time since being dropped off on the lower plate, it bothers him in a way that runs deeper than mere agitation.
Maybe that’s why, after sliding in his seat next to Alec, he responds by hitting his palm on the booth to get the sleeping man's attention, jostling a lopsided napkin holder in dire need of a refill.]
Hey. Rise and shine.
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He gives Rufus a solid smack on the back of the head. ]
What did I just fucking say?
[ Thankfully, or not so thankfully in Rufus' case, their man is a sound sleeper - or else a very good actor. He doesn't so much as stir.
Alec leans around his less-than-helpful compatriot to catch the attention of the woman behind the counter, waving his hand and motioning to their sleeping friend. She nods in understanding and disappears into the kitchen. ]
Until you know how things work, maybe let me do the talking, huh?
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Do that again, and I really will put holes through you.
[They’re really coming off as great buddies, aren’t they.
Despite his irritation, Rufus casts around to get a feel of what’s going on. Alec’s getting the attention of someone else, no doubt to signal that he wants to strike up more than just idle conversation. So, this hole-in-the-wall has a whole process? He’d expect that from someone like Don Corneo and his bevy of lackeys, but he isn’t sure that’s the level of questionable they’re working with today.
But Alec is right, though he’d never say it. He doesn’t know for sure.]
I’m not going to hold my tongue if there’s something important to say.
[Just so YOU KNOW. Rufus crosses his arms and leans back against the booth, waiting.]
no subject
Yeah, you do that.
[ Rufus is free to sit there pouting like a petulant child for a bit, because it takes another few moments for the place's lone waitress to reappear, bearing a plate of something that probably started life as food but is now more like 90% gravy. There's some fries in there? Maybe?
In any case, it looks horrendous, and smells like they probably dumped the contents of the kitchen's grease trap into it. The woman slides the plate in front of their sleeping friend without ceremony and heads back to her place behind the counter. From there, it doesn't take long for the man across the table to awaken, apparently stirred by the smell of mid-afternoon breakfast. ]
Huh, wuzzat?
[ He sits up rather abruptly, blinking a few times. A grin splits through his facial hair when he spots Alec and Rufus, and it somehow gets even wider when he spots the plate of food. He sets in with gusto. It's safe to say a good portion of that gravy makes it into his beard. ]
Alec! Been a while. I figured you didn't have any more use for little ol' me.
I always have a use for your ugly mug, Bobby. [ He jerks a thumb at Rufus, and as easily as anything says, ] This is my buddy Reeve. He's new in town, looking for work. Preferably the kind he can do with bullets.
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At least he’s a jovial sort, which is a promising start, though there’s no way Shinra’s heir is going to stow away his frown, not when the stench of that food is swirling between them. He chimes in anyway, eyes fixed on Bobby.]
And preferably the kind that pays well, too. Heard good things about you, after all.
[Which is bullshit — he’s heard nothing about this mess of a man until now.]
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Sweet talker, huh? You need to work on your smile, son. It'll be more convincing that way.
[ Alec can't quite stifle his chuckle in time, but he wasn't trying all that hard to begin with. Hello Rufus, welcome to a world where no one feels the need to sugarcoat anything for you because of your status. Down here, Rufus has no status. He's just another guy.
Still, the disparity between Rufus' words and his expression doesn't seem to put Bobby off from providing what's asked of him, and he chews thoughtfully for a moment or two. ]
Sectors 4 and 5 are your best bets, then. The folks over in 4 especially are in a tizzy over a nest of drakes that are a little too close for comfort. Big money if you can bring down big momma, but she's got her brood looking out for her.
Otherwise 5 is your more standard fare. Wererats and the like sneaking under fences. Nothing special there.
[ Alec gives a noncommittal shrug, casting a glance at "Reeve" to gauge his reaction. ]
Sounds like a good enough place to start, what do you say?
no subject
Sector 4 and 5, delegated to cleaning up the monsters that had snuck into where people didn’t want them. Basically, playing the part of exterminator for those willing to take up the job and deal with either the danger… or the tedium.
One sounds like it pays more, which is all the matters, and so—]
Sector 4, then. We can handle ourselves.
[Has Rufus ever fought a drake before? Well, no, that’s more of a SOLDIER or Shinra infantry specialization. But he’s not without his own training — his father made sure of it, and as the years passed, he learned to enjoy it to an extent — and he’s gone through enough VR sessions in tandem with the “real thing” to feel confident enough in this task.
He looks to Bobby again, wry.]
So this is what you do? Sit and wait for a meal, then drop some info for anyone who comes asking? [Sounds like a cheap version of Alec, and he glances sidelong at him.] Sounds like you were overpaid.
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Bobby shrugs, making a gesture with his fork that sends a bit of gravy dangerously close to spattering on Rufus. It hits the edge of the table instead. ]
It's a living.
[ Alec, for his part, simply grins right back at Rufus. ]
Maybe I was. Doesn't matter now, does it?
But anyway, it's been fun, but we'd better go while there's still daylight. Don't drown in all that gravy, you old bastard.
[ While Bobby gives him a mock salute and sets into his meal in earnest, Alec makes a motion for Rufus to get up so they can leave. Though before he exits the booth, Alec drops a handful of gil on the table - enough to cover the food plus a little extra, which Bobby scoops up in in his free hand without looking.
Alec ushers Rufus out of the restaurant after that. The midday air in Wall Market isn't exactly fresh, but it sure feels it after being in that place. ]
no subject
Right. Thanks.
[The words are more dismissal than actual gratitude, and soon he’s following Alec out, but not without noting the payment left behind.
The lower plate scent of smog fills his lungs, and he decides that it’s far better than the inside of that questionably greasy establishment.]
You keep interesting company.
no subject
[ He wouldn't necessarily call the old man "interesting", but maybe they don't have gravy connoisseurs up on the plate. ]
Paying for a shitty breakfast is easier than hopping around, sector to sector looking for work, wouldn't you agree?
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Wasn’t complaining, was I? Though you might suggest that your friend Bobby invest in a bib.
[Because gross.]
So, Sector 4; got a ways to travel. Coming with?
no subject
[ """Charms"""
But Alec likes Bobby. The man may be lacking in table manners, but he's been around the block and remains well connected despite Alec never not seeing him in that dingy hole of a diner. ]
Wow, I'm surprised you're asking instead of just assuming I'm coming along. Did you breathe in too much grease in there?
no subject
Won’t ask twice. I can go it alone if you think a few drakes are too much for you to handle.
[Honestly, he could. Though the job would get done faster, more efficiently, if Alec hung around — assuming the man can fight.]
Unless you don’t know how to defend yourself? What a shame that’d be.
no subject
[ Alec spreads his hands. By all accounts, he looks perfectly average, and he doesn't seem to carry any sort of visible weapon. It would be difficult to tell that Alec spent a pretty good chunk of his life as a merc. ]
I'll go, but only so someone's around to call for help when you're getting your ass chewed on.
no subject
[Some SOLDIERs didn't look like much, all lithe body mass, but underestimate them and their enemies were in a world of hurt. Materia, too, can lend magical might to someone otherwise useless in a fight.]
But if you want to join me just so you can enjoy the show, I won't say no. Either way-
[He turns, choosing to leave Wall Market through the south entrance.]
-it's time to get moving. Don't lag behind.
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Rufus starts off, the big man in charge again, and Alec gives another roll of his eyes before jogging a few paces to catch up. ]
I didn't realize you knew where you were going. By all means, lead on, oh fearless leader.
no subject
My namesake [his “namesake”, meaning Reeve] is a man who won’t let you go five minutes without going into great detail about the layout of this city. I’ve had it drilled into my head at this point.
[Though Reeve usually prefaces all of that with some ongoing project of his — an interstate, the upkeep of the pillars, the balance of what is built on the plate versus what supports it beneath — which has Rufus constantly trying to direct him to his father instead. The man’s priorities were all askew, even for an urban planner.]
Guess I should thank him at least once after all this, though.
[He... probably won’t.]
no subject
The second they venture out of the Sectors proper and into the more wild areas, well... all bets are off. ]
Thank him twice, since you're borrowing his name and all.
[ Not that he expects Rufus Shinra to say thank you to anyone for any reason, ever. ]
no subject
[Said in a way that means that Rufus doesn't care if he does or doesn't. Really, the man should be flattered that his name is the first that came to mind.
It doesn't take too long to locate the train station, nor to wait for one going in the right direction that'll take them to Sector 4. Onboard, Rufus finds a nice corner to himself and stays there, unwilling to pay the other passengers any attention. A usual security system scans their IDs a handful of times on the way, and as the lights flash across them all in a thin beam, he has no doubt that he's being registered as "Rufus Shinra" in the system after a bit of code-wrangling. He wonders who has high enough clearance at HQ to see it ping in their operations, and what they might be thinking; if this is amusing to them, if they think it's a proper comeuppance, or if they're ignoring it with without a second thought.
Either way, this thought process threatens to send him into another irritable mood, so he breaks the silence sometime before they arrive to entice it away.]
You still never told me which Sector you live in.
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I sure didn't.
[ Nor does he seem to be offering that information. ]
no subject
He glances over at him with a faint cant of the head, corners of his lips tugged up into a tilted smile.
Hmm.] You know, at the end of all this monster-slaying, I’m still going to need a place to stay. Until I have enough income to stand on my own two feet again.
[Does making himself seem lesser and in need of help feed Alec’s ego in such a way that’ll make him more amenable? Rufus’ pride might sting a little at the attempt, but it’s worth testing the waters for. Playing the game comes easy to him.]
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Then you better hope this monster-slaying pays really well.
[ Alec has already made it abundantly clear that he's a very private person, and it doesn't get much more private than his own home. ]
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dusts this off...no obligation to continue if you don't wanna!
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