Authors Note: Hi everyone! I'm so glad I was able to get this done before I fall asleep. This is my chapter. Please enjoy! Sorry this is not betaed.

Disclaimer: We do not own the characters, or setting, but the plot is totally ours. We manipulate these poor people into doing our whims!

Summary: Vice President Rufus Shinra and his top Commander of the Turks are both placed into a situation that they can neither deny or escape.

Warnings of the chapter: None.

Time in which this takes place: Wherever the hell we feel like. :)

Closer

I'm absolutely mortified. he saw it, he must have! He must have seen the bruise on my cheek. I plop down on the edge of my tub and put my hands over my face.

"Excuse me, sir," I hear Gun's voice through the door, "Sir? Are you decent?"

I want to scream for her to go away, to use her namesake to kill me, to go back in time and be here five minutes earlier. Instead I say, "Yes" and wish my life to end.

The bob-cut blond woman slips into the room. She shuts the door firmly behind her, and turns to me, her blue eyes wide and fearful.

"Sir," she whispers, moving closer, "I'm so sorry. Verdot wanted to speak to me. He knew Tseng wouldn't leave your side until I had arrived."

I snap to my feet, mortified. "Gun! What if he saw? Oh, goddess." I moan, slumping down to my knees and bow my head in shame. I need to pull myself together. I don't know who I'm more upset with. Gun for not burning rubber to get here after her talk with Verdot, Verdot for knowing Tseng was on duty and wouldn't leave my side, or Tseng for being the amazing person that he is and always showing his loyalty to me by staying by my side.

Gun kneels down in front of me and hugs me tightly. "Please forgive me, sir. I will tell him it was an accident? You fell and were too embarrest to tell him." she offers. As believeable as that story would be, I shake my head, knowning that lying to him will only make this worse later on in life when Tseng learns of the truth, whether it be of my own ignorence or I tell him the truth.

I burry my face in her shoulder, ashamed on how tightly I hold onto her. "Please, don't look at me." I whisper into her ear, my eyes watering up but I blink so fast, I keep them from falling. Tears aren't real until they touch the cheek.

Gun nods and lowers her head, digging around in her pocket for something. Revealing her ever reliable concealer to me. I force myself to pull away and keep my eyes from watering. I know I must look like I'm in pain, and when I bump my wounded cheek, I really start feeling it.

After I control my emotions, I clear my throat and Gun goes to work on my face. Goddess bless her for not even looking at me as I struggled to contain myself.

Ten minutes of tender, gentle work and Gun is leaving to get me some night clothes. Once I'm changed, I stumble into my room and over to my bed. Dark Nation grumbles when I nearly land on her, she scoots over to the left side of the bed. I adjust myself and bury my face in my pillow, half hoping to sufficate in it's promised slumber. My eyes brun from the lack of proper sleep.

"Shut up, Nation." I grumble, voice muffled.

She yawns, stretches, then falls still. A low hum reverberates from her chest and then all I can hear is her deep even breaths.

I pull my face away from my pillow and breath fresh air. "Gun, can you turn on the fan?"

Click.

"Thank you."

It's quiet for a moment before Gun touches my shoulder. I would have thought I was dreaming had I not heard Gun whisper, "Goodnight, sir. Sleep well." And then drifted off into a deep, dare I say, peaceful slumber.

"Sir," Rude stands loyally at the door, as imposing and calm as usual.

"Rude, come in. Give me a moment and I'll be done." The quiet Turk gives a curt nod and waits by the door.

I look back down to my email. I send Heiddegger's request back to him. I'm not going to fork out more money for his useless, fruitless endevers.

Standing up, I head out the door with Rude as my shadow, down to the SOLDIER fllor. I have a meeting in the conference room with Hojo of the Science Department and Lazard of the SOLDIER Department.

So, Hojo says that the 3rds and 2nds need more mako injections to get their bodies more prepared for their next promotion to either 2nd or 1st class.

"The 2nd graduating class has dropped 6% since three years ago but the classes have increased 17% since then. There are many more young men in the 3rd class but not enough of them are graduating in the average expected time it takes to move on." Hojo told me.

"But," Lazard cuts in, "the more mako treatments, the more time they spend recouperating than training or going on missions."

I rub my face, thoroughtly annoyed. "Okay, how many treatments does a veteran 3rd get a month?" I ask.

"Two, Mr. Vice-President." Lazard says calmly. I sigh. I'm not Lazard's biggest fan, but he is a step up from Hojo... and a lot nicer. Okay, so he might be my illegitimate brother and comparing him to someone like Hojo may be uncalled for, but he is still one of my workers.

"And the 2nds?"

"Four a month, sir," Lazard pushes his glasses up to the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, 3rds will get it three times a month; the second week, Tuesday and Wensday. And the 2nds will go from four to five times. The last week, Saturday and Sunday. Clear?" I stand. "Anything else?"

"No, sir," Lazard seems upset.

"No, sir," Hojo seems pleased.

"Very well. Have a good day, gentlement." I head for the door. Rude follows me down the hallway and waits for me when I stop and take a breather. My cheek aches.

"Are you okay, sir?" Rude asks, stopping next to me.

I nod and keep moving. "I'm fine. I think I need some more asprin, though." My phone rings and I look at the caller id. "But a bullet in the brain would be heavenly."

Rude frowns. "I will get your asprin, sir."

Humourlessly, I laugh and flip open my phone and put it to my ear, "Dad?"

"Rufus-get to my office. Now." Dad says, voice barely containing his anger.

I flinch. "What's wrong, father?"

"Rufus, my office-now."

An uncontrollable chill of fear runs down my spine as I shut my phone. I curse my bad luck and wonder why the goddess hates me and head to my father's office.

"You plegerized your last assignment. He's outraged!" Father snarls. "I was able to talk him into letting you redo it-get. It. Done!" Then the expected wounded cheek got the brutal treatment of a flat palm.

"I didn't cheat," I flinch away, covering my stinging cheek. I need to defend myself. "Tseng was just helping me out so I had all the right information-"

"So you had a Turk do your homework for you?" father accuses, looking disqusted. That burns an angry hole in the pit of my stomach, I worked so hard on that essay, but I swollow the emotion away as best I can. There is no way I can convince him otherwise of my inoccents. He will always agree with everyone else but me when it comes to something like this. I'm always to be the guilty one.

So, bow my head, feeling the stress build up in my chest. A horrible habit of mine. Always bowing my head when I'm nervous or ashamed. Father knows this and only sneers at me. I slip out the door and down the halls til I get to my office. My cheek is on fire but I barely feel it, I'm numb everywhere.

Rude is in my office when I get there, his lips tilted downward when I walk in. He must see it, that burning angry red on my cheek. But he doesn't stop me as I walk steadily to my bathroom, my control quickly falling apart.

I just hope that this bruise doesn't get any darker because it will become even harder to cover up. I force away all my emotions. I will let go when all my work is done. I head back into my office and get right to work, ignoring the small pill bottle that sits at the edge of my desk.

"Sir."

I jump and look up to see Tseng, standing at the far corner of the room, by the door.

I quickly close my rob, my hair still wet from my shower. "Tseng, what are you doing here? it's like 2:30 in the morning."

"It is."

We stare at each other for a long time. His eyes saying exactly what he silently means. He doesn't want me to be working this late anymore. He doesn't like that I'm up so late.

I close out of the documents and shut my computer down. In the darkness, I ask, "What are you doing here?" Moonlight and the slight glow of the mako reactors from outside shine through the curtains and partially light the room. I can barely see Tseng at all. I have to squint to even see his outline in the darkness.

"I came to walk over you, sir. Is everyhthing okay?"

"Fine." I say, thankful that my face is now shadowed out.

I'm in nothing my rob and silk pajama bottoms. I was going to bed when I remembered an email that needed to be sent before morning time.

"Why are you still awake?"

"What is this, Tseng? Twenty questions? I was finishing up work before going to bed." I head to my bedroom door through memory, being careful not to trip or stub my toe on anything.

"Sir," Tseng's voice is hollow and almost blending with the darkness, "What are you not telling me?"

I freeze for a moment, a split second that I'm sure he caught, before continuing on to my room. "Nothing, really. I'm just a bit stressed out as of late. It'll be fine soon." I'm a horrible person and a compulsive liar.

Tseng takes my head and leads me the rest of the way into my room and toward my bed. I blindly reach out for Dark Nation and run my fingers through her thin, short fur. She grumbles and licks my hand.

"Thanks," I say to Tseng, his hand slipping from mine, "Hi, girl."

"Yes," Tseng's voice is so light behind me. "Goodnight, sir."

"Goodnight."

I crawl into bed, pet Dark Nation a few more times before pulling my robe tightly around myself and curling up into my blanks.

A/N: Whoo, that was a quick update! Thanks everyone! Rate, review and have a great day!