My first published Final Fantasy 7 fanfic... gee, i hope people will read this! I've noticed that not many people actually read (and write) Rufus/OC fics... :-( It's not a Mary-Sue fic, believe me! Please don't run away when you see 'OC' So please read this story and REVIEW. Tell me what you think. You know it means a lot (good reviews that is, hehe). :-) So with that said, let's get on with the fic!

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 7 belongs to SquareEnix.

Prologue

"I heard that no one's ever seen you bleed or cry."

The rain hammered down incessantly on his back, deafening him to his entire surroundings. He stood with an emotionless façade, icy blue eyes gazing piercingly at the form before him.

A smirk.

Rufus bent down and cradled the small figure in his arms before lifting it with him as he stood up. A pale hand hanged limply.

Warm eyes, a warm smile…

He caressed the cold cheek of the young woman in his arms. He pushed away the matted wet hair away from her lifeless face.

"You know people aren't as lucky as you…"

He carried her down the empty street, holding her head closely to his chest. He could still feel a heartbeat. Slow and weak, but it was definitely still there.

"Get me a medic… now…" he said.

Tseng looked at him hopelessly. Even though he was the Vice President, he still could not go against the President's direct order.

"I said NOW!" Rufus shouted causing Tseng to run off..

A raised eyebrow. "Lucky? You call this lucky?"

Rufus hugged her tighter, as if he were to let go she would disappear forever.

A shy kiss.

A tender touch.

"Why…" Rufus broke out. "I told you, didn't I…"

"Rufus? Are you alright?" she came into the room.

"Get out," Rufus ordered, his voice oddly strained.

"What! How dare you order me out, tell me what's wrong!" she demanded, storming over to his side.

She let out a gasp of surprise at his condition. He glared up at her with red eyes and tear stained cheeks. His hand was bloodied and pieces of glass littered the floor.

"Oh, god…" she breathed, going down on her knees to look at him at eye level. "What happened?"

"Go away, I don't want you, of all people, to see me so weak," he said tiredly, facing away from her.

She stood her ground stubbornly. "No! Tell me what happened!"

"Why should I? It's none of your business!" Rufus scolded her.

"I have a right to know and I want to know now!" She insisted.

"Why are you so stubborn?" Rufus hissed at her angrily, turning to fix her a cold glare.

What came next completely took him off-guard. She threw her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder. She cried for him.

"I don't care if you're strong or weak. I love you for who you are," she whispered hoarsely.

"Why!" he shouted into the rain.

He felt himself shaking from suppressed emotions. Hatred, anger, hurt, sadness… hopelessness, he sank to his knees, trying vainly to stop the tears that were mixing with the raindrops on his face.

"S-Sir…" Tseng stopped as he came up to the President.

President ShinRa nodded at him then turned his gaze to the soaked form of his only son. He could see his shoulders shaking in the cold and the helpless position he was in.

"Tell him to look for me when he's done. I believe she's dead, correct, Tseng?" ShinRa raised an eyebrow at him.

"I… I shot her in the stomach, sir… So… I suppose-"

"Well, that's good. Ask Rufus to hurry up with his nonsense and look for me later," ShinRa said with a wave of a hand before turning around and walking back into the building.

Tseng waited for him to disappear into the elevator before running off to find a Restore materia or any available medics.

"Come here, Tseng…" President ShinRa called to him.

"Yes, sir?" Tseng asked.

"I want you to carry out this mission for me…" the President said, pressing a package into Tseng's hands.

"What type of mission, sir?" Tseng inquired as he looked at the 'CONFIDENTIAL' stamp on the package.

"Oh, you'll find all the instructions in there," the President said, smiling. "I always said that woman had it coming for her."

Tseng stared at the President's back incredulously as he walked back to his office.

"Hey, boss, what happened?" Reno asked, seeing his boss' frantic pace.

Tseng rushed past his subordinate but stopped short suddenly. He turned towards Reno.

"Do you have any Restore Materia?" he asked the redhead.

"I got a Cure3 here…" Reno said, pointing to his EMR.

"Give it to me, quickly!" Tseng said, grabbing Reno's shirt collar.

"Okay, chill, boss, yo!" Reno said, getting Tseng off of him before removing the materia.

Tseng took it and ran out of the building as fast as he could.

"You wanted to see me, Tseng?"

Tseng frowned deeply. He didn't want to do this. Why did he have to do this… Why him? Tseng looked up at her with pained eyes. She looked back at him in confusion.

"Is something wrong?" she gasped. "Did something happen to Rufus?"

Rufus… Rufus would hate him if he did it…he just couldn't do it. Tseng looked up and spotted the President watching him. Tseng froze and felt himself stiffened. He had to do it. He had no choice.

"I'm sorry…" Tseng whispered sadly as he held out his gun and pointed it at her.

Her eyes widened in fear and surprise.

"It was… the President's order… I'm really sorry… I don't want to do this…" Tseng looked into her frightened brown eyes. "Please forgive me."

BANG

Rufus walked through the doors of the building when he heard a gun shot broke through the air. He looked to his left where his father stood at the side. The President looked at his son and chuckled. Rufus had a sense of foreboding coursing through him.

"What was that sound?" he asked.

"Oh, why don't you have a look?" ShinRa asked back.

Rufus gripped himself for the worst and strode towards the direction where the sound came from. Upon reaching, his insides turned cold. He could feel the raw emotions coursing through him but he suppressed them as he clenched his fists.

Tseng looked up into icy cold blue eyes. He dropped the gun onto the blood soaked ground. He felt something grip his heart and squeeze it tightly. He had never seen the Vice President's eyes look so… dead.

The rain fell.

"Sir," Tseng huffed as he held out the materia.

Rufus hurriedly took it and cast it as many times as he could. The bullet wound slowly began to fade away and the blood stopped. But even if the wound was healed, she had lost too much blood and she was starting to shiver uncontrollably. Rufus took her into his arms again and ran towards the building, hurrying to the infirmary. He laid her on a bed while several medics hurried about for equipment.

Her eyes cracked open as she panted heavily. She looked up at him with pained but relieved eyes.

"Rufus…" she whispered before slipping off into unconsciousness once more.

Dawn came with the greeting of birds chirping overhead. The first rays of light brushed against the dark tiled roofs of the city-harbor. Rufus stood alone as a gentle breeze swept by him and made his coat flutter in the wind. He felt as heavy as lead, his expression gloomy and he said nothing. Even as Tseng came to stand by his side, he never acknowledged him. He was lost in thought.

"Sir… you've been standing here since last night," Tseng said.

"Leave me be…"

"Her ship has left hours ago, President ShinRa is looking for you-" he was abruptly stopped by the raising of Rufus' hand.

"Did you see the look in her eyes, Tseng?" he asked softly. "Did you see the way she looked at me? Like she was about to cry?"

"Sir…?"

"I bet she's crying her eyes out right now… she never was a strong woman…" Rufus mused. "Just like me, isn't she?"

They kept silent for a moment.

"I want to hold her again… at least once… I wanted…" Rufus ran a hand through his hair with a sigh.

He looked up at Tseng and the older man was surprised to find his eyes red and his face stained.

"One day, Tseng… I'm going to look for her," he said, fixing his dead gaze on him. "If I'm unable to do so… Tseng… I want you to do that for me."

Tseng nodded solemnly. The two man watched as the sun rose high above the horizon that separated the one person whom Rufus ShinRa would risk sacrificing everything for. And as he watched, Tseng found a tear trailing down the young Vice President's face.

"Reine," he whispered into the wind, carrying it a hundred miles to wherever its receiver may be.

'Never seen him cry, indeed…' Tseng thought wryly.

So how was it? Next chapter you'll find out more of Reine and then the story will go on about their relationship and why President ShinRa wants her dead. Interesting? Fascinating? Write me a review to tell me about! If i don't get any i'll leave this as a one-shot... -.- So please, don't fail me, my readers!

(gut of cold wind blows by)

Rufus: You know there's really nobody listening to you out there...

DA: Nooo, that can't be... T.T

Rufus: Face reality.

DA: You are as cold as everyone says you are! (glares at Rufus)

Rufus: I'm only cold to you.

DA: Boohoo, even a fictional character is against me...

Rufus: Just shut up and finish this.

DA: (bashes Rufus on the head with his shotgun) Meanie. Well, ciao now everyone! Don't forget to review:-D