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Remember, I Love You	By : K-M-Asano Category: Final Fantasy VII > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 717 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or the Characters, just this story I wrote about them. I make no money from this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Reno is getting worse as the Stigma continues to spread and attack his body. Rude and Elena pay a visit to check on their friend and Tseng makes it known he is not pleased with the way things are going. The song Chained to You by Savage Garden can help set the mood for this chapter.

“I knew you were overdoing it the other day” Rufus said brushing the hair back from Reno’s face with a sad smile as he looked at the read head curled up against him.
“Maybe I did. But it was worth it” Reno said as he smiled up at his lover and stroked his cheek gently. “A day with you is worth any price I’d have to pay. You are always worth the pain” Reno whispered as he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around his lover’s chest and waited for the wave of pain to subside.
“And that just shows how crazy you are, my firecracker” Rufus said softly as he leaned over and kissed his lover softly, the redhead returning the kiss.
It had been two days and while Reno had been having more and more pain, it was still better than his flare days. He was at least able to get out of the bed and do some things at least, so they were counting it as a good day. A knock on the door interrupted the kiss causing Rufus to pull back with a sigh of annoyance.
“They really need to work on their timing” he said rolling his eyes and laughing, earning a slight chuckle from Reno as he reluctantly let go.
Standing up, Rufus went to the door and opened it, welcoming Rude and Elena in with a smile.
“How’s Reno doing?” Elena asked anxiously. Rufus lifted his arm, motioning to where Reno sat on the couch, Dark Nation curled up at his feet like a giant oversized housecat.
“Go and ask him for yourself” Rufus said with a smirk as he watched the petite blonde rush over to see her friend as he and Rude watched in silence for a moment.
“I’m glad those two are still so close” Rude said simply as he took off the dark shades and placed them in his coat pocket.
“I am glad all of us are” Rufus said with a slight sigh. “It makes things so much easier on Reno to know he’s not alone and forgotten. And I won’t lie, it makes it easier for me as well”
Rude nodded as he followed Rufus into the living room and pulled up a chair and sat with the others. Rufus took his normal spot on the couch beside Reno as Elena remained perched on the arm of the couch next to Reno. For a time, much was as close to normal as things had been for quite some time. The four sitting in that room, who had grown to become more than just employer and employees, talked, reminisced, and dreamt of what tomorrow might hold for them. Rufus sat and watched them, his heart feeling strangely calm and lifted as he watched his firecracker smile and laugh. He thought back to the first times he had meet the three of them, and the way their relationships had grown over the years, and how they got to where they were today.
Elena had long been a mystery to him and still never ceased to amaze him with her spunk and initiative and power, despite her outwards appearance. Rude had proven over the years to be much more than just the muscle of the group and had shown he had a heart just as big and strong as he was. And Reno, it had caught him off guard when he first felt that unfamiliar pain in his heart, but over time, the redhead had taught him how to trust again and how to finally allow himself to love another. Then there was Tseng. Rufus sighed as he felt a strange mix of sadness and bitterness fill him. Tseng had long been his second in command but when he fell ill with the Stigma, things began to change… and when Reno started getting worse a few years ago, it was as if Tseng had cut ties with everyone and saw everything as a business relationship and nothing else.
Rufus shook his head to clear away the memories. He looked down and smiled as he felt Reno shift and snuggle against him slightly. Rufus slid his arm around the redhead’s shoulder and held him close. As he sat there listening to the conversations as time ticked by, Reno started drifting to sleep, the exhaustion and pain starting to lay hold. Rufus looked down a short time later at the sleeping redhead and kissed the top of his head lightly.
“There’s no good time to bring this up” Elena said as she looked at the sleeping Reno. “But now is as good a time as any I guess.” She got up from the couch and took the empty chair beside Rude.
“What’s up, Elena?” Rufus asked, though he had a hunch he knew what it was about.
“Tseng” Rude said simply, his hazel eyes growing dark.
Rufus sighed. He knew this conversation was going to happen eventually. Shifting Reno slightly so he could pull his arm free, he leaned his firecracker back gently. Leaning over, his arms resting on his knees as Dark Nation lifted her head and licked his hand before laying back down, Rufus looked over at Rude and Elena.
“So, what does the wet blanket want?” Rufus said with a hint of disgust in his voice. He and Tseng had had a fair number of arguments and exchanges over the last two years. Tseng did not approve of how Rufus was managing things and felt he was spending too much time with Reno and ignoring his duties to the company and to the Turks. Rufus had a feeling that it had something to do with him blowing off the meetings and planned events the other day.
“Tseng is… well how do I say this” Elena muttered.
“He is pissed” Rude said simply.
“Yes, that’s one way to put it bluntly” Elena said shooting Rude a look. “He… he feels you are ignoring your responsibilities and that your time with Reno is putting the company in jeopardy.”
“Well that’s tough” Rufus said with a scoff. “That’s what I have the Turks for. Why is he getting his pants all in a twist now?”
“We think he is planning on putting forward a vote of no confidence against you with the board” Rude said as he watched his boss closely.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me” Rufus said as he stared at Rude in disbelief.
“Afraid not, Sir” Elena said. “He’s already told us several times he feels he would do a better job running the company and overseeing the Turks than you are. He feels the board will agree with him.”
“Well, that surely complicates things” Rufus said with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. “Looks like we may have to put our plan into action sooner than I had wanted to.
Rude and Elena nodded in agreement as they began discussing their plans.
……………..
“Well then come over and say it to my face, Tseng! You know where I live, though I guess you might have forgotten since you haven’t even bothered to come by in over two years!”
Rufus sighed as he tossed the phone on the table and slumped down on the couch.
“Well that could have gone…” Elena started uncomfortably.
“Better” Rude finished.
“Well, I guess Tseng is coming over to chew me out face to face for a change” Rufus muttered.
“Guess he’s really pissed off at me huh?” Reno said as he looked up at his lover apologetically. “I don’t want to be causing you any more trouble than I already have Rufus…”
“Hush. No crazy talk. You know there is absolutely nothing in the world that means more to me than you do, firecracker. Nothing is going to change that. Remember, I love you Reno, always.”
Reno nodded weakly as he laid his head back in Rufus’ shoulder. The short nap on the couch had not been all that restful and his body ached from the Stigma. His breathing was growing more and more ragged and Rufus looked him with concern in his eyes.
I… I’m fine” Reno said trying keep from coughing, though each breath was starting to burn and he was starting to struggle to get a full breath. As a coughing fit laid hold, Reno’s entire body tenses and he coughed, leaving him doubled over and gasping for air with each ragged cough that escaped him.
“Coughs been getting worse” Elena said softly, making more of a statement than asking a question.
Rufus nodded as he rubbed Reno’s back to help him breathe a little easier. What felt like an eternity later, the coughing subsided but Reno was still struggling to catch his breath and he was trembling slightly with exhaustion. His lungs felt like they were on fire as he felt the Stigma burn. Every breath hurt and made the next one all the more difficult. Rufus placed a hand on his lover’s head- at least he wasn’t running a fever on top of everything.
Rufus hated seeing his lover like this. With a nod to Rude and Elena, he stood and scooped the smaller male up into his arms. He did this often but every time he did, he felt his heart break a little at how frail his lover was becoming. Rufus shifted him gently in his arms as Reno wrapped his arms around his neck and closed his eyes, his breathing ragged and shallow. Rufus carried him back into the bedroom, Dark Nation jumping up and following at his heels.
Laying his lover down on the bed, he gently stroked the fiery red hair. Reno smiled weakly as he started to cough again, each breath in getting more and more difficult until he could hardly get in any air at all as another wave of pain washed over him. Rufus adjusted the pillows and then picked up the oxygen mask and adjusted the band. He placed the mask over his lover’s mouth and nose. Reno slowly stated to relax as his breathing grew slower and deeper. His lungs still burned but he didn’t feel like he was suffocating any longer. Reno grabbed Rufus’ hand and gave it a slight squeeze as he closed his eyes, his face twisting slightly in pain and he slowly drifted off to a restless sleep. Rufus sat there watching his lover for a moment, making sure he was resting as comfortably as he could.
“Watch over him for me girl” he said as he rubbed Dark Nation behind the ears. With a surprisingly graceful leap for such a big creature, she jumped up on the bed and laid down beside the redhead. Dark Nation took her normal spot alongside Reno, her body pressed against his, her head resting on his stomach. Reno’s fingers ran through the dark fur as he slept. Slowly Rufus stood and walked out, joining Rude and Elena in the living room once again.
“Reno is ok?” Elena asked as she looked up at Rufus, her face and voice full of concern.
“He’ll be fine” Rufus said as he fell back into the couch with an exhausted sigh.
“But the Stigma is still getting worse” Elena said to no one in particular as she stared down at the floor. “He seemed so good earlier, but now…”
“That is how the Omegastigma is” Rude said somberly. “It can flare quickly and often without much warning. And it can manifest itself in a variety of ways.”
“The last update I got from RnD was that they have identified three main symptom categories that most of those diagnosed with Omegastigma can experience” Rufus reached into the drawer of the side table and pulled out one of the file folders and began to read from one of the pages: “Three major identifying symptoms of Omegastigma include spontaneous and rapid onset of high fever which can lead to seizures, widespread chronic pain along with loss of energy and coordination, and finally severe and often debilitating pain in area directly impacted by the Stigma.”
“And Reno has all of them” Elena said bitterly.
“At one time or another yes, he experiences them all on a regular basis” Rufus said as he put the folder down on the couch beside him and rubbed his head. “Though there is no apparent pattern or cycle that we can identify.”
“And the Stigma is continuing to spread?” Rude asked, though he knew the answer to the question.
“Reno now has more of the Stigma manifesting than I did, and there doesn’t seem to be any sign of it slowing down. One thing that seems to be setting Omegastigma apart from what I had is how it spreads. The Geostigma I had mostly manifested on the surface, and more severe cases had more extensive visual presence. However, Omegastigma seems to behave more like a cancer that stays hidden much of the time. While Reno has the visible marks we can see, the Stigma is spreading much more inside where we can’t see it.”
“How bad is he?” Rude asked, his gruff voice unusually soft.
“Aside from the visible spread on his back, arm, and neck, the doctors said the last time they checked a few months ago it was in his lungs, which is why he’s having trouble breathing now, as well as in the brain, which is what is causing the weakness, tremors, and some of the other issues he’s been having in the last month or so. It will keep spreading until his body simply gives out from the stress of trying to compensate for the Stigma.” Rufus stared at the floor, his arms resting on his knees as he held his face in his hands and took a deep ragged breath, trying to calm himself and fight back the burning sensation he was feeling behind his eyes.
“And still no closer to the developing a cure?” Elena asked trying to not sound too desperate.
Rude just shook his head solemnly, earning a disheartened sigh from the petite blonde.
Rufus was about to say something when the sound of someone banging on the door echoed loudly in the suddenly quiet room. Rufus sighed as he slowly stood.
“Talk about timing” Rude muttered.
“Don’t imagine he’d go away if I ignored him?” Rufus asked half-jokingly as he walked over to the door and opening it.
“Ah Tseng, glad you could join us, finally” Rufus said, unable to keep the cold bite out of his voice.
“Rufus” Tseng said simply, not even bothering to acknowledge what Rufus had said. “We need to talk.”
- 5
- 6
- 7
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Remember, I Love You