#this could be an OC but i never made one before so 🤷

[demialwrites]

Rufus's Sister

You, Rufus's Sister, don't care for meetings or most of the board, so you have some fun.

"Watch this," you whispered, subtly elbowing Palmer.

"Oh!" Your fellow director wiggled in his seat, getting worked up that someone was paying him some attention.

You didn't like the creepy man that much but he would make for a suitable partner-in-crime for the moment. You pulled a resealable bag out of your suit jacket pocket, revealing your partially-eaten snack of peanut butter smoothed into celery sticks.

Palmer watched in rapt, but confused, attention.

Rufus was droning on about Weapons. Again. Giant materia whales had nothing to do with your department, and the details were beyond your understanding, anyway. He was turned to the other side of the table, answering a question from Reeve, so you began the game by unzipping the bag without attracting giving yourself away.

Sliding open the first half of the zipper gained you Scarlet casting a confused glance down her nose at you. She considered you the lesser Shinra sibling. One day you'll show her she's wrong, but that day was not today.

The second half attracted the attention of your real target. Not your boring brother but the dog behind him. Long and thin pointy ears sprang up at the sound of the plastic zipper. You could see his red eyes fixed in the direction of your seated figure but it was hard to tell because they were naturally crossed.

That one flaw in his best friend was a sore point for Rufus. You only made fun of it sparingly for maximum effect.

Darkstar ambled undetected behind his pet parent to sit under the table in front of you. It was an awkward squeeze but he desperately wanted what you had. Peanut butter. Palmer leaned back in fear but you quietly repeated the command to watch, drawing a celery stick out of the bag. The monstrous dog scooted closer excitedly, and you pushed the celery into his hungry mouth, snatching your hand back before his fangs closed together.

Palmer squealed, finally understanding what the game was.

It was noisy work, making sure to suck down every last morsel of peanut butter. You marvelled at how the dog didn't slice his flapping tongue to shreds licking in between his teeth. Scarlet unintentionally did you a favour just then with the timing of one of her outbursts, focusing Rufus's attention on her. You briefly pitied him, toddlers had better self-regulation skills than some of the adults in this room.

One of those toddlers, Palmer, clapped in joy.

"What are you doing?" asked Rufus.

You looked up at the unimpressed question to find the entire board watching and waiting for your answer. Palmer was still wiggling obliviously. Rufus glanced down at the tentacle wagging from under the table, the tip patting the side of his thigh.

"Director?" Rufus asked again, using his best 'president' voice.

"Nothing," you replied innocently.

He wrinkled his nose because you were a liar. He knew that because he was a practiced liar, too. He called Darkstar out from under the table. Rufus immediately noted the savoury scent of peanut butter on his dog's breath. You slipped the now-empty bag into your pocket before he looked up.

"Nothing?" he repeated.

The minute movements of his eyes searched you for what he wouldn't find. Knowing each other from early childhood allowed you to be relaxed about hiding any tells or signs of guilt. Your lips twitched into a smile for the briefest of moments. You were betting on him letting this slide. No one was paying much attention to you during the presentation, and they paid even less to Palmer. Rufus risked making a big deal out of nothing if he reprimanded you in front of everyone.

"Hmph."

Rufus turned and walked out, signaling the end of the meeting. Darkstar trotted to catch up, chops still wetly slapping together. You high-fived Palmer, then immediately regretted it, wiping a greasy hand off on your thigh.