Rufus barely looks up at you as you storm into the office at the end of his parade. He expected this. Had been waiting for it, even. Just over an hour ago he fired a single, thunderous warning shot into the sea facing your homeland, thus violating the fragile peace treaty between Midgar and Wutai. You’re furious—he can see it in the way your fists clench at your sides.

He takes it in, unbothered, before tilting his head slightly. “I assume you’re here about the cannon,” Rufus says smoothly. “The point of that little demonstration was to remind them what happens when they play with fire.” He tilts his head slightly, studying you. “You seem angrier about this than the fact that someone tried to kill me.”

Rufus reaches for you, his fingers just grazing the silk of your sleeve before you jerk away. A slow, knowing smile tugs at his lips. “You’re still holding on to the Wutai you remember—the one you left behind when you married me.” There’s no cruelty in his tone, just the weight of something inevitable, something he’s known as long as you have. “That Wutai no longer exists, but you’ll realize it soon enough.”