Work Text:
Tseng had been the one to end things.
He had to remind himself of this fact on a constant basis. He had ended things with Rufus Shinra on his terms - they had agreed it was better to leave their relationship strictly professional. The problem was that Rufus didn’t really abide by other people’s terms, and he especially didn’t like being told ‘no’. He had agreed to it, because what else was he going to do, really, but he had made no effort to stop flirting or touching or being in Tseng’s space anytime they were working together, which was often those days given the fact that the Turks were helping him plot to depose his father.
Whatever personal lines Tseng drew, he couldn’t help but feel at least a little bit like Rufus’ personal plaything every time he called him for assistance.
“I need you to give me a lift from Junon,” Rufus said through the phone. There was a noise in the background that sounded suspiciously like someone gagging on a mouthful of-
Rufus had a habit of calling him during all manner of activities. Mostly he just didn’t give a damn what he might be in the middle of if he needed Tseng’s help with something, but Tseng suspected at least part of it was to goad him into a reaction. As if Tseng were so easily swayed.
“What are you doing exactly?” Tseng groaned.
“You’re not one to ask questions you already know the answer to,” Rufus said. A low moan followed, catching in his throat. “Be here by seven. I want to review the intel your men pulled.”
“I am not a chauffeur,” said Tseng, already closing out the files on his computer and booking a helicopter.
“No, but you’re much better company than one.” Another moan from Rufus. “I’ll see you soon.”
He hung up and Tseng pocketed his phone with an annoyed huff. He had half a mind to send Reno to pick Rufus up, but the fact of the matter was they did need to review the intel and, infuriatingly, he wanted to see Rufus. He’d been in Junon for the past three months and the most they had seen of each other was a few minutes of video conferencing to discuss his plans every week.
The problem with Rufus was that Tseng had known him too long, which meant he gave him far more leeway than he allowed anyone else to take, and vice versa. It wasn’t exactly easy to erase fifteen years of shared history, three of which had been spent sleeping together. Six months out from the decision to put his foot down and he still regretted it more days than he didn’t. It didn’t help that Rufus could and did have sex with anyone he liked while Tseng barely had the time to spend a few minutes alone with his hand let alone blow off steam with someone else.
He wasn’t going to let himself stew over it for the entire helicopter ride to Junon.
It was dreary and bleak as he flew over the mountains, a misty sprinkle clouding the windshield and wetting the tarmac as he arrived in Junon an hour after he departed Midgar. Rufus already awaited him on the tarmac, standing with his hands tucked into his suit pockets, his partially opened coat billowing out behind him, a security officer holding an umbrella above his head. Tseng had long ago decided he could look handsome doing anything.
The security officer followed Rufus up to the helicopter as Tseng threw the side door open.
“Sir,” he greeted Rufus.
“You can leave now,” Rufus drawled, snatching the umbrella from the security officer and closing it as he climbed into the helicopter.
He took his spot in the co-pilot’s chair and stared out the window while Tseng pulled the helicopter back up into the air to return to Midgar.
“I have the intel ready to review when we get back to headquarters,” Tseng said. “We can discuss it in my office. Reno and Rude are the ones who gathered most of it, so I imagine they’ll stop by-”
“That’s fine,” Rufus said. He reached his hand out to brush a strand of Tseng’s hair behind his ear and Tseng flinched.
“Rufus.”
“Forgive me,” Rufus placed his hands in his lap. “I know how you hate looking untidy.”
Six months since their agreement and it was still unbearable to be around him. Rufus had never been one for personal boundaries, and he rarely gave a second thought to any physical touch. He was like that with most people, but he crossed the line far more readily with Tseng when they were alone together.
“You just never seem to respect my boundaries,” Tseng said after a few seconds had passed.
Rufus pursed his lips and stared out the window.
“And you do that whenever I try to have a conversation about it with you. Petulant, honestly. I would think think the last thing you would want is to behave exactly like your father assumes you behave.”
“You’ve got some nerve, Tseng. If you want things to be just professional between us then stop addressing me like we’re so familiar.”
“Oh, excuse me, sir.” Tseng rolled his eyes.
Was he supposed to pretend they hadn’t spent the last three years sleeping together? Even if it had been ostensibly casual - friends with benefits, or something like that - drawing a line and ending it didn’t undo all that time. Amongst his colleagues, he had never slipped, but when they were alone it felt a little disingenuous to act professional with someone whose dick had been inside of him countless times.
“Why are you being like this?” Rufus demanded.
“Like what? Asking you not to touch my hair isn’t some absurd request. Are you sitting in Heidegger’s office primping his beard for him?”
“What a false equivalence. I’ve never fucked Heidegger,” Rufus huffed.
“So pretend you’ve never had sex with me either.”
Rufus laughed loudly. “Oh, Tseng. I’ll keep those memories with me forever. Sometimes when we’re in meetings and you’re acting so professional I imagine exactly how you look when you cum-”
“Ramuh’s beard, Rufus,” Tseng cursed.
“You were the one who ended things, not me. I’m allowed to dwell on it any time I like.”
He only acted like this because he hadn’t been the one to make the decision and if there was one thing Rufus hated, it was someone telling him what to do. It was why he continued to disrespect the boundaries Tseng was trying to set and why twice in the last six months they had almost had sex again. Tseng was very bad at saying no to Rufus; he had a method of persuasion that was difficult to contend with.
“I still don’t understand why it had to stop,” Rufus continued. It was hardly the first time they had had the same conversation in the months since Tseng had ended things. “It’s not like you’re seeing someone. It was reliable. And we always had a good time together, didn’t we? I never left unsatisfied. Which is more than I can say about the idiots I bring home from parties. I still haven’t met anyone who gives as good of head as you.”
“Enough, Rufus.”
Rufus smirked. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”
“You’re getting on my last nerve.”
“Hm, I do enjoy watching you lose your temper.”
There was no winning with him. Tseng gripped the directional control tightly.
The truth of the matter - and something Tseng would never say aloud, least of all not to Rufus - was that he had ended things because it had become more than physical for him. He and Rufus had known each for nearly as long as he had been a Turk and long before things had ever become physical between them, they had developed an easy friendship. Rufus didn’t have many people he could truly confide in and Tseng always played his cards close to the chest. When they did finally cross that line, it had been after months, if not years of mounting sexual tension between them, but as they grew more comfortable with the casual nature of their relationship, it took a turn for Tseng.
Rufus wasn’t the same with people he knew, people he cared about, as he was with his one-night stands. Things got too comfortable between them: spending the night in his bed, kisses with no expectations, spooning with their clothes on. He had to put an end to it before he passed the point of no return, because Rufus Shinra didn’t have the time or emotional maturity to ever return those feelings in the same way.
Unfortunately, ending the physical component of their relationship hadn’t changed the fact that Tseng spent so much of his time working for and with Rufus.
When they reached headquarters, Tseng let Rufus lead the way down to his office, trailing close behind him with his arms held behind his back. People always gave Rufus a wide berth as he passed: he commanded that kind of authority with just a look.
“When I’m President, you can move your office up to one of the higher levels and out of this miserable windowless basement,” Rufus remarked as they stepped off the elevator on B3.
“This space is adequate,” Tseng said, taking a seat behind his desk.
He booted up his computer and waited for the files Reno and Rude sent to finish opening. Rufus took a seat on the edge of his desk next to his chair, grabbing a paperweight and hefting it in his hand.
“Gods, if your employees only knew the things I’ve done to you on this desk,” he commented.
Tseng glowered at him and said nothing.
The files opened up and Tseng clicked through the first few documents, scanning them while Rufus leaned against the back of his chair and read over his shoulder. After a few minutes of this, Rufus’ nose brushed against Tseng’s cheek.
“Honestly, Rufus,” he groaned.
Rufus made no effort to move away, instead tracing a hand along Tseng’s scalp and through his hair. “I know that you miss it. You’re tense all the time. We could just have a little fun before the others show up. Something quick to blow off steam.” He brushed his lips against Tseng’s ear and Tseng’s eyelids fluttered.
“Reno and Rude are due back any minute,” Tseng said without much conviction.
Rufus’ hand trailed down the front of his chest to his belt. He had just begun to unbuckle it - and Tseng was making no move to stop him - when the card reader sounded on the other side of Tseng’s office door. Rufus withdrew his hand and took a step back in time for the door to slide open as Reno and Rude waltzed in.
“Hey boss.” Reno flung himself unceremoniously onto the couch.
“Hello, sir,” Rude said, taking a seat at the table in front of Tseng’s desk.
Tseng had to spend the entirety of the briefing with Rufus breathing down his neck pretending he would have stopped him if Reno and Rude hadn’t shown up when they did. Rufus was persuasive, yes, but a part of Tseng wanted to be persuaded.
When they were done reviewing the intel, Rufus asked Reno and Rude to distribute some money to the groups they had populated information on, so they dismissed themselves to handle the task and Tseng found himself alone in his office with Rufus yet again.
“Should we pick up where we left off?” Rufus asked, sitting on the edge of the desk and nudging Tseng’s leg with his foot. Tseng had never been more grateful for his phone to ring. “Don’t answer that.” Rufus’ eyebrows furrowed.
“Hello?” Tseng picked up the phone, which earned him an agitated huff from Rufus. “Of course, sir. I’ll be right there.” He stood up as he pocketed his phone. “Heidegger needs me. I trust you can see yourself home?”
The look Rufus gave him could have killed a lesser man.
Tseng stood before the President and all of his executives giving a briefing on three Wutai sympathizers who had been captured trying to enter headquarters through the parking garage and who had subsequently given up the names of an entire cell of terrorists after interrogation. In all likelihood Rufus had funded them in some way or another, but it was Tseng’s job to pretend he wasn’t helping Rufus with any of that and keep the executives -especially Heidegger - in the loop about terrorist activity.
Rufus sat to the right of his father watching Tseng with a smirk. He didn’t have to be as vain as Rufus was to know he was undressing him with his eyes, but he tried not to think about it as he clicked through the slides of the presentation he had prepared.
Admittedly the last week or so had been difficult for him. Three months apart had done wonders for Tseng’s ability to stick to his guns about their relationship, but now Rufus was hanging around his office all hours of the day, leaning against Tseng’s chair, rubbing his shoulders, running his hands through his hair and for the life of him, Tseng couldn’t quite remember why they had stopped sleeping together, or else it didn’t seem so important. Who cared about emotions anyway? Tseng had always been good at compartmentalizing.
When he was done with his presentation, he took a seat next to Heidegger and sat, stiff and uncomfortable, while Rufus continued to stare at him.
He should have been listening to whatever the President was saying, but instead he held Rufus’ gaze in an effort to force him to look away. It was stupid to think he would - Rufus always pushed the boundaries of comfort in any situation, but now they were stuck in a standoff: the world’s stupidest game of chicken. All Tseng could think about was that the look in Rufus’ eyes, the intensity of his infuriating smolder, was exactly how he looked when he was fucking him. Tseng’s pants tightened and he was forced to look away, losing at his own game.
He could almost hear Rufus chuckle.
When they were dismissed, Tseng made every effort to be first out the door, rushing toward the elevator only to hear that obnoxious drawl as Rufus called,
“Tseng, do wait a minute. I wanted to discuss a few matters with you.”
Tseng came to an abrupt halt while the other executives brushed past him. Then Rufus was at his side.
“What did you want to discuss, sir?” Tseng asked.
They stepped into an empty elevator and Rufus leaned against the wall, gazing at Tseng with heavy-lidded eyes, his lips twitching into the faintest hint of a smirk. Tseng frowned at him.
“Good job on your presentation,” Rufus said. “Very impressive. I’m sure Heidegger is pleased with his star pupil.” Tseng’s frown deepened and he remained silent. “The whole time you were presenting, I couldn’t help thinking of the last time we fucked.”
“Rufus-”
“You remember, don’t you? Gods, I miss hearing the sounds you would make.”
He took a step toward Tseng, then another, and another, until he had him pressed against the wall of the elevator. Tseng stared at Rufus’ lips, his eyebrows knitting in irritation even as he made no move to push him away. Rufus ran his fingers along Tseng’s scalp and gripped his hair tightly at the base of his skull, nudging his nose against Tseng’s, his breath hot against Tseng’s face.
“Sometimes when I’m fucking someone else, I think about the way you say my name,” Rufus whispered. Tseng’s breath caught in his throat as Rufus tugged on his hair. “And then I pretend it’s you that I’m fucking.”
Tseng’s head swam. If Rufus were to kiss him right then and there, he would have been totally powerless to stop it. But instead he was just toying with the idea, ghosting his lips against Tseng’s, teasing.
“Do you ever think about me when you’re fucking someone else?” The truth was, Tseng hadn’t slept with anyone since he ended things with Rufus, which made it all the harder to resist him. “Well?” Rufus asked, tugging harder on Tseng’s hair until it forced a grunt out of him. “Aren’t you going to answer me?”
“Rufus…” Tseng gasped. He was desperately close to bridging the minuscule gap between them to kiss him.
“That’s right,” Rufus breathed against his skin. “Just like that. Say it again.”
“Rufus.”
Rufus ground his hips against Tseng’s and a little ripple of pleasure shot down his spine and into his groin.
The elevator chimed, signaling they had reached their destination. Rufus let go of him and took a step back as the doors slid open.
“I’ll see you in your office later for a briefing on Reno’s report.”
He stepped out of the elevator, leaving Tseng to deal with his sudden arousal alone.
Reno was regaling Tseng and Rude with a very unprofessional story about his trip to the bar the previous night, complete with exaggerated hand motions and graphic detail. When Reno had first been promoted, Tseng had been incredibly strict with him about his loud mouth, but anymore it never really felt worth the fight. Rude and Tseng were often Reno’s only outlet for that sort of thing, and he reveled in discussing his sexual conquests to anyone who would listen. Tseng mostly tuned it out and tried to get work done - he knew that Rude bore the brunt of these conversations when he wasn’t present.
In truth, Tseng couldn’t stop thinking about Rufus. Ever since the moment in the elevator it had been all he thought about it. He had gone home and dealt with his arousal with a mixture of shame and frustration afterward - it was unsatisfying and just left him aching more than ever for the real thing.
As though Rufus could read minds, his phone rang, Rufus’ headshot appearing on the screen. Tseng sighed and picked up the phone.
“Sir,” he answered.
“Hm, I do love it when you call me that.”
“How can I help you, sir?” Tseng asked.
Rufus sighed dramatically. “I could think of several ways. What are you doing right now?”
“I’m in my office.”
Reno and Rude weren’t paying Tseng any mind, but he was always mindful of how he spoke to Rufus when others were around to hear him. Rufus was, unfortunately, not so thoughtful.
“I’m in my apartment,” he said. “Lying on my bed. Naked. Why don’t you come pay me a visit?”
What Tseng wanted to say was, ‘Why the hell are you doing this to me?’ but what he said instead was, “What did you want to discuss, sir?”
Rufus moaned softly into the phone. “I’ve been thinking about you and that mouth of yours. If you hurry you could get here while I’m still hard.”
Tseng swallowed with some difficulty. “Is it an urgent matter, sir?”
“Very urgent,” Rufus laughed. “I can keep myself occupied, but wouldn’t it be more fun if I had your lips wrapped around my cock?”
“I see,” Tseng said, staring very hard at his computer screen and focusing all of his willpower on not reacting to a single word Rufus was saying. “Well, if you need my assistance then I’ll be there shortly.”
“Hm,” Rufus purred. “Very good.”
Tseng hung up and placed his phone in his pocket. “The vice president has requested my help with a project,” he said. “As loathe as I am to leave this riveting conversation.” He stared pointedly at Reno as he shut his computer down.
“Hey, boss, if you had actually been listening-”
“I’m not sure when I’ll be back, but try to be somewhat productive.” Tseng recognized that it was pretty hypocritical of him to tell them to work harder when he was abandoning his post in the hopes of having sex for the first time in six months, but he would hardly be the first executive at Shinra to be a hypocrite. He swept out of the office and moved as fast as his legs would carry him to catch the train to sector 1 where Rufus owned a very large and expensive penthouse condo.
It was honestly pathetic how eager Tseng was to see him. Six months of standing (mostly) firm and a few days had completely undone him. He knew it would help nothing to sleep with Rufus again. He still felt the same way he did six months ago - he cared deeply for Rufus, who was in truth his closest friend. In his loneliest moments he often wondered if maybe he even loved Rufus. He knew what they shared was love in some sense…most friendship was. But it felt deeper than that.
What a thought to have while he was rushing as fast as he could to have sex with the man.
It only took ten minutes to get from sector 0 to sector 1, but it felt like an eternity for Tseng. It was another five minute walk to the building where Rufus’ condo was, and then Tseng had to show his credentials to several security guards just to get in and again to be allowed access up to the top floor. When he finally stepped out of the elevator into Rufus’ condo, he found Rufus standing by the floor-to-ceiling window completely naked.
He really did have the most perfect ass on the entire planet.
“I was a little worried you were only teasing,” Rufus said, craning his neck to glance backward at Tseng.
“Me?” Tseng chuckled. “You’re the one who teases.”
Tseng slipped his shoes off by the door and started to loosen his tie, but Rufus held a hand up. “Don’t. I want to undress you myself.”
“Certainly, sir.”
Rufus scoffed. “Don’t. Not when we’re alone.”
“I thought you liked it?” Tseng crossed the room and stood behind Rufus, resting his head against his shoulder and kissing his skin.
“Only when I ask for it.” Rufus leaned his head against Tseng’s and grabbed his hand, placing it on his chest and pulling the glove off finger by finger. “I don’t know why you’ve been playing so hard to get, but I’m fed up with it,” he said.
“I wasn’t playing hard to get. I was setting boundaries. Which you repeatedly stepped over.”
“But you let me,” Rufus complained. “It’s not like you’re a pushover. I’ve seen you in an interrogation room, Tseng.” He pulled Tseng’s hand against his chest and guided it down his abdomen, further still until both of their hands were between his legs. Tseng understood and took hold of him, moving his hand slowly up and down the length of him while he moaned softly. “I just assumed if you were letting me step all over you that you wanted it.”
Rufus had always had a good read on Tseng in a way no one else really seemed to. Tseng was good at bottling things up and saying one thing when he meant another, but Rufus always cut straight through the bullshit. He didn’t have the patience for it and after fifteen years of friendship, he called Tseng on it at every turn.
“I did want it,” Tseng breathed against Rufus’ neck.
“Then why did you waste my time for the last six months?” Rufus hissed.
Tseng didn’t particularly feel like saying ‘because I’m worried I might be in love with you’ while Rufus’ cock was in his hand, so he just made a noncommittal sound and pressed his lips softly against Rufus’ skin. This earned him an annoyed huff.
“That’s not an answer. But we can discuss it later.”
Rufus gripped his wrist to stop his movement and then turned around to face him, pressing himself against Tseng and nuzzling against his nose. Tseng’s lips parted and finally, for the first time in months, they kissed. It was languid at first, the sort of kiss they often shared after the fact, but once Rufus’ mouth opened against his and their tongues met, things quickly grew more heated. Rufus’ fingers moved to the knot of Tseng’s tie, loosening it and whipping it off of him, undoing two buttons on his shirt before he grew too inpatient and ripped his way down the rest.
“Are you going to buy me a new shirt then?” Tseng frowned.
“I’ll buy you anything you want,” Rufus said, bringing their lips together again, his palms moving to cover every inch of Tseng’s exposed chest.
Tseng clutched at his back, his head spinning and his body reacting all too readily to Rufus’ touch. He reached his hand back down between Rufus’ legs, but Rufus smacked it away.
“Not until I say so,” he gasped, trailing his kisses down Tseng’s neck as they stumbled toward the bedroom. Rufus gripped Tseng’s belt as they slammed into the door and while he was busy trying to pull Tseng’s pants off, Tseng was fumbling against the door trying to find the handle. His hand finally made contact with it and he stepped backward through the doorway, tripping over his pants which were suddenly around his ankles and sprawling out on his back on the hard wooden floor. Rufus was still hanging onto him, so he fell forward on top of Tseng.
“Are you all right?” Rufus asked, bracing a hand on either side of Tseng’s head and pressing the full weight of his body against Tseng’s.
Tseng responded by grabbing the back of Rufus’ head and bringing their lips together once more. Rufus shifted his hips and removed the last remaining piece of fabric separating their bodies before settling himself between Tseng’s legs and grinding their hips together, his cock just barely brushing against Tseng’s. He ran his fingers through Tseng’s hair and gripped some of it tightly, pulling until the combination of sensations drew a heady moan from Tseng’s lips.
“I missed that sound,” Rufus breathed against Tseng’s neck and tugged on his hair again until another groan left his throat.
Tseng’s body felt like it was on fire. Rufus’ hips grinding against his and his hands pulling insistently at his hair was too much. He clawed at Rufus’ back, willing their bodies to be as close as they possible could. “I need you,” Tseng breathed. And he meant it in every possible way.
Maybe it wasn’t fair. Rufus liked to be needed because he had never felt needed or wanted as a child and Tseng knew that. But Tseng wasn’t saying it to feed into that desire. He said it because he felt he had to. Because it was the most visceral expression of his desire in that moment. And Rufus didn’t begrudge him for it. He buried his face against Tseng’s neck and kissed a path across his skin and only broke away long enough to reach an arm up to his nightstand where Tseng knew he kept his lube, among other things.
They were only a few feet from the bed, but neither of them were going to make it there.
Rufus placed some of the lube in his hand and stroked himself a few times, placing his other hand flat against Tseng’s hip to pin him down. “Don’t move. I want to look you in the eyes.”
Tseng held perfectly still as Rufus situated himself between his legs, lifting them one at a time, kissing his calves and bracing each leg against his shoulders. Tseng arched his back, lifting his hips as Rufus grabbed him and settled his pelvis flush against his ass. Rufus grabbed his cock and positioned himself, sinking inside of Tseng at such an agonizingly slow rate that it made him groan as the pain subsided very quickly to pleasure. Tseng hadn’t realized how much he missed this.
“Oh, fuck,” Rufus huffed. He didn’t move for several seconds, until Tseng jerked his hips, which lit a spark in Rufus’ eyes. “Do you really want to play it like that, Tseng?” He smirked. “You won’t win.”
It was actually exactly what Tseng wanted. He jerked his hips again and Rufus gripped both of his sides, digging his nails into Tseng’s flesh and thrusting his hips against his ass so hard it knocked the breath out of him. Now Rufus was in charge and Tseng was just along for the ride. Rufus thrust against him at a punishing pace, but he knew Tseng’s body like the back of his hand and he was hitting exactly where he needed to, pulling sounds out of Tseng that he frankly didn’t know he was capable of making. Maybe it was because it had been so long since they had been together, or maybe it was just that good, but Tseng could barely think straight, all of his attention focused on Rufus pounding into him.
Rufus pressed his palms flat against Tseng’s stomach, running his hands up his chest. He shifted the weight of his body, bringing his chest flat against Tseng’s and drawing his hands up through his hair, now damp with sweat, clutching it and pressing his face against Tseng’s neck. A low moan left his throat and Tseng gripped his back, drawing their bodies together. All the while, Rufus rocked his hips against Tseng in a steady rhythm.
“Rufus,” Tseng gasped, his nails clawing against Rufus’ skin. “I’m-”
Rufus grunted, “Tell me,” he gasped.
Tseng couldn’t formulate the words. He was too close. All he could do was arch his back and moan as the pleasure hit him in a blinding flash of white heat, Rufus’ name leaving his lips as his cock throbbed and his body ached. Rufus’ breath was ragged, his movements growing clumsy. He moaned against Tseng’s neck with a few final thrusts of his hips, spilling himself inside of Tseng and falling still against him, both of them covered in a thin sheen of sweat and gasping for breath.
It was all Tseng could do to lie there with Rufus on top of him, dizzy and euphoric. After a moment, Rufus propped himself up on his elbows and brushed his nose against Tseng’s kissing him with a tenderness he reserved for these moments of post-coital bliss. Tseng didn’t realize how much he had missed all of it, but now his heart felt as though someone had placed it in a vice.
“See?” Rufus purred in his ear. “Was it worth wasting six months?”
“I don’t remember it being as good as this,” Tseng panted.
“Well, you know what they say. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
They lay against each other for another few minutes and then Rufus peeled himself off of Tseng and offered a hand to help him up. They cleaned themselves up and Rufus wandered back into the living room, still completely naked. Tseng followed him, feeling conflictingly at ease and tense in Rufus’ presence. It was easy to be around him because they knew each other so well, but Tseng was quickly remembering why he had been so desperate to end things six months ago. He was in love with Rufus. And it hurt too much to consider for longer than a moment.
He sat on the couch while Rufus poured himself a drink.
“Do you want anything?” Rufus asked from his spot by the bar cart.
“You know I don’t like alcohol.”
“I have other things. And besides, that’s not true. You like those disgusting fruity drinks Reno pelts you with at the bar, you just won’t admit it out loud.”
Tseng’s cheeks flushed. “You understand that I’ll have to kill you if you divulge that secret.”
Rufus smirked, crossing the room and draping himself along the length of the couch. He sat against the arm and gestured to his side. “Are you going to sit all the way down there or are you going to join me?”
If he were being smart about it, Tseng would have gathered his clothes and returned to headquarters, but it had been so long since he had been this comfortable around Rufus, without the irritating tension of ending the physical aspect of their relationship, that he wanted to stay as long as Rufus would have him. So he curled against Rufus’ side and rested his head on his chest and Rufus’ traced little shapes against the side of his arm while he sipped his drink.
“Isn’t this nice?” Rufus sighed. “Just like old times.”
“Hm.” Tseng closed his eyes as Rufus ran his fingers through his hair.
“You have the most beautiful hair,” he said softly. “It’s always so soft. Even after you’ve been sweating.”
“Would you like me to cut you off a lock to put in your locket?” Tseng chuckled against Rufus’ skin.
Rufus twirled a strand of hair against his finger. “Tseng,” he exhaled slowly as he said his name.
“Hm?”
“I love you.”
Tseng’s chest seized. He sat up abruptly and stared at Rufus. “What?”
Rufus Shinra never backed down from anything once it left his mouth. He stared at Tseng, brow furrowed, all seriousness for the first time in a long time. “I said I love you. You don’t need to say anything if you don’t want to. You won’t hurt my feelings. I’m not made of glass.” But Tseng could tell he was acting a bit more cavalier than he probably felt about it. They had both known each other too long to fool the other.
“Rufus,” Tseng grabbed his chin. “I love you.”
“Oh,” was all Rufus said. A moment passed in silence, the two of them staring at one another. “Well,” Rufus was the first to speak again. “I guess that’s settled then.”
“How is that?” Tseng demanded.
“Well. We’re in love. Gods,” Rufus sat up fully. “I didn’t think I ever would be.”
Tseng felt very strongly that there was an entire conversation that needed to be had around this topic, but as usual, he let Rufus lead. And at the moment, Rufus didn’t seem to think it needed to be discussed any further. He pulled Tseng against his side and kissed the top of his head.
“We can discuss the semantics later, don’t you think? Why don’t we just enjoy ourselves for now?” Typical of Rufus to know exactly where Tseng’s mind was wandering. It was hard to argue with him, though. As much as they did need to discuss it, in that moment, Tseng just wanted to enjoy himself and revel, if only for a little while, in their newly declared love.
So he rested his head against Rufus’ and, after a few seconds of silence said,
“But just so we’re clear, I made the decision to start things again.”
Rufus snorted. “Whatever you say, darling.”