Hey everyone! This chapter we take a closer look on Rufus and Tseng´s strange relationship^^ We hope you´ll enjoy it!^^
Chephren: Rufus
BMIK: Tseng
*Tseng/Rufus for Bonjourmeadow*
The owner of the Golden Lotus sat quietly in his office, waiting, his hands gripping the arms of his luxuriously comfortable office chair. A moment later, his most trusted bodyguard, Tseng, quietly entered through the mahogany door, as requested. Rufus' jaw tightened, and usually, he didn't show anyone when he was stressed like that, but Tseng knew him better than anyone.
"You summoned me, sir."
Tseng was as orderly and perfect as ever, not one long hair lying astray, not one wrinkle in his perfectly ironed suit. His expression was just as smooth and neutral as well, as he came to stand before his boss' desk, waiting for instructions. The Golden Lotus had been up and running for only half a year now, and Rufus still looked far too young to be a whore master, but business was going well. Tseng had almost gotten used to his new job as well...
"I did," Rufus was not in the habit of making extraneous conversation unless he had a captive audience, and then, sometimes, he found he could really prattle on about irrelevant things. He enjoyed trapping people with it, unimportant ones he didn't know that well or at all, but for some reason, he didn't ever feel moved to waste Tseng's time with it. He had never understood this about himself, he paid Tseng for Shiva's sake, but now was not the time to reason with it.
"Delilah, I need you to... take care of her."
"... I see." Tseng had dreaded this day, the day of his first kill, but his face betrayed none of the ice that made his heart and stomach freeze. If anything, his expression got a bit tighter. This was his job, what he had been trained to do, and he had done it so often in his mind already.
"Do you want to keep the body?"
It was a reasonable question; if Rufus wanted to use the whore as an example, Tseng would make sure no one who ever laid eyes on the mutilated corpse would even dare think about breaking the Golden Lotus´ rules...
"No," Rufus answered mechanically now, "I don't need it, bring me her bloody garment, that is enough, but not before you show them. Make them respect the rules and think twice before breaking them."
He couldn't go on, his face was stone cold, and his knuckles were white as he gripped the chair. Delilah had been his favorite, a beautiful red-headed woman, with lovely bronze skin, deep violet eyes. She had been the first top floor working girl in fact. Unfortunately, Rufus had gotten attached. Delilah had begun to spout words of love to him during their office visits. Her voice was sultry and beautiful, and her eyes full of longing. She was also his best, and somewhere along the way, his heart had opened to her a little. Day after day, she got under his skin a little bit more. Two days ago, after spending a sleepless night pining after her alone in his room, Rufus Shinra decided he would go to hers, declare his love. It was still early, and he hadn't thought to check her schedule. Just outside of her room, he heard voices.
"Delilah," some almost faceless patron, except that he was wealthy enough to purchase top floor ass, (so Rufus knew very well who he was,) spoke to her sweet words that made his stomach churn. "You have made me a very happy old man..."
Then to Rufus' horror, he heard a voice that was unmistakably hers reply, "I am happy that you are happy, because I see now that you are the great love of my life. Marry me. Lets' run away together..." The wet noises of their kiss met his ears. There was no rule about kissing, but not hours before, the harlot had kissed Rufus' very lips, professing her love to him as well, and Rufus had come to reciprocate.
Heart feeling as though it was collapsing in his chest, Rufus had to lean over, holding on to the nearest door frame to catch his breath, and like a fool, he ran upstairs to hurt in solitude. How could he have fallen for her games?? How??! He was so much weaker than he thought he was. What a joke he must be, to her, to them all!!
The next day, Delilah had the brazen nerve to come visit him in his office, to surprise him. Greeting him with similar words of adoration, Rufus almost retched when he heard them. She wasn't in love with him, she was simply trying to land herself a sugar daddy, even if it was he himself. He wouldn't show her his love now, he wouldn't show her his tears. Heartless bitch...
"Get out," he'd said, and she complied, smiling at him seductively all the same. That viper!!
Now, he couldn't look at her, couldn't bear to see her, think of her with all those other men. He had become his worst nightmare. A jealous, angry weak man. Starting today, with Delilah's death, there would be a new order here, where under no circumstances was there to be any love within the walls of the Golden Lotus aside from whatever made the girls get along together. No Romantic love, and above all, no kissing. He would have to lock away his feelings from now on so as not be enslaved again by his emotions.
He didn't want Tseng to do this, to kill her, but he was the only one he trusted to get the job done. To the whore, he could have cared less about what happened to her, but from today on, Rufus would be a murderer, and the dark beauty would be his blade.
"Understood," Tseng replied emotionlessly, catching the bitter feelings that crossed Rufus´ face immediately. So his boss was emotionally affected by this. Feeling just a tiny pang of sympathy, Tseng bowed and set out to visit Delilah in her room.
He calmly informed her that a bath had been arranged for her on order of Rufus Shinra. She seemed excited about it, throwing him a somewhat arrogant smile as she flounced into the baths. Tseng followed close behind her, the weight of his gun resting against his chest, covered by his suit. He closed the door behind her, waiting for the whore to scurry over the cool tiles, wrinkling her nose. When she got to the tub, a frown marred her features and she turned around.
"What is this supposed to mean, there is no water in the tu- oh, oh no, please!"
Tseng had drawn the gun, pointing it at her chest. Delilah´s face went very pale, as she sunk to her knees, her lips trembling, her hands folded as if she was praying to Tseng. The young bodyguard could feel his heart race, the blood pounding in his ears, and suddenly, everything played in slow motion. Her whining and begging and shuffling over the tiles, her mouth forming words and pleas, her robe sliding behind her in a sea of red. Tseng was sweating, large droplets were falling from his chin, running down his temple and neck. He was about to do it; he had to kill another human being. He was forced to be the headsman, to end this life just because another said so, and for a moment he hated Rufus Shinra so very much for making him do it. Then his cool, rational mind took over however, numbing his feelings and concerns, and time flowed normally again.
"With the kindest regards of Rufus Shinra," he said, and then his finger twitched and a second later, Delilah collapsed on the sterile floor, the sea becoming an ocean.
When Tseng reported to Rufus about the success of the mission a few hours later, the blond had already retreated to his private quarters, so Tseng, still bloody and emotionally exhausted, knocked against the man´s door, his face a blank mask.
Going himself to open the door to his rooms, Rufus saw his beautiful, usually impeccable employee bathed in blood.
Her blood.
Somehow, he just couldn't bring himself to feel any satisfaction for it. Not at all. In fact, some part of him, which he thought had died, wanted to ask Tseng for his gun and end his own life as well. He was so weak... Rufus took a step back to allow his bodyguard inside, but all at once, a wave of nausea overtook him and he had to quickly run to his large bathroom suite, to lose the contents of his stomach into the pristine bowl. He could just hear the domineering voice of his late father now, You will never make it in this business, ma boy... too soft.
"Sir..."
Tseng staggered behind the man, on autopilot. His mind was still numb and he had walked through the previous hours as if he´d been frozen to a stick. He was unable to feel anything, or grasp a thought, and that probably was a good thing, because Tseng had the distinct feeling that once the ice thawed, he´d have a lot of emotional turmoil to deal with. Maybe. Maybe by then he would have shoved the recent events deep enough inside him to bury them for good...
Now, as he saw his boss heaving over the toilet, a bit of his reserve melted, and he lay a comforting hand on Rufus shoulder, his voice becoming a bit warmer, concerned.
"Are you all right, sir?"
Once he had finished, the agony in his guts subsiding, Rufus became aware of Tseng's touch and his words. After all this horror that Rufus had put his assistant through today, Tseng was asking if he was alright? He wanted desperately to say something, 'I'm sorry I'm doing this to you, Tseng,' but he was too afraid that he would have to play the big, unyielding boss over and over, making Tseng do it again and again, until he became a respected leader in this business, rendering the statement worthless...
Quickly wiping his mouth with some toilet tissue near his head, Rufus disposed of it and turning, rose to put his arms around Tseng, pulling their bodies close. He wanted to comfort Tseng too, only he didn't know what to say, but the action would cause the blood staining the dark beauty's clothing to tarnish his own as well, a blood oath, that Rufus would share this with him. He knew very well that he would be the reason Tseng's perfection was marred, and it hurt, but really, Rufus had to command respect. Perhaps he could hire more bodyguards, better ones than the thugs he picked to guard the lower floors, so that Tseng would not have to bear this burden alone anymore.
Unable to resist, Rufus slipped his fingertips into that beautiful ebony mane. Tseng was startled by the sudden embrace, stiffening at first. Then however, he hesitantly drew his arms around the blond, holding him, as clearly, Rufus needed it. He must be shaken, to show such a sign of 'weakness'. For as long as Tseng had known Rufus, he was always so very careful to shield his emotions, masking them with a wall of arrogance and cold detachment. As Tseng had previously suspected, however, the man did feel, very deeply so; he just could not convey it. Or maybe Rufus didn´t want to...
They stood there for a while. Tseng was determined to hold Rufus as long as he needed to, but he didn´t dare say anything to drive his boss back into his shell. At that moment, Tseng silently vowed to remain loyal to Rufus no matter what, to share his burden and do everything in his power to make his employer's life as comfortable as possible.
*
That night, Rufus allowed Tseng to retire early, knowing the man had been through so much. Rufus himself, unable to sleep, was drawn to his window by the light of the full moon. Beautiful. Surveying the grounds of the Lotus estate, Rufus felt so fortunate. The business was up and coming, and he had done this himself. The girls would learn to respect him, at least to his face, and really, that was all he could ask for. The example had been made, the respect would follow.
He found himself haunted by her panicked voice, though he had been protected from it. Tseng had heard all of it... His shoulders sagged as he took in the well-deserved fruits of his labor, telling himself over and over that the old man would be proud of him, that it was all worth it.
Retreating to his room next to Rufus´, Tseng somehow had managed to get himself into the shower, to wash all that blood and dirt away; or at least the part of it that hadn´t been soaked into his skin, festering in his heart now. He silently stood under the warm stream, watching big chunks of clotted crimson splash onto the tiles. The evidence of what he had done slowly running down the drain...
Eventually he had shut the water off, dried his wet skin and fell heavily onto his simple bed. Tseng had no need for luxury and decadence. Taking other peoples´ lives was decadent enough already. His eyes bore into the ceiling for a long time, and slowly, the guilt ebbed. It was so simple, so uncomplicated if he thought about it now. There were rules and people knew what the consequences were if they broke them. The responsibility lie entirely with them, didn´t it? Tseng wasn´t to blame, he just made sure that law and order was maintained. It was very logical. With that last thought, he finally drifted into a dreamless, calm sleep, surprisingly free of haunting nightmares.
A little while later, Tseng's door very quietly opened, and in slipped a very curious Rufus. He had wanted to come see Tseng again, maybe visit with him, but when he went to knock, he heard nothing from within. He had never been inside his bodyguard's quarters before, and he had no qualms about entering without invitation. It gave him a rather excited feeling in the pit of his stomach to do so, knowing he was the boss, and he had such power. The possibility too that Tseng might be angry with him made him incredibly nervous, but not in a bad way. A light was on at the end of the dark hallway that led back to a large bedroom. Where Tseng slept... Rufus felt his cheeks heat up at the thought. Was this normal, this feeling?
At the threshold to the bedroom, Rufus' eyes immediately met with the sight of Tseng lying on his bed. The poor man had been so exhausted, that he hadn't even crawled under his sheets. Averting his eyes respectfully, Rufus also couldn't deny the fact that Tseng was naked, black mane of hair completely lose and fanned out on the finest Wutain cotton pillowcase Rufus could manage to supply him with. He knew Tseng had no care for such things, but it was something Rufus just secretly did. He would provide his personal bodyguard with the best, most functional lodging and the finest, most durable suit material because he could afford it. Tseng's office though, he kept rather spartan for appearances. He didn't want to show anyone his feelings on this matter, but really, Tseng was the closest thing to a friend he had ever had.
Allowing weakness and wonder to seize him, Rufus' clear blue eyes took in all that glorious flesh, absently licking his lips. Tseng was just... beautiful. Simply perfect, in body as well as spirit. Rufus understood sex, and appreciated the power of a good fuck, but though his body became aroused again, he couldn't picture anything so sleazy as what he had his whores do with... Eyes flitting to that flawless exotic face, Rufus drew nearer. His hand caressed the air over soft lips, moving down over a sleek neck, chest, a taut evenly breathing belly, over a prominent hipbone to hover over Tseng's rather impressive manhood. Still blushing, Rufus tried to touch it. To feel something he had never thought about before, that, now that he had seen it, beckoned him, enticed him to touch, smell... and taste... The more he wanted to, the more he found he couldn't do it. What a coward he was.
The only thing he could bring himself to do was look into Tseng's face again, fingertips tracing a full lower lip, watching it twitch at the feather-light touch, before placing a long sweet kiss to the dark beauty's lips. Terrified now of waking him, Rufus had to let go, not at all wanting to. If only they could freeze this moment forever, and his protector would stay protected, and Tseng wouldn't see who Rufus was, wouldn't know what a terrible disappointment he was. His bodyguard was so kind not to mention or judge him on his weaknesses. The man was polite and professional...
A breathy sigh escaped his sleeping guardian, and Rufus stiffened, waiting for the bomb to drop and those beautiful dark eyes to open... when it didn't happen, he quickly fled Tseng's quarters to hide back in his own suite, feeling exhilarated by what he had just done.
End~
BMIK apologizes for not doing review replies this time, she has an important test tomorrow and didn´t find the time. She will do them again next time! Sorry!
Review replies:
Rina – Hey babe! *huggles* Yeah, sorry for that, it was really sad for me too. I had been so on the fence for the first couple of months about the ending pairing myself, after that magical bath scene. I loved that one will win, and we had always at least the bare bones of a plan, but it always got me that the other would lose, and they are both such good men!! Though at first, when we decided, neither one of us had even realized how awesome the Tsengzoo pairing was until we wrote it. For me, the only ones I had read were pretty rapey considering Canon. So I hope our alt ending will help, also a certain ficcy that is in the works too!!! The other fic was to fulfill my own personal need for this particular pairing actually. Okies, talk to you later!
Aeriths-Rain – Thank you so much!!! *huggles* We had a great time writing it!!! Thank you too so much for requesting them!!! XD
Shadow Haloed Angel – Thank you, Angel!!! *glomps!* It was a pleasure to write it!!! XDDD
Trigger happy Chaingunner – Thank you so much love!! XDDDD Yesh, Tseng is the shiznit and the fic isn't over yet. ;D Yesh, Sephy definitely had that coming, and I am ridiculously happy that it was Tseng's calm and collected ass that got to hit him!! XDDDDDD
BlackDomina71 – Yesh, sweet like candy!! XDDDD Thank you so much!!! *to the concession stand for popcorn for us both!!* Do you like yours with butter or no? XD
Natzilla – Hey Nat baby!! XD Yesh, we are outside the story, but I guess it would be right after Yaz gets back from his visit home and is feeling all confused and down, sometime in there? Nothing big would have happened yet. Yesh, that was so her!! XD I am always amazed and adore her Yaz-description too!!! *group snuggles with you and BMIK* LMFAO, yesh!!!! I admit it!!! I have chocolate problems!! XDDDDD Maybe I am trying to tell myself something? Aside from ice cream, I love the pico balla, but don't have chocolate around. So Yaz gets my share!! Between BMIK and myself, we would prolly be happy feeding Yaz chocolate in every fic we we ever write together!!! XD
Labe – Hey Bela!! XDDDD Yesh, I hear ya!!! XDDDD Hm, Reevezoo... *joins you in your pervy thoughts immediately!* XD