Tseng sipped at the lukewarm coffee cradled gently in his hand as he leaned against the wall, one leg propped against it to steady himself. He was staring blankly around the hallway in front of him, not really seeing anything as his mind wreaked havoc on his fraying nerves. The past few days had been utter hell. He had been forcing as much information into Reno and Rodney as he could yet he wasn't sure it would be enough. At the moment Reno was testing in the room directly in front of Tseng, his fluffy red head just barely visible through a small window set into the door. Tseng remembered taking the test himself years ago with anything but relish. The written test was five times harder than the physical test could ever be. He shuddered as he remembered the painfully silent room and the torturously thick stacks of questions he had had to answer in detail, his hand cramping and burning after only a few. From what he could tell Reno was coping well, the top of his shaggy red head bobbing in time to a song that was being whistled out the doorway. Tseng had warned Reno that the worst part of the test would be the silence, but it seemed that Reno had found a way around the quiet. He had started whistling some rather elaborate and very made-up tunes about five minutes into the test and now, three hours later, he was still whistling like a fool. The cheerful and distracting noise echoed out of the room and into the hall and let the corner of Tseng's lips twitch upwards in a smile. When he had taken the test he hadn't even thought of creating his own noise to fight off the pressing silence, but Reno seemed to be far more relaxed about the test than he was. It had always been that way though. Tseng would get stressed and worked up over things that Reno would shrug off and treat as insignificant. Reno's apparent lack of care didn't fool Tseng though; he knew deep down that Reno was always just as afraid of failure as he was.
Tseng shifted slightly against the rather uncomfortably hard wall, determined to keep his vigil near the door unobtrusive. He had been standing near the testing area all day and he planned to do the same thing tomorrow when Rodney took the test. So far as he knew it was tradition for the instructor to watch while the pupils took the test; Veld had watched him and his now dead comrades and he felt he owed Reno and Rodney the same kindness. This test determined whether or not a Turk trainee would live or die, not that the test takers knew that for sure, and failing was not an option. Of course, dying was always somewhere in the mind of a Turk. At a moment's notice any of them could be killed without reason, but that was simply a background worry for Tseng on most days. Now that Reno was getting closer and closer to standing in front of President Shinra, and consequently, President Shinra's gun, Tseng was simply a nervous wreck. No one noticed besides Reno though. As far as everyone else knew Tseng was just as stoic as ever. Reno knew though. Reno could see the apprehension in Tseng's eyes every time he looked at him and even though Tseng wished he could hide his fear from Reno, it was somewhat comforting to know that Reno knew. It meant he didn't have to hide.
Tseng's eyes flicked to the side as a rather obtrusive noise entered his domain before the door, the echoes of Rodney's boot covered feet demanding his attention. He stayed where he was, his back against the wall with one foot up to steady himself while he cradled his coffee, but he turned his eyes down the hall to watch as Rodney came into view. Rodney was a constant prick in Tseng's side. The man didn't do anything that annoyed him, but his presence alone bothered Tseng. It was because of Rodney that Reno stood even the slightest chance of not becoming a Turk, and Rodney was a chance Tseng did not wish to take. Tseng knew Rodney was strangely infatuated with him, which was not something he was unused to, people had been strangely infatuated with him since he had started training to be a Turk no matter how cold and aloof he was. Tseng would never understand it, but that was the way it was. Rodney walked towards him with a grim and unreadable face, the expression making Tseng feel the urge to take a more defensible position. He didn't follow his instinct though, instead keeping himself in front of the door, his lips capturing a few drops of coffee every now and again. Rodney's shoulders were tensed and his brow was lowered, both signs of anger that Tseng couldn't put a reason to. Tseng was fairly good at reading Rodney's emotions, the man was just as openly expressive as Reno was, but as Rodney walked towards him they both seemed confused about his motives. Rodney stopped beside Tseng, his fingers curling in and out of fists as he locked bloodshot eyes onto the dark orbs of his superior. Finally his hands decided to be fists and he crossed them in front of him, his eyes narrowing in distaste. "Why are you here?"
Tseng's voice held no emotion; just like the rest of him it was aloof and expressed nothing but boredom. "I am waiting for Reno to finish his test. I will be doing the same for you tomorrow. Why? Am I needed elsewhere?" Rodney shook his head slightly, his eyes still trying to bore through Tseng's. Tseng allowed the silence to stretch for a long while more, watching emotions flicker through Rodney's eyes as he felt his coffee cool in his hand. His lips twisted into a small frown as he waited for Rodney to say something, but when the brunette's lips stayed locked he sighed and broke the silence himself; taking a tip from the still whistling Reno. "Is there a problem Rodney?"
"Yes there is." Rodney frowned and set his hands by his sides, his fingernails cutting into his palms as he tried to contain and unreasonable anger.
Tseng waited for him to elaborate but had to prod further on his own to get a response. "Would you mind letting me know about this problem?"
Rodney responded immediately, knocking the coffee from Tseng's hand and spilling the thin brown liquid onto the floor. He took advantage of Tseng's moment of surprise and cranked the now coffee-less hand behind the Turk's back. Rodney pressed Tseng's front into the wall and captured his other hand, wrenching it up beside its fellow. Tseng didn't even bother to struggle, he didn't know how Rodney would react to being thrown on his ass for his insolence but he didn't want more animosity. His face stayed expressionless even as his arms were bent in a way they were never meant to. Tseng peered over his shoulder and locked his gaze onto Rodney's noting the anger and want in the man's eyes. His own eyes narrowed at the predatory lust and he wrestled back an angry growl as Rodney leaned forward to hiss angrily in his ear.
"I know Tseng! I know all about you and Reno and I can't stand it! Why the hell did you pick him, huh? What the hell is he to you? What makes him better than me?" Rodney's voice was full of anger and hurt even as his grip loosened slightly at Tseng's involuntary grunt of pain.
Tseng quickly ripped his hands from Rodney's and spun around. In only moments he had Rodney pressed into the floor with his nose bleeding and his arm only millimeters away from being wrenched out of its socket as he ground his knee into the brunette's back with a vicious growl. Rodney whimpered at the pain and Tseng restrained himself to keep his desire to cause permanent damage at bay. He had never wanted to hurt anyone so badly in his life, not since he had watched Reno's father slice thin red stripes under perfect blue eyes. Rodney gave a very audible gasp of pain and Tseng smirked at it, his anger getting the best of him as he gave Rodney's wrist a cruel twist. He leaned down and mirrored Rodney's angry hiss, his voice laced with malice. "No one, and I mean no one, gets to threaten me. I don't care what kind of information you think you have, until you have concrete evidence that Reno and I are in a relationship you keep your hands to yourself and your mouth shut. If you do anything to Reno that damages his chances of becoming a Turk I will not hesitate to shoot you, are we understood?"
Rodney smirked through the blood pouring down his face, a malicious chuckle bubbling the fluid over his mouth sickeningly. "I have concrete evidence, don't you worry about that. I came to make a deal Tseng."
Tseng paled noticeably before he applied more forceful pressure to Rodney's arm, the pained whimper he evoked letting him feel more in control of the rapidly deteriorating situation. His composure was in shambles and it was very obvious that Rodney's words had touched a nerve that was better left undisturbed. Tseng quickly ran through his mind, scanning every public moment he had spent with Reno and checking it for any obvious signs of attachment from either side. It had always been apparent that Reno was attached to him, but so far as he could remember he had done a good job at not showing preference for either of his trainees. He frowned and glared at Rodney, his temper seething just below his skin and urging him to break the young man's arm. "What do you mean a deal?"
Rodney whimpered until Tseng's grip eased and his arm was dropped to a less painful angle. He didn't try to struggle though as Tseng was obviously more than willing to snap his arm in half. Rodney's pained pants blew small droplets of blood over the smooth linoleum beneath him as he tried to pick words that angered Tseng without sending the man into a blind fury that would cost him his arm. "I don't give a damn which one of us passes, whether or not I become a Turk is irrelevant to my interests at the moment. What I want from you Tseng is one evening of your time and presence. I know you've given Reno far more than that so I think I'm being very generous with my demands here." Rodney squeaked as his arm was given a painful squeeze.
Tseng could feel his face twitch as he resisted the overwhelming temptation to break Rodney like a toothpick. His entire body had tensed with rage and disgust at the suggestion Rodney has made; utter loathing flooding his veins as he realized just what it was Rodney wanted from him. He growled angrily and ground his knee deep into Rodney's back with a hiss. "You want to know why I chose Reno?" Rodney gave a mute nod, his face twisted up in pain as his nose turned a very unattractive shade of purple. "I chose Reno because he thinks with more than his dick."
Rodney chuckled darkly, the sound at discord with the cheerful whistles Reno was still pouring out into the hall. "I highly doubt that Tseng." Tseng twisted his arm a little more and Rodney's chuckles subsided. "So do we have a deal or not?"
Tseng grit his teeth together and breathed deeply through his nose, forcing his writhing emotions to quiet themselves. With every word Rodney spoke the desire to rip him to shreds increased and Tseng was beginning to have trouble denying his baser instincts. He closed his eyes while he kept his firm grip on Rodney's arm, thanking Gaia that there was no one in the hall to intrude upon their scandalous confrontation. He could feel passionate anger pour into his system as he realized that he was backed into a treacherous corner. If he didn't do what Rodney wanted the brunette would report them to Shinra and have them both killed, but if he did what Rodney wanted Reno would hate him forever. Tseng couldn't bear the thought of Reno hating him. The idea that his first, best, and only friend might someday come to hate him had always overwhelmed his senses with wild fear. However, if he didn't make Reno hate him then they both stood a very real chance of being killed. Tseng tried not to picture bullets ripping through Reno's oh so delicate flesh, but his mind conjured up the images before he could quell them. A lump rose in his throat and he choked it down, his grip on Rodney becoming slack as he tried desperately to untangle himself from the noose tightening around his neck. Tseng opened his eyes and glared down at Rodney's bleeding face, despair giving his anger fuel. He gave another deliciously malicious twist to Rodney's arm and gave a satisfied grunt at the tiny whimper that screwed up Rodney's face. "Do I even get time to think about this deal? You ask quite a lot of me."
Rodney tried very hard not to squirm under Tseng's painful treatment but failed when his arm received another wrench in the wrong direction. He conceded with a pain filled cry, his voice quietly echoing through the hall to mingle with the shrill whistles leaking out of the testing room. "Yes! You can have until tonight. If you don't show up by eight I'll consider our deal broken and turn you both in."
Tseng gave a frustrated growl. "That's not enough time! How am I supposed to make a decision like this in only a few hours?"
"You better figure it out if you want to live!" Rodney spat, his blood beginning to congeal on his face. "Besides, after tomorrow it won't matter. We get the final decision after I take my test and then we get called into Shinra's office for our date with death." Rodney smirked at the surprised look on Tseng's face, blood coloring his teeth crimson. "Rude let slip what happens after our tests. He figured it would be better for me to know than to go in unprepared and he figured that you would have told Reno already since Reno makes a point of visiting you every day."
Tseng growled and got off of Rodney, leaving the brunette to pick himself off of the floor with a pained wince. He settled himself back against the wall with one leg against it to steady himself, his stoic expression back in place. "Get the hell out of my sight." Rodney didn't hesitate to comply, holding his nose gingerly with one hand and backing away from his superior slowly. He made it a few feet down the hall in this manner before a fierce glare from Tseng turned him around and forced his legs to sprint. Tseng waited until Rodney's footsteps died away before sinking to the blood and coffee soaked floor with a hand over his eyes, near silent sobs desperately turning in the air to twine with Reno's bliss filled whistling. Tseng's mind seemed to blaze with one simple sentence. 'What am I going to tell Reno?'
Author's Note: :O Scandalous!
You would have had this update sooner, but Tseng was being a bastard and didn't want to do what I told him to. Who can blame him though? I do horrible things to him in this story.
Soyna and Savannah; I know you've got your whacking shovels ready and I promise that I will give you reason to use them soon. ;)
Also, sorry for the shortness of this update but I've decided to draw the story out some more just to please my evil needs :)
