Reno was breathing heavily, there was sweat on his forehead and frankly he felt a bit powerless. It was always good when it was with a woman...really good in fact; especially when it was with a woman who knew what she was doing. But Reno had forgotten what this was like...with another man. He knew that he and Rude had gone too far. It's okay to make out when you were high as hell...but this? Well, both Reno and Rude we're stone sober. Rude had been acting rather despondent and removed all week and the only justifiable reason was that he had been thinking about going down on Reno all week. Rude looked at a helpless Reno underneath him. He didn't say anything, he just watched those wild blue eyes. Rude was Reno's best friend but Reno had lied about something.
"Rude...Rude I...I gotta tell you something." Reno laid his head back and waited until he actually caught his breath. Rude didn't say anything. He was waiting on Reno. "You remember...when we were high and you asked me...if I had ever kissed a guy?" he asked. The color had somewhat drained from his face.
"Yeah." Rude answered him.
"Man...I lied to you. I'm sorry I did that." Reno confessed. "Truth is man...I've had two boyfriends." Rude had his arms on either side of Reno. He was still watching him carefully.
"But...I've known every girl you've ever dated." Rude said trying to put these pieces together.
"Yeah well, Two of those 'girls' were actually guys...the two you never met. I didn't know what you'd think. Hell, I didn't know what I know now about you. What can I say, I like the best of both worlds." Reno laughed. Rude wasn't mad at him, in fact he was somewhat charmed. He kissed Reno; gently...rather passionately. Reno let his hands slide over bare skin. They would have to trade eventually.
"You used to bartend?" Tseng asked her rather surprised by this.
"Yeah. Right before I graduated high school I started. Down in Wall Market. That's where I worked."
"You know, working for Shinra is the only job I've ever had. I enrolled in the academy and after graduating I went straight to work for the Turks. Now, here we are ten years later." Tseng told her. Elena found herself tracing the rim of her glass.
"I never wanted to be a Turk." she admitted. The information came as quite the surprise.
"Then why did you apply?" he questioned.
"For once, I wanted to do something better than my sister. Just one time...I wanted my father especially, to be proud of me for graduating at the top and...being well-rounded in lots of areas instead of just one. I wanted to prove that I could be as perfect as she was...well...I'm still trying to prove it." Elena stared at the table. She didn't know why she had just told Tseng all that.
"What did your father think when he saw the papers? My god...you...you saved Rufus from a bad situation." Tseng said. Elena looked at Tseng more seriously than she had ever looked at him before.
"He said that no Tom- boy could possibly look elegant no matter how much her clothes cost." Elena could feel her lower lip tremble ever so slightly as she thought about the cruel words her father had said. She had tried to bury that conversation from earlier in the week but re-hashing the words only brought back the memory. Tseng couldn't imagine how any father could say such a thing to his own daughter.
"You know that's not true, right?" Tseng didn't know if that was the right thing to say, but he said it nonetheless.
"I want to believe it's not true...but...come on, you've seen my sister. I mean...she is the pretty one. My dad is...at least a little right." Elena wasn't fishing for a compliment she was just telling it like it was.
"Forgive me for not professionally speaking but...you're the pretty one. Shit, Elena...you're...you're beautiful." Tseng never thought he would actually say that out...it sounded so much safer in his mind. Elena smiled slightly, and shoved her hair behind her ear. She was turning as pink as the dress she was wearing. There was a bit of an awkward silence but thank god Tseng received a text message at that moment. He shook his head. "Rufus just sent me a freakin' book. He knows I can't read that tiny print!" Tseng complained as he held his phone out as far away from him as he could. "Here, read this...I don't have my damn glasses." he said handing his phone over to Elena. She smiled a bit.
"You wear glasses?" she asked with a certain curiosity in her voice.
"Only in a pinch, like when Rufus sends me texts that are twenty-nine paragraphs long and when I can't read the fine print on Shinra Company forms." Tseng admitted. Elena bit her lower lip discreetly.
"Forgive me...for not professionally speaking...but..." Elena stopped. "...that's really sexy." her eyes could have cut right through Tseng at that very minute. "Okay, he says: Who in the city is the best electrician? I just blew a main breaker and my place is black. Building maintenance looked at it but I have some serious issues and he can't fix it. I want power back on tonight and am willing to pay whoever whatever it takes. By the way you should really try the new seafood place in sector three. It's simply delicious. I know how much you like a good steak and hands down it's the best I've had. Be sure to order it with the lobster and make sure they prepare it broiled. You and I should really go sometime. Okay, let me know about the electrician before I start rambling." Elena read it.
"Text him back and tell him I have no idea about an electrician. He needs to ask Rude. And also tell him he always rambles in every text he sends me." Tseng said. Elena laughed.
"You can't see the touch screen without your glasses either can you?" she asked.
"No, it's a muddy blur although sometimes I can manage if I hold the thing really far out in front of me. My god, Elena…I'm thirty and ridiculously near-sighted." He said. Elena just laughed and let her eyes soak him up.
"Here's your phone back." Elena said handing Tseng's phone over after she finished replying to Rufus. She purposely let her fingertips glide over the back of his wrist as she put it in his hand. She then became downright, bold. "You have soft hands." she said letting her fingers glide over his fingertips. He quickly put his phone away and in an even bolder move took Elena's hand in his. He ran his thumb over her knuckles.
"How did you manage to get a gun under your gown?" he asked her out of nowhere. He didn't take his hand off hers.
"Well, I had it altered. They cut the seam in the right side and hid the opening so well it didn't even look like the gown had been cut. I um…I'm kind of embarrassed to tell you this but I had that .45 strapped to the inside of my thigh…with the safety on of course. It was…well it got in the way half the night. Tseng was fascinated by this. Of course, if Elena had been talking about a head of lettuce he would have been fascinated.
"A .45 doesn't fit well underneath a dress, Elena." Tseng said. He had no idea why he told her that. It certainly wasn't the alcohol talking because he had barely had any.
"So….Tseng….boss…you shoot straight whiskey?" Elena asked with raised eyebrows. He hated the way she licked her teeth when she said boss.
"I can…why?" he asked her feeling suddenly nervous.
"Because, I haven't had the heart tell Cissnei that I don't drink Daiquiri's…normally. She's too sweet, you know? I just love 'er. "Since you're sitting here with me and all…wanna do a double shot?" Elena asked.
"Sure, why not….wait…are you telling me you're a whiskey drinker?" Tseng asked. Elena blushed.
"Yeah…I uh...I like the burn of it…what can I say." Elena laughed. "Shit…I have no idea why I told you that." She moved her glass around in a circle as she stared at the table. Tseng watched her hand carefully as if it were going to slip away from the feathery touch of his fingertips.
"I…I uh…I have a bottle at my place…please don't take that the wrong way." Tseng said letting his fingers dance over Elena's hand.
"Are you inviting me over?" Elena paused. "Please don't take that the wrong way." Once again, the look in her eyes could have burned a hole through Tseng.
"I am." He could feel sweat under his collar. He had never intended on being this bold but Cissnei's words were rolling over and over in his mind. The more Tseng thought about Rufus the more selfish he became. Rufus Shinra had it all…he wasn't going to get Elena. She laughed and leaned forward towards Tseng.
"Why the hell you look so serious?" Elena asked. It made Tseng smile. He squeezed her hand harder just to see what she would do. She tangled her fingers between his. It sent a very strong message and frankly Tseng wasn't ready for it. It was safe to hear Cissnei say 'oh by the way Elena wants you bad' but it was a deadly reality to have this beautiful bobbed blonde sitting across the table with her hand wrapped around his. Elena was sober enough to know exactly what she was doing and buzzed just enough to have the courage to do it. Tseng swallowed somewhat hard.
"Well, uh…you make me a little nervous." Tseng admitted.
"You do something very different to me…but I wouldn't be much of a lady if I told you what." Had Elena not already had a few buzz-worthy shots she would have never said that. Tseng felt his entire body catch fire.
"I already know you're quite the lady." Tseng stumbled over his words.
"Good, in that case I don't have to be on my best behavior." Elena smiled as Tseng pulled her by the hand off the high chair.
"You're sexy…I've never said that out loud…to another guy before…especially you." Rude said. His entire face was covered in sweat and he had the sheets beneath him clenched in his fists.
"You're just sayin' that 'cause you know where my mouth is." Reno said.
"You gotta stop…" Rude hissed through gritted teeth.
"No, I don't." Reno said before filling his mouth.
"But Reno, I…" Rude gritted his teeth harder.
"Sssshhh…." Was all Reno said as he resumed his dominance over Rude. Rude's typically intimidating demeanor was dissolved and in it's place was a desperate and pleaful slave. At this moment, he wanted Reno to be his master.
"This is beautiful." Elena said admiring an oil painting on the wall near Tseng's kitchen. "The brush strokes are so clear. Who painted it?" she asked. Elena hadn't noticed that Tseng was standing behind her until she felt gentle hands on her shoulders. His touch distracted her gaze from the painting before her.
"My great, great grandmother. It hung in her house until her daughter…who was my great grandmother, married. Then it went to her daughter…my grandmother. After that, my mother got it when she married. Finally, my mother gave it to me when I came to Midgar." Tseng explained.
"Wow…that's amazing. Why Leviathan?" Elena asked shifting her gaze back to the lustrous colors on its black background.
"I'm from Wutai. I'm supposedly blessed by Leviathan because I was the first boy born that lived into my family in about seventy-five years. So according to the mythology it was a sign…" Elena felt chills run through her body as she felt Tseng's breath on her ear. He laughed. "…I have no idea what the sign is supposed to be." Tseng slid his hands off her shoulders and stepped into his kitchen. "You really want this straight?" he asked.
"Huh? Oh, oh….yeah." Elena said turning around to face Tseng. She watched him pour a bit of whiskey into a glass; swirling it around before handing it over to Elena. "You have a really nice place here." She said continuing to swirl it nervously while she waited for Tseng to join her.
"Thanks. I put around 8,000 gil in upgrades in this place last year. The granite, the marble…" Tseng stopped and looked up at the marble that graced his front door entrance. "Rufus insisted on the marble. He has a stunning marble entryway in his penthouse and he told me at least a dozen times Tseng, put marble at your front door, you'll love it…I still don't know if I like it. My god, it's so damn fancy." He sighed. "…then he's all oh Tseng, you really need a plant there. Tseng said. He shook his head. "I swear…he's the straight, gay interior designer I've always needed in my life." Elena laughed.
"The man does have amazing taste." Elena raised her eyebrows. She wondered if right now were a good time to admit to Tseng just how much she already knew about Rufus Shinra…she decided against it. She couldn't. Not now at least. She was glued to the sight of Tseng turning out the light in the kitchen and moving Elena to the couch with him. She had no idea that Tseng already knew about she and Rufus. The same window with the same blinds was open, letting the sounds of Midgar creep through just as they had done the night Tseng fell asleep in this very room.
"Well, your marble looks beautiful…here's to your marble." Elena said raising her glass to Tseng's as she anticipated the burn of the whiskey. Two shots would be two too many…they would stick to one for tonight.
"Should…should we get dressed?" Rude asked weakly as he pushed himself up on his elbows.
"Why should we?" Reno asked resting his chin on Rude's abdomen.
"Because man, we're laying here naked!" Rude said still trying to catch his breath. He was in a state of disarray over what he and Reno had just done.
"Rude, it's okay…everything is okay. Just relax." Reno reassured him. There was something calming in Reno's touch…it wasn't a lover's touch; it was a friend's touch.
"Reno…thanks." Rude said laying his head back and finally beginning to relax. Reno laughed.
"For what?" he asked.
"For not freakin' out." Rude said, he thought Reno looked amazing as he laid there over him. Reno laughed.
"So we made out a little…and went a little further than that. Seriously, man…it's not a big deal."
"It's a huge deal to me…no one else knows…about me, I mean. No one knows, Reno." Rude was seemingly still trying to come to grips with things himself.
"I'm glad you told me. If you hadn't there's no way in hell you and I would be laying here naked like this."
"So, um…now would probably be a really poor time to tell you about the guy I've been talkin' to. It's nothing serious at all but…I've never talked about him to anyone." Rude admitted.
"I'm all ears, man." Reno said.
"I'm so sorry, Tseng. No one should ever have to go through that." Elena wasn't even thinking. She leaned her head back on Tseng's shoulder. He didn't at all mind but it made him a nervous wreck. For a moment, he considered picking up the whiskey bottle and taking the biggest swig possible of it. But Tseng knew that would be an incredibly stupid idea.
"Yeah well…all that money made for a nice down payment on this place. Of course, it was going to make a beautiful engagement ring too. I started saving for it after our second year together. Things got a little rocky at the end of the third year and…well everything fell apart by the end of the fourth year. "What about you? Have you ever made a mistake like that?" Tseng looked at the top of her head. Elena lifted her head and turned to face him.
"I slept with Rufus…more than once." Elena admitted. She feared what Tseng would say, how he would react. But she had to tell him. She could have sworn he was leaning in closer to her.
"I've known Rufus for a while and in that time…I've never heard a woman say it was a mistake sleeping with him. What makes you so different?" Tseng asked her. Elena was sure he was leaning in much closer to her now; so close in fact that she could see his eyelashes.
"B…be…because…" Elena breathed a little nervously. She could feel her body getting hotter as Tseng's scent invaded her senses. She was breathing a little heavier because the truth was about to escape her lips. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. "…because I was thinking of you the whole time I was with him." There wasn't a single second to react. In the next instant, Elena's lips were on his and in an ever faster motion she was being swept across Tseng's lap with his arms around her.