Nothing stands between us here
And I won't be denied
--Sarah McLachlan, "Possession"
#1
"Reno...?"
"Yeah?"
Two steps, that's all the distance was. Two long steps to close the space between the two of them. Rufus caught a bit of the shock in Reno's eyes as he grabbed the collar of that rumpled blue suit and pulled the older man close. He could still smell the bar hanging on the Turk, and he probably had much the same scent in his own coat. He'd have to remember to have this suit cleaned much more thoroughly...
The suit was the least of his concerns right now, though, as he pressed his mouth against Reno's. This was the one thing he wanted that all the money in the world couldn't buy.
It was the alcohol affecting him; some part of his mind knew that. But it didn't change the way the kiss felt.
Reno tried to pull away, one hand gripping the hand holding his collar as he pulled back.
No, he wasn't ready to give up this moment.
Rufus hooked his free arm around Reno's waist and pulled the red-head back against his body. He wasn't going to give up the feel of those lips against his just yet.
"Rufus..." It was Reno's voice that broke the silence when Rufus finally pulled away.
"I..." Rufus paused, his mind clearing for a moment. How was he going to explain his actions? Forcing the older Turk to kiss him...
"I'm gonna chalk it up to the fact that you've got more alcohol in your system than's good for you." Reno finally worked the blond's hand off of his collar before reaching up to wipe a thumb over his own lips. "Bad enough the old man's gonna skin us alive for taking you out and letting you get..."
"He won't know, Reno."
Reno laughed, the sound almost derisive. "He'll know because you'll be hung-over in the morning and won't have the sense to know how to mask it. Like I said, bad enough he's gonna skin us alive for that."
He won't! I'll protect you!
The silent protest was futile. Rufus knew that. He couldn't protect Reno and Tseng from his father. "The alcohol only gave me the courage..."
"Go to bed, Rufus."
Still the only thing he couldn't have, Rufus realized as Reno closed the door behind him. All the money and power in the world, and he still couldn't have the thing he wanted most.
Reno.
He sank to the floor with a heavy sigh. He could have forced the other man to stay, of course, but where would that have really gotten him? He wanted Reno as more than a toy, and force would have given him just that.
Whether it was love or just some childish obsession with something he knew he couldn't have, he didn't want Reno like that. He wanted to see the same passion in those eyes that he saw when Reno baited Tseng, wanted to hear the same strength of emotion in that voice that he heard when Reno spotted a bruise that hadn't been hidden well enough.
He wanted Reno whole. If he forced it...