YAY!! I GET TO WRITE AS TSENG!! XD Dream come true, thanks to the wonderful art of fan fiction. buahahah.

As you can tell, I'm pretty excited about this chapter. hehe. Turns out there's going to be four chapters after all. Who knew, huh? lol.

Warnings: Refer to chapter one kthnx.

Chapter 2

It would be naieve for me to say I had planned this and graciously accepted it with little difficulty. I was a keepr now, and the adjustment from high paced assassinations and bloodshed to a personal guard would have culture shocked anyone. It had irked me though, the way that things began to unfold before my eyes, and my very image itself slipped through the cracks. Everything I had owned and loved, now belonged solely to another. I am Tseng, Commander of the Turks, and as much as I'd like to say that this is my story, it never was. It was always him.

--

"Tseng..."

It was as firm a tone as it always was, and I had come to expect no different. It was amazing how much confidence and authority he could inflict within a single word.

"Yes Rufus?

"Has my father mentioned to you his plan of a Costa Del Sol Vacation at all?"

"Not that I know of, no..."

"Hmm... Strange..."

He was quiet for sometime then, as he continued to scrawl across the papers before him. It wasn't a new occurence, these prolonged silences where all that could be heard was the scratch of pen across paper. Rufus continued to hold his cold exterior throughout our... partnership, I suppose you could say... but he was more than vulnerable to me now, and i think he knew it. That single day, where he had been on the verge of an anxiety attack, his bullet wound continuing to bleed onto the stretcher that bore him, he'd let me into a private part of his life with little resistance. It had been a little daunting to say the very least. Rufus Shinra was renowned as a private soul, and his father prided himself on instilling a 'no fear' persona onto him. Rufus had laid there however, the image of a scared young man with the fear of death within him, at it had been in that moment that my personal goal had begun. Those tears of pure fear and panic had proved, if anything, that Rufus was human. I wanted to see every minute change of emotion that such a hardened exterior hid.

I was willing to admit, he captivated me beyond anything or anyone I had encountered. He was intelligent to the point that Hojo had plea-bargained with his father in an attempt to take him on as a researcher. He was calculating and precise with everything he did, as well as being efficient, hardworking and confident. Despite every high and sought after quality this figure possessed, he was remarkably down to Earth. He was caring, witty, passionate, charming, polite, and gracious. It bothered me somewhat to find that he used these latter qualities so infrequently. Turks... we were moulded to know everything there was to know about mankind. Every emotion, every change of expression. How to lie, how to tell who was lying, it was all a continuous loop of information and it worked on everyone I had ever met with great ease. People are all too easy to read. Everyone is motivated by one of very few goals. Lust, love, money, knowledge or power. Everyone had a twisted form of it instilled within them, driving them towards something bigger, and everyone was so easy to determine. Except Rufus... He had men or women who were willing to throw themselves at him in lust, the love of a support group around him who catered to his every need, the money to outlast time, knowledge beyond many, and the power that would one day rule the world. He had everything, and yet he still strived, hiding behind a constant barrage of masks, each one more complicated than the last. Such a large amount of passion for life... it drew me to him, and yet he hid it so well.

This passion flickered through in moments like these, however, when he immersed himself within his work, and stopped only when he was unable to write any longer, or had finished.

"Tseng?"

"Yes Sir?"

He smiled then, I'd somehow known that he would. It was a small smile, but it was beautiful in its rarity just the same.

"How many times must I ask you?" He quirked his eyebrow and met my gaze. I smirked a little in return. Perhaps I was manipulative, but it was always worth it to see that very human smile... Something told me he had caught on to my intentions some time ago, but continued to play my selfish little game.

"I apologise Rufus. The term appears to slip out at times..."

"I understand Tseng. Anyway, I was planning on asking if it was perhaps more convenient to finish early rather than take a very late lunch?"

I looked at the clock above his desk then, and inwardly groaned. Already, it had reached five thirty pm, and it had appeared that we had once again neglected to eat. It was somewhat hazardous to work with a workaholic, when you are one yourself. Fatigue and exhaustion had become a common friend. When assigned with Reno, the balance had been almost perfect. I would slave drive the bastard until he was ready to collapse, and that was when I knew break time had arrived. Rufus however? You could work him to the bone, and he was highly unlikely to even notice.

"Perhaps we could count it an early breakfast and get right into the budget files tomorrow morning..." I replied wryly, and he graced me with a small laugh.

"Leaving early it is then..."

"You're the boss..."

He stood then and grabbed his coat. He was always a fan of dressing in white. I think it's a combination of both defiance and personal taste, or a sense of belonging. You could never really tell. His father was the type to opt for lavish colours and high decoration. He swam in vivid reds, golds and blues. A show pony, to put it simply. Rufus, however, liked it simple, with whites, creams and blacks. His taste related to the simplicity of Kalm's, where he was born originally and still felt strong ties to his deceased mother. His father had been against the village to begin with, despite it being his wife's hometown, yet Rufus continued to wear white against his father's wishes. I detested the man, personally. Not Rufus, no, but his father. I had spent five years in his service, and he was willing to discard me to be employed as Rufus' personal guard. Ha... perhaps he was a man to thank, for that, if nothing else. I had spent much of those five years in the confines of his disgustingly rich office, constantly hearing Rufus' name and the eloquent voice he held over the telephone speaker. Yet, I had never been offered the opportunity to see further of the boy than a mere photograph. With that said, he had never needed to be seen in person to be appreciated in the looks department. A photograph had sat upon the president's desk, of both he and Rufus, as the president's foot rested idly on the body of a recently slain Vlakorados. He smiled widely I remember, as his eyes, even through a photograph, radiated such an intense bloodlust that it chilled me to see. His son stood beside him, however, his eyes full of sorrow and regret as he cradled a Zeio nut in his hands. It would later be used to breed the president's prized chocobo, Damora Sunrise, although Rufus rarely spoke of the bird. He was a closet fanatic of chocobos, and yet he hated the way in which he had bred the apple of his father's racing eye. He still held a love for her though, and it was evident in the poster upon his wall. It was somewhat of a gentle quirk, which his father frowned on openly.

"He's never been a big fan of killing. Some bullshit about reasoning and unnecessary actions, he says..." Shinra had spat in clear disdain, when I'd made a remark about the photograph. I killed as part of my job. It was a mere profession. I had never enjoyed the slaughtering of a person or beast that was incapable of harming me or any others without provocation. Fighting, yes; I loved the hand to hand combat and the sparring between two qualified professionals for sport or training. Killing? No, there was never any enjoyment in the thought of taking a life. Everytime I killed a man, it chilled me to think that I had just stripped him from a family. From a mother, a sibling, a child... That bastard Shinra though... he loved it. Yet, here was his son, a pacifist of sorts. He would have to make choices in life where lives would be taken, but it would not be him who pulled the trigger. I doubted he would even allow himself the authority to sign the papers. He had suggested he would hand that to me...

"Tseng, have you finished that report?" Rufus asked suddenly, as I stood from behind my desk.

"I have a little more to write actually, so you're welcome to leave..."

He sat gracefully as I said it though, and he must have seen my confusion.

"I'll wait..." He explained.

"Don't feel obliged to..."

"I don't feel obliged. I simply wish to. Try not to take too long however."

"Of course."

He brushed the hair from his eyes then and pulled out his cellphone. It was never far from his reach, and I could relate to that easily. Shinra was operated almost entirely of telecommunications and email. SOLDIER prefered the latter, whilst the Turks chose the former as a more effective mean. That decision had not been mine to make, but I was never really one to complain. He began talking then, clearly getting through to whoever he was intending to contact. His smooth yet authorative voice resounded through our shared office, and I suppressed a small smile. He always spoke so clearly, and his lips always formed each word like a sculptor on a piece of clay.

My desires for the blonde had been apparent from the first time I had seen his photograph. At least to myself, anyway. Even now, I flicked my eyes up from a visitor clearance form and found myself transfixed between full lips, smokey blue eyes, and the hint of pale skin of his collarbone that teased from a slightly parted shirt. It had never been a good idea to let my stares linger. They often transpired into deeper thought, as they were now, despite my will to urge them away. What noises would he make should I nip lightly at that exposed collarbone, my lips trailing flawless skin? What would those devilishly sensual lips taste of, should I cover them with my own? Would those eyes hold their ethereal beauty if they were half lidded, his body writhing beneath mine in unbound pleasure? And Gods... what elicit little words might he produce if I were to catch him in a haze of lust? What words would he gasp as I trailed feather soft touches along that slim little wai-

"Tseng, are you done?" Rufus asked, drawing me rather sharply from my impure thoughts. His conversation had clearly ended, as he closed his cell phone with long fingers, smiling subtly, albeit a little sadly. Who had he just spoken to?

"Yes..." I breathed, my own musings drawing a mild state of arousal to my blood. I willed the colour from my cheeks however and breathed a little deeper, and prayed to Da Chao that it was working...

"Let's go then..."

"Where to?"

"La Mirage?"

His taste in food was as refined as it was in anything else, so I was not surprised by his choice. I simply nodded as he opened the door and gestured me out.

--

The meal had been delectable and he had, as usual, graciously paid. Knowing every detail of the Turk budgeting, he knew how much my pay cheque totalled to each week, and that I was more than capable of paying. Yet, he continually paid for their meals just the same. He'd had a little too much to drink this evening however, underestimating the strength and effect of Gongagan whisky, and so I fulfilled my duties even further by calling a cab. Whatever the phone call had been about, it had upset Rufus. How, I wasn't sure, but the blonde had become increasingly... tired... He looked wearier, and it was far too often than not that I would catch glimpses of a fleeting frown beneath that stoic expression. He was a tormented soul, to say the least... It was night fall now, and it had begun to grow cloder as he leant casually against my shoulder for support whilst we waited for the cab to arrive.

"How disgusting... I apologise Tseng..." He sighed, slightly slurring, I should have stuck with a drink familiar to me. Now look at me, unable to stand on my own two feet..."

He laughed then, a bitter tone ringing through out it.

"Ha... unable to stand on my own two feet... imagine my father's face now, should he see me like this? He always loved being proven right..."

This was his father's fault to begin with, I was sure. That phone call had been far too formal for it to be anyone but, and any time Rufus sunk into a spiral of self loathing, his father was inevitably to blame.

"Last month, your father drank double the amount you have, and ended up vomitting on Rude's shoe..." I smirked, "And it had barely passed noon..."

Rufus gave a small bark of laughter and smiled up at me from his position on my shoulder.

"That... Tseng... was the perfect thing to say. Well done..."

"I would like it if you never lessened yourself in comparison to your father..."

"Yes, well, you would know him better then I do, I suppose."

I remained silent. It was probably very much the truth, and the mere thought disgusted me. The cab had arrived however, so I needed not to be concerned with a subject change. I thought of my own father through my childhood, teaching me to sword fight, tickle fights on the hills near my home, and the smell of his pipe as he sat me upon his knee and read me stories from 'A Thousand Goodbyes'. Nobody should ever have been denied experiences like that. For Rufus, it had been a long line of babysitters and Turks, all of which were hardly permanent, and far less than emotionally attached. It had been a job for them, with Reno the only acception. He loved the boy as his own blood, and it was apparent in his loyalty towards him. He would make a fine Turk, and I intended to grace him as my second in command. I felt I owed him that much.

I helped Rufus clamber inside the taxi cab, and slid in beside him. The taxi driver turned in his seat, a look of recognition in his eyes.

"Where are ya goin Vice President?" He asked with a toothy grin. Rufus was in no condition to even reply.

"Shinra Headquarters, thank you. It would be in your absolute best interest if you tell no one of this..."

I sounded cold, even to myself, and it seemed to have worked. He turned back around to drive in silence, as I turned to face a now unconscious Rufus. Lucky for the blonde, he recovered from alcohol exceptionally well and often sobered up after a short amount of sleep. Yet another quirky human reaction. I started second doubting my thoughts of him. He was clearly human, and yet he had always appeared Godly to me. He was far from the perfect human being, and perhaps that is what drew me closer to his side. Every person had their skeletons, and we shared plenty.

The cab trip was short, and yet I handed over a substantial amount of money, and he seemingly understood.

"You've got my word, boss..." He grinned, nodding, as he waited for me to pull Rufus from the cab and cradle him delicately in my arms. He was a featherweight, really. He rested his head against my shoulder, as his arms snaked around my neck.

I thanked the cover of night for Rufus' sake. He was proud, and if he were seen by those he deemed untrustworthy in this state, he would surely feel a further strain he need not bear. He was breaking, and it un-nerved me. I'd wanted to see every emotion, but I was unwilling to share, despite this. I wanted the smiles, the fears, the salted trails of tears in his weaker moments. I wanted them all, but I hardly wanted the World to share them with me. Ha... I was not even able to act upon these desires, which really only increased the level of selfishness involved. I was a Turk, the Commander no less, and Rufus was my boss. It was uncharacteristically arrogant of me to assume reciprocated feelings, and so I chose not to. He nuzzled my shoulder now, and muttered words slipped through his dreams.

"...B-0-1-3-4-0... Eighteen thousand, five hundred gil..."

I held back a laugh at the newly discovered quirk. It was my identification number and my monthly earnings. A pang of sadness hit me though.

Even in the time allocated to all human beings for rest and peace, he couldn't escape his work. I wondered how to possibly improve it, and then... actually...

"0-5-0-4-8?" I smirked, and he let out a gentle laugh.

"Ten thousand, two hundred and fourty gil..." Rufus murmured, and I laughed in spite of myself. Reno's earnings had always been a precise topic for the redhead, due to his obsessive compulsion regarding money.

"Tseng..."

"Yes?"

He remained silent however, and the realisation reached me. He was still asleep, with a dream of me lingering on his mind... I brushed aside the thought as I reached the Shinra Mansion beside headquarters and froze. Rufus still smelt of alcohol, and I felt nauseated at the thought of his father seeing him like this. The hypocritical bastard he was...

Rufus would take over this company and perfect it, and I intended to remain by his side dying for him or dying with him. It was my duty as a Turk now. Rufus belonged to me, whether he realised it or not. Shinra himself? Well, he was of no need to me now. Rufus was my future, and he would prove the old bastard wrong, I knew. For now, however, the blonde would stay at my apartment. I ran into Reno on the way, and the redhead smiled fondly at the cradled figure in my arms.

"Ah damn, kid..." he sighed, "What the hell happened to you?"

"Gongagan whisky..." I replied, and Reno let out a low whistle.

"Straight onto that hard stuff again, huh?"

Again? Rufus knew that he would become drunk off of this... Perhaps I would speak to him tomorrow...

"I think come tomorrow he'll have learnt his lesson..." I stated, and Reno smirked widely.

"Nah, lucky bastard has an inbuilt hangover defense system... Any orders, boss?"

He rested his EMR against his shoulder as he casually leant against the hallway wall. He was cocky, but he had real heart. Especially regarding Rufus.

The memory of his actions that day still constricted my chest slightly. Rude had radioed in the incident, whilst I was only a hundred metres away, useless, and informed me that the Vice President and my best Turk had been critically hit. I'd arrived on the scene to an unconscious Rufus and a panicky Reno.

"Get the kid... to a hospital..." He'd gasped through his own blood as he reached for the blonde's hande, "You're not dying on me... you son of a bitch... We're getting smashed... at your twenty first..."

We'd almost lost both that day, and they'd caught the culprit five days later. The death penalty had been awarded, before Rufus had turned to me in his hospital bed and shaken his head. He'd held that same look on his face as the day he'd slain that Vlakorados and he'd asked for the necessary over-ruling forms and filled them out immediately. That was my first sign of guilt from him, as he turned to me and explained 'He shot at me for a reason. I am not an entirely decent man Tseng. I'm sure he has family who will value his pardon from death...' I knew then that I wanted to serve no other. We'd had no choice but to merely imprison him, but not before a decent roughing up... The Turks were employed by me, and I was employed by the president, but our loyalties lay with Rufus. The boy grew up in our care, underwent our training, and knew every detail of our intel. It made him family.

"Look into Taxi Cab 410..." I replied, "Have the driver followed tonight. If he so much as looks of letting any of this slip, convince him otherwise..."

"Yes sir..."

Rufus' pacifistic look flashed through my eyes and I paused as we reached my apartment.

"Reno..."

"Yes Boss?"

"Don't hurt him too much... even if he does, ok?"

Reno paused then, before a look of understanding crossed his face, and he gently ruffled the blonde spikes. He then disappeared after opening the door, and would return with no less than a successful mission. That much was certain. He always returned successful, or not at all, his own personal rule. I carried Rufus inside and shuffled him in my arms so that I could deal with the new challenge of both closing and deadlocking the door. In hindsight, it may not have been my best idea, as he shuffled in his sleep and now had his lips pressed against my neck, latching on as he may a bottle. Turk composure was just about the only thing holding me together in the slightest at the moment, as he murmured quietly in his sleep, only heightening my awareness of the little ministrations he was dealing my throat. No, I was here to give him a place to sleep and take care of him, that was all. He was very clingy as he slept, and it only furthered my concern that the beautiful blonde was becoming further damaged with each day of his strenuous life. I could ease it, if only a little, I was sure...

I had previously considered staying in the same room as him tonight, but that decision was looking to be a costly one should I follow through with it. He could take my bed. I was quite content with the couch. I kicked open the bedroom door with my shoes, as his head lolled slightly, finally detached from my neck and rested instead against my shoulder. Good, much better... I kicked my own shoes off, albeit awkwardly, before placing Rufus atop my bed and prying his hands from my neck. Now that he was free from me... Well, it had never been a crime to look had it? I don't think it would have mattered anyway. This little indulgence had become a frequent habit on the times I had stayed in Rufus' quarters, where I would slip in from my own room and watch the blonde sleep. I loved the sight. His lips parted as he breathed softly, and his chest rose and fell gently as he did so. His hair was mildly ruffled already tonight from nuzzling against me, and bed hair was entirely befitting on the young heir. I had told him this before, and he'd laughed lightly, before smirking as he combed it neatly into place. He usually only slept in sweatpants, however, much to my secret delight. He had the lean muscle tone that Turk training had awarded him, and yet he continually hid it under layers of concealing suit jackets and dress shirts. The sweatpants in sleep not only gave me a view of what I'd sought for what seemed an eternity now, but apparently was what Rufus was most comfortable in. For an executive who ran a company smoothly and swiftly, and had everything down to a fine line perfection, he hated the sharpness of suits.

"They're full of glamour and out to draw attention..." He had said once, "I'd much prefer the relaxed comfort of a pair of sweatpants or boxer shorts if I'm going to have to sleep in anything at all." That statement had set the imagination racing, but it also brought me to my current thought.

Perhaps I should undress him for his own comfort and pleasure? But what would we do then, about mine? If I undressed him quickly, it would become easier to retire to the usual cold shower affair that I held. But, if I rushed, it would surely wake him and make for a somewhat awkward situation.

"Hmmm..."

He was murmuring again, and held a slight frown across his face as his hand came to rest across his chest, the other sliding underneath the back of his head... Well... I guess he genuinely did seem uncomfortable... I reached down to unlace his shoes to begin with, partially for my own concern of my bedsheets. Satin was entirely too difficult to clean for a person like me who had minimal education in common house chores, and I let no one enter my quarters without my escort, cleaning staff or otherwise.

"It can only add to your workload, doing your own cleaning, surely?" Rufus had commented lightly only last week, and I'd given him a quirked eyebrow in return. He then smiled and returned to his paperwork. I was raised a hard worker and I would inevitably die one. Rufus's shoes were immaculately polished today, as they were almost every other day. Unlike Reno and several of the other Turks, he didn't have a tendency to drag his feet at all, and so his shoes remained flawless.

His coat then, was a reasonably easy task. He wore large simple buttons on his coats, nothing too elaborate, and continued to stick to his 'plain and simple' beliefs. I lifted him slightly to peel the jacket from his arms, and he moved a little. I paused, before setting him back down, and he settled once again. I then realised the mammoth task before me, and sighed inwardly. The dress shirt's buttons were, as expected, considerably smaller, and stretched slightly over the taut muscle beneath. I found myself holding my breath as I undid each button, revealing inch by inch of that delicious skin... Then there it was... A large red mark, where I froze. The all too recent bullet wound had left a vicious scar, and the constant taunt of the person before me almost losing his life. It was another human imperfection, and my finger trailed along it as I undid the next button. It should have felt horrible that I was so enraptured by this act. It should have bothered me that a sleeping, defenceless Rufus was stirring the blood within my body, and yet I paid no attention. It was my job to guard him, and my desire to protect him. There was a difference, all Turks knew that. We had been told that guarding held no personal attachment other than a duty to play human shield and rambo at any cost. We had been told that protecting was an act of selfish desire and possession, and held no prospect nor benefit for the target. Emotions were invalid for a Turk after all, and we were expected to show excelling self restraint. But, no benefit? I had never held a genuine desire to guard OR protect against a bullet for Shinra, yet I would do either and both for his son. How did it hold no benefit?

I lifted him by the shoulders once more and slid his shirt from his torso, before his head fell forward against my chest, his lips murmuring something against my skin as his hands slowly circled my waist of their own accord. I froze, my mind racing to try and catch up with my body. Half naked Rufus, nuzzled against me, asleep, as that skin radiated warmth through my suit and reached my own... He was so vulnerable at this moment... There were several sane options here, or at least options that had some kind of logic. I could let go of him and leave, ignoring everything, I could take advantage of the vulnerability and take what I wanted, as he was simply no match for my skill, or I could kiss him, wake him up, and confess everything. What I did though, held no logic or sanity. I gently placed a hand on his back and a hand behind his head, cradling him against me like the piece of fragile art he was, and stood quietly. It should not have been so soothing to simply hold without lust, or to touch without desire, and yet... He'd made a pacifist of me... Sneaky bastard. His hair, God... my restraint slipped a little further and I rested my face in it slightly, breathing in the smell and everything about it that radiated Rufus. He let out a small gasp, followed by a restrained content sigh, and I was tempted to do the same. I had to leave before I lost my mind. I was a Turk, and this was pathetic. I was an assassin, a warrior, an elite fighting force, and here I was burying myself in this object of perfection and attempting to block out anything else but the smell of that hair and the beating of that heart. He'd gone in too deep, and I refused to let him in further. I placed a gentle kiss in the golden mass, allowing myself the final pleasure of the sensation, before lowering him to lay on his back, and draped the covers over him. He was at ease, and he was all the more beautiful for it. Despite my attempts at restrain, my traitorous fingers reached out and brushed the blonde from his eyes.

"Sleep well, my prince..." I murmured into the darkness, as I slipped from the literal forbidden fruit, and into the hall, straightening my tie. I was a Turk, and my mind had to be on the job.

I walked out of my quarters, locking the door behind me as I headed for the office. Give me something to do... Anything, please, anything to keep me from the concern of that slowly breaking facade...

"...Rufus..." It slipped through my lips in a pained whisper, and I pushed it aside as I did the office door, sitting down quietly and pretending I didn't notice the vacancy across the room.

--

A/N: Many long nights spent on this. It's strange... it was so much easier to write this chapter than anything else I'm creating. lol.

Except maybe 'Unforgiven'... lol. xD

Anyway, next chapter soon. They're all done remember, so it all depends on how much you guys review. I'm evil that way. lol.

Hope you're liking it. :)