I do not think it was Sephiroth's intention to cause any rift between Tseng and the vice president. He could be ignorant at times, but he had no such malice within himself. It was hard for me to make up my mind who was to blame for this situation, but in the end, my answer would matter little to those I had left behind.
When Tseng was torn from his uneasy rest far too early to have properly recovered, he tried to complete his morning routine as he usually did. But then he accidentally knocked his mug filled with steaming hot coffee into the sink because he was too preoccupied with trying to formulate an explanation for why he had spent so much time at Sephiroth's place so late at night. He closed his eyes for a few moments, leaning on the countertop and tried to breathe quietly for a few moments. His head was spinning, "because of a lack of sleep", he tried to convince himself. Once he calmed down, he picked up the mug from the sink, rinsed it and placed it on the rack to dry. When he went back to the bathroom to dry his hair, he stared back at himself for several moments before he realized he had not completed what he had gone there to do to. Watching him like this, I could not help but feel sorry for him because he was only trying to fill in a gap I had left and give what little support he was able to provide to Sephiroth. He went far above and beyond what he had to do, both as a work colleague and as a friend.
Once he stepped into the office and his eyes fell on the telephone, full of anxiety, he should have realized what was the issue. Against my expectation, the phone rang as soon as he reached his desk, and he picked up immediately, to be met with silence. Failing to come up with the right words, he ended up slowly lowering his hand holding the receiver, until it came to rest on the desk. He did not know how much longer he would be able to endure this constant rollercoaster of emotions. He had been so elated for two days about the prospect of going on a trip, no matter how small or insignificant it seemed. And now, he felt more desperate than he had in a long time.
Realizing he was still holding the phone receiver and Rufus had not said anything, he hesitantly hung up and turned around to make coffee. The usual two mugs. He carried them into Rufus' cell, where he did not find Rufus in his usual spot on the couch. A quick glance to the side revealed that Rufus was in bed, and his breakfast was untouched. He was rolled up in his blanket, no part of his body aside from his face sticking out, and staring at the far wall. Tseng observed him for a minute, but after Rufus made no attempt to get up or say anything, Tseng walked over to him and hesitantly sat down on the bed beside him. Words, at times, were too hard, but he dared not touch Rufus either. "It's not what it looks like, sir", he finally managed to begin. "What does it look like, pray tell?", Rufus retorted. Tseng sighed and pointed out quickly: "Sir, we're not exclusive." When Rufus tightened the blanket around himself, he added: "And just a few weeks ago, you said that you do not care if I see other people." His way of doing these things was very much in conflict with my idea about relationships, but I could not really deny his logic here. Although Rufus was technically in no position to make demands of exclusivity from Tseng all of a sudden, that did not keep him from making Tseng feel like the guilty party, of course. "There's nothing between me and Sephiroth. Never has been", he finally revealed, and added: "And I'm not interested in him in that way." Upon hearing this, Rufus turned around, still rolled up in the blanket.
When Tseng finally felt Rufus's eyes upon himself, he repeated: "I'm not interested in him in that way, sir." Mustering him doubtfully, Rufus asked: "Then what were you doing at his place for over four hours? In the middle of the night?" Tseng looked at the ceiling for a moment, again at a loss for words, until Rufus sighed and turned his back at Tseng again. But before he could say anything, Tseng actually came out with the truth: "He just needed some company and we fell asleep while cuddling." Rufus stared at him, almost as if he expected Tseng to catch fire in case he was telling a lie. Tseng did not catch fire. I knew he was telling the truth, but I was nevertheless surprised that he came out with the real story. It seemed like the kind of thing Tseng would rather take to his grave than to admit that it had happened. Tseng observed Rufus as the latter finally struggled to free his arms from the blanket. "I'm still upset", he stated once both arms were released and crossed in front of his chest.
Although he had a fairly good idea of what the answer was going to be, Tseng still inquired: "I just wanted to do an old acquaintance a favor. Can you tell me why that upsets you, sir?" Instead of responding, Rufus turned away again and said flatly: "Could you leave me alone now?" Tseng stared at his back for a few seconds, while trying to process what had just happened. "I don't know what that means, sir." When Rufus did not react, he reached out to him and put his hand on Rufus' upper arm resting on top of the blanket. "I'm sorry, sir. Will you please talk to me?" Rufus twitched when Tseng's hand touched his body, but he did not respond immediately.
"What is it about Sephiroth?", Rufus finally pressed out, still facing away from Tseng. So that was it. Tseng had a suspicion that Rufus had some kind of issue with Sephiroth ever since they returned from Wutai, and his reaction this time appeared to confirm that. "Go on, sir", he encouraged him. Rufus looked up for a moment, then away again. "What does he have that I don't have?" Tseng had no idea what he meant by that. It would never even once have occurred to him to compare the two, because they were so different, and they were not in any way competing for the same spot in his heart, or even the same spot in the world. He moved a little closer and lightly caressed Rufus' arm, which made Rufus turn around to him again. "Why do you cuddle him until he falls asleep and not me?", he confronted Tseng, who was again at a loss for words.
Why was it, indeed? "I did not realize you wanted that", he said, stupefied. "It never occurred to me." Rufus stared at him blankly. "You don't seem like someone who would want to cuddle", he continued defensively. "And you never said anything." Rufus sat up all of a sudden and pushed the blanket away. "I get it", he interjected. "You can stop now." He brushed back his hair that was falling all around his face, while Tseng was staring at him, wondering it Rufus had any idea just how attractive Tseng found him, and how bizarre the notion was that Tseng would ever prefer Sephiroth over him. At the same time, he had no idea how to respond if Rufus actually did ask him to cuddle now. He knew that the stakes got higher and higher with every moment he remained sitting on Rufus' bed. He suppressed the impulse to kiss Rufus and instead put his hand on his shoulder and said, in hopes to encourage him: "You won't stay in here forever. We're going on a trip in two weeks and we'll do whatever you want then." Rufus leaned toward him and whispered close to his ear: "Really? Whatever I want?" Him being so close sent shivers down Tseng's spine, but although he wanted very much to just say 'yes', and get started right away, he restrained himself and only whispered back: "Yes", without touching his boss. Leaning back, Rufus hummed and looked into Tseng's eyes for a moment, and said: "I guess that has to suffice. But don't go around falling asleep with Sephiroth anymore, OK?"