Tseng was vaguely aware of hearing Rufus' voice several times calling out to him. He tried to open his eyes or respond, but his body would not obey. Then the excruciating pain in his chest disappeared and he slipped back into oblivion.
In what appeared like just an instant later, Tseng's eyes slowly opened, his blurry vision only showed him darkness and vague shapes. His head was in a dull pain, and his eyes were so dry that just opening them made them burn. His limbs felt warm, but too heavy to move. His eyes slowly closed again by themselves.
As he laid there, slowly breathing in and out, the memory of the sharp pain that had spread from his chest throughout all of his body when he was hit by several bullets began to come back. The memory of his master's shocked face, his bright blue eyes wide with fear, as he was pushed out of the bullets' way. He hoped that Rufus was safe. He saw the memories of today again and again before his inner eye, reliving his morning with the Vice President, and then their conversation in the courtyard during the noon break. During the negotiations, he had watched his master from behind, studied the shape of his back, of his shoulders and his jawline, watched the light sparkle in his blond hair. So close, almost as if he could merely stretch out his arm to touch him, yet too far away to actually reach. He rejoiced at the memory of the Vice President, so cocky and confident in his certainty that he would find what they were looking for, and then finish their mission flawlessly. Not even remembering why he went there in the first place, he relived himself following Rufus around the maze of secret tunnels, and finally, he could see so clearly in his mind his master's shocked face, his bright blue eyes wide with fear, as he was pushed out of the bullets' way. He hoped that Rufus was safe.
As he relived the memories of the day again and again, hoping that Rufus was safe, little by little, the feeling returned to his body as he laid there for minutes or perhaps hours, who could tell when it was so quiet, dark and comfortable?
When he slipped back in consciousness, he vaguely became aware that he laid on his side under a blanket, his back resting against something warm and soft, and something heavy was weighing down on his waist. He slowly opened his eyes again to find that his vision had somewhat cleared. It was still dark, but this time, he found himself in an unfamiliar room, richly decorated with wall hangings that may have been colorful during the day, but were merely a mass of blended-together shades of grey and black in the dark of the night. There was something light much closer to his eyes.
As he strained his eyes to focus, the blurry shape slowly turned into a hand. He tried to twitch his fingers on both hands to find them weak, but properly functioning, and the hand that he saw and the arm his head was resting on, were not his own. But he knew who this hand with the long, pale fingers and the neatly cropped fingernails belonged to, and that made him suddenly realize that he was probably dead, or perhaps dreaming, because how else could he possibly end up in this person's arms?
Rufus' other arm was heavy over his waist, and his hand lightly rested against his belly. He felt Rufus' slow, even breathing in his neck and the warmth of his body against his back and wondered how his mind could come up with such things in afterlife that he had never experienced before. It took all of Tseng's strength and willpower to move a hand to his chest to inspect his injuries. He carefully brushed his fingers over his chest and felt the fresh, sensitive skin where he had been shot. The wounds had been fatal, but there was no pain in the afterlife.
Rufus stirred at Tseng's movement, closing his arms over his chest and pulling his into a tight embrace, burying his face deeper into his neck and hushed in a sleepy voice: "Please stay." Stay? Tseng did not comprehend this request. Where would he go and why? How could he possibly leave the embrace of these arms? This question was the last to occupy his mind when his body finally demanded the rest and peace it was due, and those of us not in dream land may be pleased to know that Rufus Shinra held his lover tight in his arms until dawn broke and duty called, and that doing so gave the Vice President of Shinra Electric Power the first good night of sleep in several months.