Tseng V: A strange proposition

Tseng had just sat down at his desk when his phone rang. It was Rufus. He pondered for a moment if he wanted to pick up or not, but it was his job to take care of Rufus while the president wanted to keep him locked away, and so he had not much choice.

He picked up the phone slowly and held it to his ear. He knew Rufus was in the line, but he did not say anything. "Mr. vice-president?", Tseng inquired as he pushed a button on the console in front of him to bring up the surveillance feed from the cell. Rufus was holding the phone in his hand in front of his body, not anywhere close to his ear and was looking straight at the camera. His tablet was on the table.

It appeared as if he was waiting for some kind of reaction over the phone. Tseng was tempted to simply hang up, but what could the harm be in humoring the future president of Shinra Electric Power and factual ruler of the known world for a bit? And what would the harm be in denying him the entertainment? It could be that Rufus Shinra would be useful for the Turks in the future, and he would not want to make his future boss his enemy. But what would be an appropriate or entertaining response to Rufus' antics?

Finally, he said "If you drink coffee now, you won't be able to sleep tonight." Rufus put the phone to his ear and retorted: "I can't sleep anyway." Tseng sighed. He could imagine that being locked up was not fun. And being locked up with a camera in the room was not so comfortable either, although only a handful of specific people had clearance to access this particular camera, and Tseng was certain that the vice-president was not being watched ninety nine percent of the time. But he could imagine that just having a camera in the room could negatively affect someone's ability to sleep.

"I can get you some sleeping pills if you need them", he told Rufus over the phone. He could see Rufus rolling his eyes on the monitor. "That's the last thing I want." Now it was Tseng's turn to roll his eyes. "I have a report to write, so if-" As he spoke, Rufus flopped down on the couch and picked up his tablet. "Fine, write your report! I'll just watch you and get some entertainment from here."

Tseng scratched his head. When he saw over the monitor that Rufus had already brought up the camera feed from Tseng's office, he immediately straightened his pose. There was no way he could focus with Rufus watching. "You're very concerned with your public image", Rufus observed. "It's part of the job", Tseng replied. "Everything for the company?", the Shinra successor cited. Tseng paused for a moment. What was he trying to achieve? "Exactly", he confirmed. "Huh", Rufus remarked. "Bring me a coffee." Well-played, Mr. Vice President. Well-played. He hung up without saying anything and proceeded to prepare a double espresso for his future boss and entered the lock connecting his office to the cell.

Rufus was still on the couch, watching some other camera feed, ignoring Tseng as he entered. He placed the coffee on the table and stepped back. "No coffee for you?", Rufus inquired after noticing that there was only one cup on the table. "I don't drink coffee past 5 pm", Tseng responded vaguely. That was technically true, but even if it was not late in the afternoon, Tseng did not like being pushed around, except in certain situations.

Rufus put down the tablet and reached for the cup. "This isn't about coffee, is it?", Tseng inquired as the vice-president crossed his legs while sipping his espresso. "How did you like being watched?" Tseng's heart started beating faster. "It improves my posture", he answered evasively. That, too, was not even a lie. Rufus observed him over the edge of his cup. In that moment, Tseng's phone beeped, but he suppressed the reflex to pick it up. "Won't you answer it?" – "I'll check after I leave." Rufus put down his cup and measured Tseng up and down. A person who has ever been in a similar situation can probably relate to the feeling. If one has known a person for some time, for instance, seven years, just for the sake of the argument, and develops an interest in said person, what is a good way to let the other person know? One might say that it is a good idea to state clearly what you want once you do approach the subject, such as to avoid confusion between romantic interest and other types of interest. Rufus Shinra is not a patient man, and certainly not one who beats around the bush, and so he chose to ask out of the blue: "Why are you so hot?" Tseng froze. "Excuse me?" – "Forget about the girl, you're too good for her", Rufus suggested, resting his arms of the back of the couch.

"Is that why you were watching me all day?" It might not be necessary to say so, but it is not a good idea to watch one's crush all day without their explicit consent, unless one is the future factual ruler of the known world and can get away with pretty much anything. Perhaps he was just bored, but that is not a good excuse to stalk someone. "I was watching you even before that. Didn't you notice?" How could he have noticed? He was sure Rufus made him notice it on purpose for the first time today because it was convenient to him, for whatever reason. "Why were you watching me?", Tseng wanted to know. "Because", Rufus began, leaning forward. "You are hot and it gives me pleasure to watch you", Rufus stated the apparently obvious. "But now I can't sleep anymore because I have to think about you all the time". Tseng was confused. "Did you try this with your previous caretaker as well?"

Rufus leaned back, looking at the ceiling, but he responded: "That girl will never like you". Tseng folded his arms. This again. He did not want to talk about Aerith now, and this whole situation was unsettling in its entirety. "I don't know what you're trying to achieve, but I won't fall for it." Rufus looked up and shrugged. "Now you're doing me injustice." He got up slowly. "I'm quite serious", he added as he stepped toward Tseng.

The Turk lifted his hand, palm facing toward Rufus. "Stop!" Rufus stopped as his chest touched Tseng's hand. He gently cupped Tseng's hand with his own as Tseng stared into his bright blue eyes, dumbfounded. His other hand reached for Tseng's face and he felt it lightly touching his lips. "Your lips look really soft" Tseng felt a wave of warmth rushing through his body. He knew that Rufus was used to getting whatever he wanted, but he would never have guessed that he could be so domineering toward an older man.

Rufus took another step and Tseng stepped back to keep the distance without actually pushing him away. He did not know what to do. It was his job to keep Rufus in the cell, but also to take care of him. Rufus took another step and Tseng stepped back. The vice-president was technically his superior already, so he could technically do whatever he want, and Tseng could or should only stop him if whatever he did was in conflict with an order from an even higher rank. Naturally, exploiting one's employees in this way is a terrible idea, just as it is a terrible idea to kiss one's crush without their consent after just having admitted to watching them without being noticed and just having told them that they were hot. Any of these actions would have been too much, but to Rufus Shinra, this was barely enough.

Tseng's back bumped into the wall, but Rufus was still moving. Was he trying to escape? Would it be justified to beat him if he wasn't? His elbow folded as Rufus' face drew closer. What was best for the company? Rufus stopped just before their faces touched, then moved past toward his ear.

"I can give you what you want", he whispered into his ear. Tseng did not know how long Rufus had been spying on him, but if he did thoroughly, Tseng had no doubt that he knew what he was talking about. Rufus' other hand reached around his head and pulled the hairband from his hair. His hair fell down into his face as Rufus slowly closed his eyes and his lips closed over Tseng's in a forceful kiss. He tasted coffee. He felt Rufus' hand bury in his hair at the back of his head and the other pressed his hand against the wall.

Tseng finally tilted his head slightly and returned the kiss. He felt Rufus' mouth twist into a smile as the kiss went on, but as Rufus finally pulled back, Tseng was still trying to make out the younger man's intentions. Although the Turk had been involved with both men and women, he had never cared much to get involved with a person beyond just physical intimacy, aside from Aerith, whose rejection of him was so strong that he would never even dare to attempt anything. Rufus was incredibly handsome with slicked back platinum-blonde hair, symmetrical features, pointed chin, piercing blue eyes and an unparalleled sense of fashion. He was known as a serious, stoic type, much in contrast to his father, whose antics in the past and present made him known as a playboy. This made the behavior he was displaying toward Tseng all the more surprising. Could he be taken seriously or was he just bored in his captivity? But starting a relationship of whatever kind with his captive and future boss? Calling this a bad idea would be an understatement as big as the Midgar Zolom. Yet, the idea was surprisingly intriguing.

Still grabbing Tseng's hair, the vice-president pulled him closer and away from the wall, but Tseng halted his movement just before their lips touched and said "Materia". "Excuse me?", Rufus asked, dumfounded. "Materia", Tseng repeated, breathing heavily. Rufus let go of his hair and said: "Sorry, I thought you were into that kind of thing." Tseng straightened his hair and suit and picked up the hairband from the floor.

He could overpower Rufus at any time. He was not much of a hand-to-hand fighter, but in terms of physical fitness, he thought himself far superior to the young man who had spent most of his life studying to be prepared as the successor of the Shinra company and designing his next line of fashionable outfits. He could have fought him off easily with just his bare hands, but that could have had serious consequences for him later. So he had gambled on Rufus recognizing a safeword.

"You're well-informed, but I like to do it on my own terms with a person of my choice." He tied his hair back together and continued as Rufus sat back down on the couch: "And I am under the impression that you are trying to use your position as my superior to get me to do something I don't actually want to do" Rufus pouted in annoyance. Tseng folded his arms. "Don't get me wrong. I am flattered. Very much in fact. But-", he stated firmly as Rufus broke into a smile. "I am afraid that is not enough to forget that we share a professional connection that cannot be severed. And mixing personal affairs with business is hardly ever a good idea." Rufus lightly tapped the back of the couch as he mused: "You would know that." Tseng looked away. "I'm just a tool for the company and I am willing to give my life for whatever cause my superiors deem worthy to sacrifice a Turk for." He looked back at Rufus. "It may seem fun and exciting now that you don't have to make any tough decisions, but I would not want you to have your judgement clouded by personal feelings." The same was true for his own judgement.

Rufus rolled his eyes at the lecture, but he did not argue with it. "I cannot afford having a conflict of interest now. When the time comes for you to take over the company, I will not leave your side if you still want me to do that by then." Rufus looked up. "Is that so?" Tseng closed his eyes. "Not even once. I think you will find it quite irritating to have me around at all times." Rufus supported his tilted head on his arm. "Because you're no fun?" Tseng's lips twitched into the semblance of a smile. "It wasn't a requirement for the job." Rufus tapped the back of the couch again. "I think we will have tons of fun." Tseng chuckled. He did not know it then, but he had already fallen into the trap Rufus Shinra had laid out for him. That is not necessarily to say that the Vice President had malicious intentions; it simply becomes so much harder not to think about someone favorably after becoming aware that they could be a viable romantic partner, especially if that possibility is riddled with conflict.

Tseng was struggling to keep a calm demeanor, but one part of him wanted to scream in frustration and another wanted to surrender himself to Rufus entirely, body, heart and soul. But the Turk inside of him kept him from doing either of these things. He hoped that no one had seen what had just happened here. And the truth was that he had no idea how to act, now that he knew of Rufus' desire. He was not fully confident in his ability to resist the temptation, but he hoped that Rufus would eventually see that it was not a good idea and it would be better not to try anything. But he was not confident in that either. And the way Rufus was still looking at him told him much of what he had to expect. He sighed. "It's getting late. I'm doing overtime already and my hours are really expensive for the company. So if you don't need anything else, I think I should go home now." Rufus shrugged. "I don't think keeping you here would be a waste of money, but I won't ask again. Looks like I'll have to be patient until my old man kicks the bucket."