I feel him sigh against me. I'm not sure if he knows how incredibly hard it is for me to ignore him or even if he knows why I am ignoring him.

His arms loosen up from around my waist and he slowly moves away from me. I still haven't moved to acknowledge that he is there with me. I must admit, it is a very good test of my will power.

I feel his hands on my shoulders gently persuading me to turn around. I don't object and turn to look him in the eye. There's something in his eyes that usually isn't there. Regret.

He wraps his arms around me again and rests his head on my shoulder. I don't put my arms around him to hold him like I usually would. He doesn't move or say anything about it, but I know it bothers him. He loosens his hold on me; I feel the weight of his head leave my shoulder and find myself looking down at him, face to face. The regret is gone from his eyes; now he looks more hurt at the turn of events.

'I guess I deserve this.' I hear him say to me. I look away from him and go back to looking out my window. 'Yes, you do. It's only fair.' It's not quite what I had wanted to say to him, but it's all that would come out.

'Tseng?'

'Yes Rufus?'

I hear him sigh again. I turn my gaze back to him and he's looking down at the floor, almost like he's trying to find the right words to say. He finally looks back up at me and says in a quiet voice.

'I'm sorry.'

The old Rufus would never have apologized for anything, even though he would be fully aware that he was wrong. The new Rufus didn't mind admitting his mistakes to those that he trusted and cared about. The number of people that he trusts totals about 5; me, Reno, Rude, Elena and Reeve.

I want to hold him and tell him to not worry about it; that he has enough on his mind and that how we feel about what he's doing isn't important, but I can't. I do mind what he is doing and although I understand that he's under a lot of stress, I don't appreciate us being on the receiving end of his outbursts. I decide to play the idiot and not know what he's talking about.

'Sorry for what Rufus?' Somehow my voice didn't betray my feelings. I kept it as monotone as I always do.

'Why are you making this so difficult?' I can hear the frustration in his voice. He can hide his emotions very well from others, but he was never able to hide his emotions from me.

'Just tell me what you're sorry for Rufus. Please, enlighten me.'

I hear him sighing. I feel his arms wrap around my waist again and the weight of his head is back on my shoulder. He feels tense and given the silence that followed my comment, unsure of how to begin his apology.

'I'm sorry about how I have been treating you and the others.'

'How did you know that was what was bothering me?'

He was holding me tighter now, almost like he thought that if he let go I'd leave.

'Because if you were treating me the way I've been treating all of you I'd be upset too. I let work get the better of me again. I got carried away and I apologize. Do you forgive me?'

I had forgiven him the moment he had said that he was sorry. I could never stay mad at him long; he means too much to me.

'Tseng? You're being very quiet. Please say something.'

There are so many things that I wanted to say, but I didn't know where to start. I figured I'd just state the obvious. 'You said that you wouldn't do this again.'

'I know I did Tseng, I just got carried away. It's not an excuse for how I've been ignoring you and otherwise just treating everyone like dirt. I want this city fixed, I want to see it rebuilt. Now that I'm healthy again, I'd like to see the city on its feet as soon as possible. I don't mean to let the stress out on you. I'm sorry.'

'You promised that you'd stop living for your work and actually live outside your office. I'm getting tired of carrying you to bed or getting calls saying that one of them had to carry you out of your office.'

He sighed again, I knew that he was frustrated with the conversation. I'm sure this isn't anything like he expected.

'Tseng, I'm the President. I can't just shut my job off at the end of the day. If there's things come 5 pm that aren't completed, I have to stay and finish them whether I want to or not. It's always been like this, you've been here long enough to know that. The only thing that I can say I've really done wrong is take my frustrations out on other people and ignore those I care about.'

'I've apologized and I truly am sorry for how I've treated all of you. But you have to understand that until the city is back on its feet, I'll be working a lot of hours. If you can't accept this, then I understand.'

His grip loosened on me and he started to back away from me. I know that he thinks that I'm still upset with him given how I reacted to his confession. I couldn't hold back anymore. I needed to let him know that I had forgiven him and he needed to know that I was here for him and that I understood what was going on. I wrapped my arms around him and drew him closer to me. I felt him tense up, only for a moment, before he relaxed in my hold.

'I do understand the work that needs to be done, Rufus. That's not what is troubling me. I want you to promise me that you will take time out for yourself, for us and for the others. You need to live for yourself as well as for the people in the city.'

He nodded his head in agreement. 'I will Tseng. I may need to be coerced out of my office, but I will try my best to leave my work alone for a while.'

There was no need to say anything after that. I simply held him closer, which served as my thank you to him.

I could feel him smile against my chest. 'I didn't realize how much I missed having you hold me.'

'You don't realize how much I missed holding you.' Which was the truth. Not having him next to me was something that I didn't like thinking about, nor like to experience on a daily basis.

'Remind me to take a few minutes out of my day just for this.'

'Rufus, remember to take a few minutes of your day and let me hold you.'

He laughed a little at that. 'Heh, you know what I meant Tseng.'

'I know.' We stayed that way for a long while; neither one of us saying anything, only enjoying the sunset that was now coming through my office window.

The weight on my shoulder was getting a little heavier as the minutes wore on. I looked down and I realized why; Rufus was falling asleep. I must have moved my arms because he opened his eyes and looked at me.

I smiled down at him. His eyes were half closed and it was pretty obvious that he was comfortable where he was, not to mention exhausted. I guess the lack of sleep has finally caught up with him. 'Sleepy?'

He lazily smiled back up at me. 'Just a little. How could you tell?'

'I wouldn't be a very good guard if I didn't notice these little things, Rufus.' I removed my arms from around him and I swear I heard a small grumble from him when I did so.

'Why did you let go?'

I chuckled at the question. 'Because I'm tired of standing here and being your post. We could go someplace else and lie down instead.'

A small smirk appeared on his face. 'Well,' he began while wrapping one hand around my tie and the other around my neck. 'Where exactly were you thinking to go and lie down?'

I couldn't hide a small smirk of my own from appearing. 'I was thinking of someplace you haven't seen in a long time. Like your bed perhaps?'

Rufus nodded at the suggestion, removed his hands from around me and made his way to the door. He turned back to glance at me. 'Come on Tseng. It's not polite to keep your employer waiting.'

I left my spot near the window and made my way to meet him. 'Forgive me, sir. Let's go.'

Rufus' smile grew wider. 'Don't worry Tseng. I'm sure I can think of a few ways to punish you making me wait.'

It should go without mentioning that we both arrived late at work the next day, but in better moods then we had been in quite a while.

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A/N: This was my first real attempt at writing anything remotely yaoi-ish. Hopefully it turned out alright. Reviews are appreciated!