Standard disclamers naturally apply, since otherwise I would hardly make use of this site. It does have 'fan' in the title, dears.
Anyway, I know I'm a dirty person. I have a natural affinity for writing angst and an uncontrollable attraction to threeways. I just like it, alright? Sorry.
I always thought Tseng and Rufus made a very elegant, pretty sort of couple. I guess I just needed to soil it with a bit of boyishness. :)
Reno thought sometimes, believe it or not.
Sometimes- a bit more often than he should- he thought about his bosses, Rufus and Tseng.
The three of them were like three corners of the personality triangle.
He was loud, while Rufus and Tseng were quiet.
Tseng was direct, while Reno rambled and Rufus spiraled.
Rufus was manipulative, while Tseng and Reno where fairly open about their intentions.
The list went on even to the most obscure, irrelevant things, like his love for gross amounts of ketchup, while the more sophisticated men preferred the tangy, infinitesimally light alcoholic taste of Dijon mustard.
Like the dark exotic qualities of Tseng's eyes compared to their own bright orbs.
The way Rufus preferred white to their black.
The way he strayed on irrelevant notions while they did not. For example: was it wrong for him to be so madly, desperately in love with two people at once?
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Reno had spent far too long moping about his stubborn desire for the pair- far too long. He'd sunk into a hazy stupor, reminding himself over and over that the norm was to be straight, and while he was bisexual himself that was hardly a reason to assume anyone else in the office was. Elena liked Tseng, after all, and Rude liked Tifa.
Frankly, he was sure everything would be so much easier for everyone if the world was just damn bi, because he wouldn't have to spend hours day in and day out reminding himself there was no reason to believe he had a chance with either of them.
He felt silly even contemplating the idea that such direct, (somewhat) normal people (for their occupation, anyway) might be interested in a fool like him. It didn't make anything feel better, though.
When he, in passing, heard Crimson gossip about how she had heard Tseng had first joined the Turks after he'd lost everything- what with his longtime boyfriend dying in a house fire- Reno felt his heart stop. Slowly the exhilarated feeling of hope built in his throat, and he felt dizzy. He had a change with Tseng. He had a damn chance! It was tiny, but it was there!
He laughed, euphoric, practically dancing his way down the hall.
This was going to look really silly, he knew. Rufus needed to be guarded at all times because there was a way of shooting him through the windows of his office if you were really desperate. Therefore the leader of the Turks shared the man's huge office- there was plenty of room for both of them, anyway, and anything involving the one generally involved the other, so why not? But professing to the one you loved while the other one you loved watched was hardly normal.
Not that the other two would be acquainted with that fact, anyway. So he let himself in in typical Reno fashion: loudly.
"Sorry to interrupt anything, yo!" He beamed as he entered, faltered for a split second and caught himself quickly, keeping his grin steady and his stance clear of signs of distress, eyes focused on the office's residents.
The office's residents whom, it seemed, actually had been interrupted after all.
Tseng was standing just behind Rufus's chair, hand curling around either side of the plush leather backing. Rufus was sitting with a slight curve in his spine, fingers tangled in Tseng's long, dark hair. His head was arched back, and Tseng's head was bent down towards him. They'd obviously been just about to kiss.
Now they were both regarding him, exasperated, as they resumed more professional positions, Tseng moving to the side of the desk.
"Um, I was just wondering if… you know… I-well, I really… Can I go home now? There's only paperwork, and I swear I'll do it tomorrow, and I just had a really bad day. I just need to get the hell out of here like- now? Please?"
They both watched him in cold scrutiny and he felt his insides practically collapsing- he was hardly the type to cry but right now he felt like a heartbroken little girl.
"Please?" he asked again, practically croaking. The silence stretched.
"Your day couldn't have possibly been that bad, Reno."
His fists were clenched and shaking, head bowed. 'Oh yeah?' he wanted to say. 'Have you ever been madly in love and then had your heart broken? No? Of course you haven't. You have, though, right Tseng? Now, imagine you love two people. Right? And you get your heart broken by both- at the same damn time. So, you two want to run that bullshit by me again, yo?' That hardly would've been conducive to the situation, he thought.
"You've got no fucking idea," he answered instead, throat tight and painful.
He watched them exchange a look, watched the silent message pass seamlessly between them, and recognized the signs. He didn't get that kind of communication with Rude, for god's sake, and he was practically the only person he ever talked to. That told him one thing- any hope of even the least bit of affection from either of them was washed down the drain and through the sewers to be drowned at the bottom of the frozen sea.
He let his eyes close with a shudder, arms hanging limply at his sides.
He felt someone pull him in and shut the door in a one motion, frowning as Tseng steered him to the chair across from Rufus and pushed him into it, hands lingering on his shoulders a moment too long before he stood back at the desk's edge, one hand on the surface as he leaned to watch Reno's expression carefully.
Rufus sank back, cocking his head. "Then explain."