(Untitled)

[tseng]

Date: Summer, 1989
Summary: Rufus is coming home for a couple weeks during summer, and Tseng is sent to Junon to escort him home.
Rating: PG-13; might be some language
Open/Closed/Status: Tag Rufus

Comments

[iownallyall]

Rufus stood in the train station, arms crossed, shifting weight impatiently from one foot to the other. He knew he had arrived there early by most reasonable estimates, but he would have thought the Turk would have gotten there by now. When his escort did arrive, he was met with a glare. Tseng might not want to ask how long Rufus had been standing there, but that didn't stop Rufus from telling him anyway.

"Yes, and I have been for," he looked at his watch, "twenty-two minutes, and about 40 seconds."

At his feet lay a large duffel bag, which he made no move to pick up. He figured that was part of the Turk's job.

[tseng]

Tseng shifted on his feet for a moment, want to look anywhere but into that small, angry face. But he met those blue eyes, and nodded. Too bad the Turk that flew him here had booked it the second Tseng landed. Perhaps that was for the best, at least for anyone but Tseng.

He bent to retrieve the bag, and let out a little grunt from the weight. What did he pack in here? Don't ask...

The train took its dear sweet time making it down the track, but Tseng was too manly to put down the bag. He waited... and waited... and was forced to make small talk over the approaching noise of the train.

"Looking forward to the break, sir?" he asked.

[iownallyall]

Tseng's attempts at small talk were foiled as Rufus replied with little more than a "yes." In truth, of course, he had mixed feelings. He usually did regarding visits home. On one hand, it was good to be back in the center of things, and away from all the things he associated with school. On the other, being back put him far more in the public eye, and really he was never fond of seeing his father. A couple weeks at home meant a couple weeks of being paraded around as the cute little heir of ShinRa. But, if that's what he was headed for, he would rather get on with it.

When the train arrived, he walked onto it immediately, with barely a glance back to see if Tseng was following. He knew he would be.

[tseng]

Tseng had followed, of course. Like a faithful hound, Tseng grabbed Rufus' bags without a word, or even a grunt from the sheer weight of them. He'd barely had time to step onto the train before it shuddered, ready to leave.

The train would normally be quite full of students, Soldiers, and a scattering of other folks from Junon, but ShinRa's only son deserved to ride the train alone, without the yammering of ... adoring admirers. Tseng smirked at the thought.

Finally catching up, Tseng searched the sleeping section for a suitable bunk for himself, letting Rufus decide which he wanted. One thing Tseng didn't want was a contrary teenager on his hands.

He stuck his head out the sliding door to his own bunk. "All settled, sir? I believe they will be serving dinner soon."

[iownallyall]

Once on the train, Rufus picked a bunk across from Tseng's and flopped down onto it, leaving the sliding door open for the moment. In any other company, he probably would have instead sat neatly on the edge of the bunk instead of sprawling across it, but he knew he could relax a little bit around Tseng, and he may as well be comfortable.

He nodded in response to the question, and chose to make no comment on what he expected, or didn't as the case may be, of the train food. Rather, he rolled so that he was laying on his side, facing Tseng with his head propped up on one hand.

"Anything I should know about things going on at home?" He kept himself relatively informed for someone who spent most of his time away from the center of activity, but the last thing he wanted to find when he got there were nasty surprises. With his luck, his father would have planned out a whole schedule for him without bothering to inform him of half of it.

[tseng]

Tseng wasn't exactly excited about train food, either. Except this time, they were both going to be surprised. Jack had arranged for some home-cooked (sic) catering for Rufus' trip home. The smell managed to waft its way from the car ahead.

It certainly made Tseng perk up. Perhaps this trip wouldn't be so bad after all?

"I believe we should ready ourselves for dinner, sir. If you'd like to change? Or... well..." He looked around. He was the only Turk here, and really, the only other ShinRa operative around. It was very much a private ride. "How about we skip the formalities, and just go get something to eat?" He even managed a half-grin. "And then I can fill you in on things. Not that there's too much to go over."

[iownallyall]

Rufus likewise was somewhat invigorated by the scent of what seemed to be better-than-average food. It certainly smelled good, anyway. He actually hadn't realized until just then that he was hungry. He nodded briefly to Tseng before hopping out of the bunk he had claimed a moment earlier.

"Dinner sounds like a very good idea." He was looking forward a bit to the conversation as well. It would be good to catch up on whatever had been going on while he had been at school, and truth be told he generally enjoyed talking to Tseng. The Turk was one of the few people who seemed to distinctly avoid treating him like a kid. Not that many people did treat him particularly like a kid (at least not more than once), but somehow he still had the feeling that most people were looking down on him even if they spoke to him as if he was an adult.

He was fully aware that he got on Tseng's nerves at times, but that wasn't a product of his age.

oh, wait, i have to talk?

[tseng]

The food remarkably occupied Tseng's attention for a little while. He wasn't sure how, but the fact of being on the train, far from what he would otherwise consider solid comforts, having good food surprised him to the point of being ravenous