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“-and if SOLDIER wants to be given liberties then-”
Rufus bit back a sigh, somewhat listening as Heidegger continued to rile his brother up. Lazard would likely win this little tete-a-tete, but not without having to go through quite an argument. And no Sephiroth with him to intimidate Heidegger into silence. No, the silver general was away at the moment, and the arguably more politically inclined crimson commander left in his place.
Surprisingly, Genesis didn’t seem at all inclined to step in, where normally he was all too eager to put Heidegger in his place. In fact, he seemed… distracted. His gaze had turned a little distant, a small frown on his lips as he blinked slowly.
Then his nostrils flared, quick and irritated, and Rufus swallowed hard. Oh.
Knowing what he was looking for immediately, he reassessed. Distant, glassy gaze… parted, frowning lips… nostrils flaring in quick warning, a wrinkle of irritation up at his bridge as a gloved hand abruptly left where it had been holding his coffee thermos to fit beneath his nose. A brief squint before his eyes closed tight and he tensed to keep his movement to a minimum. The sound was completely muted at the distance they had between them, but he could fill it in. There was a pause as he opened his eyes slowly, just barely lifting his head before it ducked back down, the second stifle taking him with enough force to send a shudder through his shoulders.
Then a third, and Rufus was both slightly concerned and entirely too distracted. It was fairly warm in the meeting room, what was setting him off?
Genesis seemed to recover at last, shifting in his seat and smoothly inserting himself into the conversation with the confidence of a man who knew he was going to win the argument. But there was the slightest thickness to his voice when he started speaking and Rufus found himself tongue tied for entirely too long.
As soon as the meeting was over, he was going to have words with his SOLDIER.
It would be a complete and utter baldfaced lie for Rufus to say he’d been paying attention to the meeting. His attention was on Genesis the entire time, straining to catch every sniffle and hitch - and gods but he did, more than just the initial three. Something was bothering him, badly. And yet there was an unexpected sort of heaviness as well.
The meeting couldn’t come to an end quickly enough, he needed to talk to him. Needed to find out what was bothering him, because he was never like this, just out of the blue. It wasn’t simple irritation, there was an urgency that said need, that he was just barely controlling it, never mind actually stopping it.
He rose as if to follow Lazard out when the meeting ended, and Rufus pointedly cleared his throat. “A moment, Commander.”
Genesis paused, arching a brow at him and waiting. There was a ghost of a smile; he was well aware just what Rufus wanted to talk to him about. Bastard.
Rufus took his time coming over, letting the others filter out of the room and waving his brother on absently. He was too fixed on Genesis to even mind the little smirk Lazard gave them before leaving, watching his SOLDIER attentively. “What was that.”
“Which part?” Genesis asked, sipping his drink. Standing this close, there was definitely still a little thickness to his voice. Not much, not even so much that the average person would notice, but Rufus paid him special attention.
“That little episode of yours,” Rufus said.
“Oh, the sneezing?” He asked, far too innocently to be believable. There was a slow curl of a smirk to his lips as Rufus narrowed his eyes, distracting in itself for the wicked glee within.
“Yes that.” As you well know. Rufus didn’t sigh, but he did tense, seeing the very beginnings of another starting, the quick blink of recognition, a subtle inhale. “Genesis-”
“Sorry, I - h’h!” Genesis turned aside slightly, hand raised in partial cover that didn’t hide how his teeth clenched, his body tensing in an instinctive effort to control what was inevitably about to come. His breath hitched again, hard, and he ducked towards his hand with a shuddering, “h’hh-nxxgSTCH!”
“Bless you,” Rufus murmured, watching his brows knit together. “Again?”
Genesis nodded, taking another sharp breath. “nxxt! ngk-ESSHIH! uhn… snf. So sorry.”
“Bless you,” he repeated tightly, feeling his face warm when Genesis reached into his jacket and procured a handkerchief. A deliberate, new addition to his attire - he never carried anything. Rufus licked suddenly dry lips as he watched Genesis brush it delicately beneath his nose. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but against the stark white of the fabric it almost looked like he was starting to get faintly pink. “Genesis…”
“I may be coming down with a bit of a cold,” Genesis admitted, sniffing quietly and putting the cloth back as if he hadn’t just completely destroyed his lover’s concentration for the next few hours.
“You’re sick?”
“Mildly,” Genesis said, far too entertained to judge by the little smile on his lips. “It’ll pass. Nothing I can’t do a little work in-office through.”
“I see.” Rufus watched him a long moment in silence. “You’ll be home on time, however.”
“Of course I will.” Genesis smirked. “I wouldn’t deprive you of the show.”
He shouldn’t ask, he shouldn’t - “Show?”
“Oh I’ve been quite a mess this morning, darling,” Genesis murmured, wrinkling his nose. “Bad enough I couldn’t stop it during the meeting, even. I did try.”
“Don’t you start,” Rufus warned.
Genesis smirked, raising his hand and rubbing lightly under his nose. “Start what?”
“Genesis…”
He chuckled softly, letting his hand drop. “Later, then.”