[ the distinctive sound of dog on furniture draws tseng's gaze briefly back into rufus' suite—that is certainly the kind of indulgence that tseng doesn't allow when rufus isn't around—but he's unwilling to leave rufus' side, and anyway he knows rufus will let darkstar do whatever she wants regardless. so after a second his attention slides back to rufus, just in time for his kiss to land softly against the corner of tseng's lips.

it's a quiet, tender gesture despite the playfulness of rufus' words, and it makes tseng smile a bit to himself as he lifts his free hand to rest briefly at rufus' waist. ]

I can neither confirm nor deny, [ tseng says, in his very best diplomatic tone, so exaggerated that rufus will certainly know he's joking. ] But it might be a start.

[ it would mark, tseng thinks, the first time he's ever been drunk around rufus. first time he's been drunk in a long time anyway, but least of all with rufus, whose safety tseng has always been charged with guarding. it would be inconceivable for tseng to allow himself to be incapacitated in any regard, were he still nothing more than a turk to the president and not in equal measure just tseng to just rufus, these days. ]

But if you're offering quid pro quo I won't decline that, either. Show me where you keep your glasses?