It Should've Been Me
(Tseng was badly injured by Sephiroth. If it wasn't for Elena, who knows what else would've happened. But, as grateful as he is that his life was saved, he's afraid he might lose the most important thing in it. A different approach to the night at the Temple. TsengElena)
"You get well soon, Big Brother."
Tseng smiled and touched his little sister's hair. "Thank you, Mei-mei."
"We'll be back tomorrow. Is there anything you'd like? Fruits? Apples, maybe?", his mother inquired.
"No, I'm fine Mother. Thank you."
"Well I think it's about time we gave Tseng his rest.", his father then suggested. "Get well soon, champ."
Tseng smiled and waved goodbye to his family.
It's been two weeks since he and Elena were admitted in the hospital. Since then, Tseng had been recovering well. Everyday, he gets less aware of the stitches in his abdomen. Being visited almost everyday helps too. Which is not what he could say for his colleague.
He was discharged from the ICU three days ago. But Elena is still in there; life-support and all. Even in her dire situation, no-one would visit her. Except maybe for Reno and Rude who come by every other day; and him, Tseng, who goes there every single day.
That's because her family has no idea about what happened to her. Contrary to his who were informed immediately. Elena's family practically disowned her the day she decided to join the Turks. Hers was a conventional family; where girls stay at home and boys do the work. But Elena doesn't want to stay at home. And her family wasn't too happy with that decision. When she left, both sides cut off contact with each other. Elena didn't seem to mind at all. She even seemed happy to leave that sexist prison.
But now, Tseng felt a little guilty. He only needed stitches to close off the wound Sephiroth made in the middle of his stomach. But he had fruits and flowers everyday. Elena was in a terrible coma. But nobody bothered to bring her fruits and flowers.
Tseng got out of his bed and headed for Elena's room in ICU. When he went in, he noticed a vase with fresh flowers on the nightstand and a teddy bear right next to Elena's pillow. Reno must've been here. And probably Rufus too (the teddy bear). Tseng pulled up a chair next to her bed.
Elena's usually rosy cheeks were pale now. Her chest rose and fell as she breathed slowly. She looked unbearably vulnerable with her eyes closed and all those tubes and wires connected to her. Anyone who knew Elena would know that she's far from vulnerable. Tseng knew that. But, looking at her now, it seemed hard to believe.
Tseng took Elena's hand in his and kissed it softly. It wasn't as warm as it used to be. It wasn't as warm as it used to be when Elena would borrow a pen from him. It wasn't as warm as it used to be when they'd reach for the last muffin at the same time at the cafeteria (chocolate mint is their favorite).
This should've been me.
That night at the Temple of the Ancients he'd finally gone around to asking her out. She even said yes. Finally. A date with Elena. But Sephiroth begs to disagree.
Tseng wouldn't have noticed him if Elena hadn't screamed "Tseng! Watch out!". But even then, it was too late when Tseng saw him. There was no more room for him to dodge that blade.
Just then, Elena appeared in front of him and kicked Sephiroth's hand. It wasn't enough for him to drop his sword. But it stunned him. That bought Tseng time to move out of the way and get his gun out. But, just as he aimed, he heard the sickening sound of Sephiroth's blade piercing Elena's soft stomach. Almost half of the blade was jutting out of her back. Her arms fell limply to her sides.
"Elena!", he heard himself scream. He lost his focus and wasn't able to aim properly. The two bullets he fired flew harmlessly past Sephiroth's face. By then, the SOLDIER was aware of the other Turk. With his blade, he lifted Elena up. He swung his sword violently and flung the female Turk almost twenty feet from him. She hit slap-bang on a hard stone wall. Tseng could hear the impact of Elena's bones. "ELENA!", he screamed more loudly.
He emptied the magazine on Sephiroth. But he lost his focus. None of his shots found its mark. The silver-haired man walked ominously closer to Tseng. When he was close enough, he impaled Tseng too. But unlike what he did to Elena, he just pulled the blade from the Turk's body.
Tseng fell to the ground. He was smart enough to pretend that he was already dead. Otherwise, the silver-haired SOLDIER would've made sure he was. He was thinking Elena must've been doing the same thing because she wasn't moving. He prayed Elena was doing the same thing that's why she wasn't moving.
As Sephiroth left, Tseng waited until he was surely sure that their attacker was gone. When he couldn't hear footsteps anymore, he waited for another five minutes just to be sure. Then he struggled to get up and called Reno's PHS. Thankfully, he picked up immediately. Tseng told Reno what happened and to bring paramedics with him. After informing the red-head he staggered to Elena.
He cradled her limp body and shook it softly. "He's gone now, Elena. You could wake up.". But she didn't move. She didn't even groan. He shook a little harder this time. "Elena! Wake up!". Still nothing. He held back the tears. Turks don't cry. "Elena?", he choked. He buried his head in her neck. No…
His guilt-ridden grief was interrupted by the sound of a helicopter and the gust it brings with it. Reno, Rude, and some guys in white emerged from it. "Tseng!", Reno cried urgently, "I came as fast as I could.". The guys in white took Elena from Tseng and put her on a gurney. Seeing the gurney reminded him of his own wounds. Suddenly, Reno and Rude have twins and everything starts spinning. "Tseng!", he heard Reno and Rude say. Then, everything went black.
He woke up twenty-four hours later. His mother's and little sister's tear-stained faces beamed when he looked at them. But he couldn't smile yet. Not until he knows she's alright. He asked Reno and Rude, who were at the other side of his bed.
"You tell him, man.", Reno retreated behind Rude.
Rude let out this big sigh. "Elena's alive…", he said a little too somberly. Tseng's face lights up a little.
"For now…", Rude added.
"I don't understand.", Tseng's heart-rate monitor beats faster.
"Tseng…!", Mei tries to calm her brother down. But he's not listening. He needed to know how Elena is.
"Blunt trauma on the head. Coma.", Reno finished.
It should've been me.
It's been a month since Tseng was discharged from the hospital. It's been a month since he last saw Elena. He passes by her office on his way to his. It's quiet. He doesn't even bother to open the door. She's not there. If she was, there would be music playing from her stereo.
He goes in his office and finds a grande cappuccino on his desk with a post-it-note on it. Elena!
Elena always arrives at work first. And she seems to know Tseng so well that she's almost memorized what time he arrives. Because every morning, there's a grande cappuccino waiting at his desk. It's still hot and it always has a post-it-note on it that says Have a good day Tseng! From, Elena. Sometimes she'd doodle a smiley, sometimes a flower, and occasionally, a heart.
Tseng loves it when she does that. In fact, he loves it so much he wanted to show her how much he appreciates it. Elena walked into her office one day and was greeted by a ridiculously big but beautiful bouquet of roses and a teddy bear that was half her height. There was a card on the bouquet that read Thank you for the coffee. From, Tseng.
Tseng picks up the big cup of coffee. Maybe Elena just went out for a while. He reads the note attached to it. It's not Elena's loopy school-girl handwriting. More of a hurried scribble that's a little legible. Stopped by the coffee shop. Reno. Oh.
He settles in his chair and gets started on the paperwork that arrived this morning. But something else is on his desk today. It's a form from the Shinra Medical Center. They don't have Elena's family's address so they mailed it to the Turks' office. Specifically, Tseng's office. He was the boss, after all.
As he reads what's on the form, he realizes what it is. It's a waiver asking for permission to remove Elena from life-support. There was nothing more the hospital could do. The letter attached to it says Elena was pronounced brain dead a minute before midnight last night.
For a long time, Tseng stared at the piece of paper in front of him until nothing was clear anymore.
Elena's dead…
It should've been me…
my first fic. what do you think? please leave a review. ^_^ thanks!