Author's Note: It's been a while and I just wanted to write something. I didn't know where I was going so I just let it go where it wanted. If you've read support I love writing the Turks being venerable with each other so this was more looking into them. Review kindly.
Collateral Damage: By Blood-Sucker-1428
Tseng can barely keep up. He's having trouble keeping his breath sturdy and yet he is undetected. He doesn't know whether to be proud at his own masking abilities or be ashamed of his fellow Turk's investigating abilities – particularly since he trained two of the three.
He had been relieved that they had not noticed before, too relieved to see that their boss actually lived, too worried about Rufus, to notice that Tseng winced to himself when Reno gave him an excited hug almost knocking him over. Reno did notice the loss of muscle mass, he'd given Tseng a second squeeze, clearly evaluating the fact that his ribs were more protrusive than they had been before. The boy hadn't been concerned though – his boss and friend had just come back from the dead. The fact that it had been barely any time since their boss was apparently killed from being sliced deeply from one side of his abdomen to the other and surely should be in no condition to work any type of job yet was nothing compared to him being there in the flesh. He'd let them have that.
And then Rufus had got kidnapped and they were busy dealing with that and Tseng used all his ability to appear the steady rock of a leader as he always did. It was very trying, very testing, and with the absence of easily available pain killers. Luckily searching required sending each out on their own separate mission occasionally so he could take it all at a slower pace.
They had got Rufus back but then Rufus was sick. Once again, Tseng had to keep to façade that everything was ok with him on so that they could all keep it together for Rufus' sake and for their own.
The dust had begun to settle now and time had passed enough that he did not feel it appropriate to drop the bombshell that he was still in recovery and was told by the previous boss of the Turks, his father figure, that going back to the Turks was not the best idea. He didn't need to worry them more than necessary. But they were smart and should have worked it out by now and yet hadn't. He'd have to get them back into a training regime soon.
That's how he'd found himself in this situation. They heard that a shipment of medical supplies had crashed just outside the outskirts of Midgar – supplies that Healen and Edge could use quite desperately. They were to go on foot – to not create attention from all the gangs and outlaws that had cropped up in the area since the meteor. Cissnei, Tseng's old partner and had never been taken off his speed dial, had been called to keep an eye on Rufus while they all went to collect as much as possible. Tseng could hear the smile in her voice as she agreed. Once a Turk, always a Turk, and other such sayings.
He was cursing to himself now however, as they prepared to half walk/half climb down the steep rock face in front of them. They'd walked a long way in their uniforms in the summer heat, and had already run into two bandit groups. It required man power and discrepancy and therefore all of them on foot. He had to be so damn clever sometimes, didn't he? Tseng was getting dizzy and feeling the fatigue faster than he ever had before as he stared down at the ground below. Reno and Rude had already begun their descent when Elena looked over to him. He could see that she was hiding a frown that threatened to crease her forehead. Sweet, naïve and yet not naïve Elena, who knew the boss was usually the first to do anything, at least she'd notice his hesitation at this rock face.
"Sir?" She asked. He looked her in the eyes and a warm smile crossed her face. Sweet Elena who had yet to ask about their dinner since he'd returned, not even asking why he had not mentioned it. She nodded to the ground.
"After you." He said, also nodding in the direction. Her smile faltered for only a millisecond before it returned and she began to go down. She had gotten better at recovering her mask. When had she improved? Probably from watching Rude while Tseng was barely alive.
When he was certain none of them were watching he took a deep steadying breath and took the first deep step. He took it slowly, but fast enough to appear casual rather than cautious, as the deep walk turned into the climb down. As he climbed he could feel the still red, angry flesh tightening in disagreement at every large movement. He dropped to ground finally and fought all natural urges to sigh with relief. The three of them were waiting, standing in a circle. Tseng walked towards them and once he'd reached Reno's side they kept walking, the boy now casually keeping at his boss's slightly slowed pace, hands in his pockets. Reno, who appeared so nonchalant all the time but was so loyal and trusting to all the Turks. He would have been at loss without Tseng, taking on the role of "boss-man". Rude would have looked after him though, like the rock Rude was whenever anyone needed it.
"There." Rude's deep voice came after an impossibly long amount of time and sure enough, entering their view, a crashed truck came into view.
They'd secured the area before they recovered items from the truck. Sure enough, they'd found three large containers of emergency supplies. Testing, Tseng leaned over and picked up a container, feeling his insides almost rip and burn in protest, and he placed it down automatically. Carefully keeping his cool he looked at the three Turks looking at him with their complete trust.
"They're quite heavy." He spoke in his collected velvety voice. "Would not be an issue for a SOLDIER but as far as we go." He looked over to Elena. "Elena, can you gather any lighter items from within the truck. There were a few blankets designed for people in shock." She looked like she was going to argue but then tried lifting a corner of container with one hand.
"Yes, sir." She'd said straight away and Reno had laughed so hard earning a glare from Elena, an eye roll from Tseng, and a crack of a smile from Rude. The dynamics of the group were as perfect as they had ever been.
Again he just wanted to kick himself for being so damn clever and so damn considerate to the blonde woman who smiled so sincerely to a killer dog like him. His vision was starting to blur and blacken around the edges and he was barely aware of Reno's happy chatter to his left. He couldn't pay attention to anything but his insides clenching and his skin burning as each step became harder and harder. He stopped walking as his vision went white for a second as he felt something tear – most likely his freshest skin.
"-Boss-man? Yo, Boss-ma." He heard Reno's voice dripping with concern. Tseng had clearly missed the beginning of the question.
"Hmm?" He hummed, weaker than expected, looking up to the taller man's bright blue eyes but not being able to focus.
"I asked if you were alright, sir. Your face went pale." Tseng cleared his throat and shook his head.
"I'm fine Reno, I assure you." He started walking forward. "Let's not delay this any further, shall we?" He'd missed the look Reno and Rude exchanged with each other and that frown that threatened Elena's face again.
This was Veld's fault, an irrational side of his mind started arguing. Veld had trained Tseng from a very young age to inhabit everything that a Turk was supposed to be. The company comes first and other mantras came to mind. Of course, it was his own weakness at fault too, the logical side came, he's the one too worried about the people who depend on him to admit to needing help.
They kept walking for what felt like an eternity but in reality they could not even be a third of the way back. He'd only noticed how far behind the group he'd fallen when Reno had turned to look for him. He had tried to say something to Reno but clearly had failed as no noise came and his second in command quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head. Then everything went black and the last thing he was aware of was Reno's voice as he yelped Tseng's name.
The next thing he knew was the sensation of being carried. He could feel his head against someone's shoulder. There was an arm under his knees and another against his back. The last time – well second last time – he remembered being carried this way was when he was fifteen. He and Sephiroth had snuck into the SOILDIER training room and had been practicing with the weapons. The two kids, aware that they were to be protégés in their respected training areas, had been idiotic enough to think they could muck around with real, sharp, weapons. Tseng had somehow ended up with his leg bleeding profusely. Scared of telling Veld and terrified of Hojo being the one to find out, Sephiroth had searched for the first Turk he could fine. He had found the large young man that was the new recruit; Rude. The man had gently picked the boy up and had promised not to tell the boy's father figures as he took Tseng to the infirmary. That had been the first little secret between Tseng and Rude, and that had begun a very trusting and loyal work relationship and friendship. This was not Rude though, the bony shoulder bone in Tseng's temple was enough to tell him that.
He'd opened his eyes long enough to be met with a tieless shirt and shut his eyes again. Reno then. Of course it would have been his second in command. As trust worthy as they all were, the point of a second in command was that they had your back. Reno literally had his back.
"Reno?" He asked quietly, trying to regain all of his cognitive skills.
"Hmm." Reno hummed in return. So much like Tseng, so much in the detachment needed from the acting head of the Turks.
"Why are you cradling me like a small child?" There was a pause.
"Because you're an idiot, that's why." Tseng blinked his onyx eyes open once again and took in as much information as he could. They were still on their way back to Healen, that much was obvious. Directly in his sight of vision Rude was now carrying two crates, straining slightly until he noticed Tseng's eyes on him and pulled over one of the Turk masks to hide the struggle. He strained to look over his shoulder at Elena who didn't even try to hide the worry on her face as she avoided looking at him. He looked up at Reno who wore the blank mask Tseng most often wore, as he walked forward. He then looked down at himself. His jacket had been opened and his shirt was stained a deep red with his own blood. So that was that, then.
"I see…" Tseng hummed to himself. Reno scoffed and Elena sighed, Rude outright looked Tseng in the eye.
"It looks bad." There was a hint of anger in Reno's voice. He wasn't speaking with his usual flow of 'yo's here and there. How curious. Tseng shrugged.
"It was bad." He answered.
"It is bad." Rude answered. Tseng hazard a look down his shirt and let a single laugh escape his voice. The would-be-scar was bleeding profusely but this was nothing when you had all but fought to keep your insides within your body.
"It's not that bad, all things considered."
"Then it must have been horrible." He tried to look over his shoulder at Elena when she spoke, because her voice was filled with grief.
Tseng allowed Reno to continue carrying him as his cognitive skills returned almost completely and his Turk façade fell into place. This was embarrassing and highly unnecessary. How pathetic it would look. Tseng was the head of the Turks and was supposed to stand strong regardless of the circumstances. That logical side of his brain was telling him that if he got up onto his feet the blood would flow more freely and he'd certainly faint again. The emotional side was asking him what Veld would say at the sight, or even what type of joke Rufus would make. What would one of his many enemies say? Unease began to raise in his chest.
"Reno, put me down." He said and Reno only scoffed. "Reno, this is degrading, put me down."
"You have got to be kidding me."
"Reno, I am completely serious, put me down." Tseng struggled, trying to pry himself away from Reno as the redhead held steadfast to him.
"What are you doing? Are you a complete idiot?" How many times had Tseng said that to Reno before? But Reno wasn't right, he didn't understand. Tseng yanked his arm free from Reno's hold.
"Reno, I am your superior." He went for a pressure point in Reno's shoulder, pressing hard. The taller man gasped and lost all hold on the boss as Tseng began plummeting to the ground. As Tseng hit the ground his vision went completely white for a good ten seconds before it cleared up. All three of them were staring at Tseng, almost in complete horror. Reno was rubbing his shoulder.
"Are you insane!?" Reno all but shouted. Slowly, and shakily Tseng got to his feet, wiping off his trousers even though he could tell they were ruined with blood leaking from his shirt onto his pants. Habit, he supposes. He looks at the three of them, trying to focus, and begins walking away at as fast rate as possible.
"You are if you think we're going to waste time and effort standing here all day."
"Tseng." It was Elena's voice calling to him now, using his name too. He'd never heard his name said so many times in one day for a very long time. It sounded strange. "Tseng you're hurt." She was openly pleading.
He sighed and answered over his shoulder. "It's merely the opening of the exterior wound. If it were any of the internal ones I would not be awake and talking, let alone walking, believe me."
"It must have been awful, why didn't you tell us?" She asked more softly. He hesitated at the venerability.
"Because you needed me."
"Exactly!" Reno was walking directly behind him by the sounds of his angry voice. "We need you, man. So why did you try and hide this? We thought you were dead for God's sake!" Tseng stopped in his track, head spinning slightly as he turned around to face Reno. The younger man had to stop quickly to avoid a collision.
"Because a leader has no weaknesses, particularly a Turk." He locked eyes with Reno, black on blue. "You needed a strong leader and I'll be damned if the Turks are left weak again." Like when Veld had left. Reno scowled.
"You? Have no weaknesses?" He spat. "You've gotta be kidding me, look at you! You're one of the most flawed people I've ever met!" Tseng flinched, Reno had touched an old nerve. "You stress out way too much, you clearly have some form of obsessive compulsive disorder with your stupid routines, you hate change, and even though you do a great job of pretending to be like every other Turk boss and pretend we're just employees you care way too much." He calmed now. "I was running this place fine without you – everything was running smoothly. We didn't need you the calculating boss, we needed you whose sarcasm has hidden depths of encouragement and yells at you – not because he screwed up but because he cares. You're the glue, Tseng, you hold this mismatched group together." They held their gaze for a long time before Tseng dared to speak.
"I –" he faltered. "I didn't know." And Reno shrugged and kicked his feet. "That may be true but I need this." He said, mask completely dropping and looking up at Reno earnestly. "I need to be the leader of the Turks. I have nothing else." Reno's face also softened as a slight smile graced his face and his eyes twinkled again.
"But boss, we could have helped. You should have stayed home today, yo." Tseng huffed in response.
"And leave you in charge of this, please, you would have been ambushed by those bandits and only Rude would have returned." Reno laughed, and Tseng rolled his eyes, falling back into old routines.
"Sir." He heard Rude's voice and looked up at him, Tseng's vision slightly out of focus. "You're wavering." And suddenly he was falling again but not before Reno caught him by the shoulders and picked him up, holding him to his feet. Tseng placed fingers to both of his temples and rubbed them gently. This was all too much.
"Come on boss-man." Reno spoke gently. "I don't want to let you bleed out here in the middle of nowhere. Who would stop me making stubborn mistakes like rushing into bandits head first." Tseng chuckled, a very rare noise that Reno had cherished from the beginning of his career.
"Fine." And then they had continued in previous position of Tseng being held in his second's arms with Rude and Elena walking calmly at their sides.
There was a silence for a long while before a single laugh was heard from Rude.
"Is there something that amuses you, Rude?" Tseng asked lazily.
"Rufus is going to kill you for hiding this." He answered. Reno had grinned at Rude and practically giggled. Elena sighed.
"He's going to be furious." She sighed in defeat and looked at Tseng with loss as if they were walking into his doom. "I'll miss you, sir." And they had all laughed.
Author's Note: Reno and Tseng friendship is my heart. Please review!