Chapter 1
It was one of those nights, calm and quiet. Peaceful. Crickets and other nocturnal insects filled the warm night air with their soft natural music. The occasional gentle ocean breeze would waft through the wide-open shoji screen doors and carry in the scent of the salty sea and the blooming blowers. Tseng could see the stars in the distant sky as he gazed past the balcony that was precariously perched on the cliffs' edge, as if it may break loose of the retreat and plunge into the lapping waves beneath. He was stripped bare of clothing and with only a towel covering his bare backside, a vulnerable position that was required of him for the next two nights. Lying on his stomach with all the bed covers folded neatly at the foot of the bed Tseng was not as comfortable as he would have liked. After being tortured by the remnants of Sephiroth in the Temple of the Ancients, Tseng and Elena had been left with heavy bodily scars, and irreparable physiological damage. It had been much to Rufus's relief that they had both returned, but at what cost? If they were to survive what the future held in store for them, both his Turks needed to be in a much better state than the one they had been left in. Which had led to the discovery of this seaside resort, a place for healing that catered to all without judgement or prejudice.
The woman who owned this little patch of hard-earned paradise in ocean side Costa del Sol had spared no expense in the attempt for a relaxing atmosphere. From the carefully chosen and strategically placed flowers planted around the property, to the lack of electrical lighting evident by the old style oil lamp on the bedside table to the back of Tseng's head. Filling the room with a soft and gentle glow. If Tseng listened hard enough he could hear the flame flickering as another ocean breeze drifted in from the midnight waves outside, ghosting over Tsengs' exposed skin. Skin that for no other reason would have been exposed to peoples prying eyes because his own body now intimidated the once confident Wutai Turk. A body slashed with dense scars that reminded him of how truly helpless one could be. Silk black hair lifted and caressed over his bare shoulders and neck, delivering a tickling sensation Tseng felt the need to be rid of.
After rolling his shoulders to relieve himself of the irritating feel of his long loose hair over his broad pale shoulders, Tseng then eased himself up off the down stuffed pillows and rested on his elbows as he crossed his arms bellow him and stared more intently out the wide-open screen door. Stars winked at him from far away universes; places Tseng was both tempted to see and would loath to be involved with at the same time. He was too much invested in his own planets' recovery to worry about the affairs of others for the time being. He heard the crackle of the oil lamp flicker more dramatically as the door to his room slowly and soundlessly opened. It could have been just about anyone, but only one person was expected to visit him at this time of night with him in this state of undress.
"I apologise for the delay, your comrades were in a worse state than I had originally thought."
He listened to the soft footsteps as someone entered before turning his head slightly to catch an awkward glimpse of whom it might have been. He watched with keen, carefully trained eyes as a tall, bare foot woman entered the room before turning to close the door soundlessly behind her. She wore a sleeveless white silk blouse and black dress pants rolled up slightly at the cuffs so they didn't drag on the floor. As usual, honey brown hair was twisted into a merciless bun on the top of her head. Her outward appearance was strictly professional, much the same as Tseng, his Turks, and his employer dressed when presenting themselves to the world. She met his eyes as she turned to face him again, warm ocean blues meeting calculating earth brown. Her walk was slow and unrushed, movements flowing from one to the next with an almost practiced elegance that only added to the air or relaxation she had so skilfully cultivated. She walked to Tsengs' blind side as he settled dutifully back down among the pillows.
"Who was it this time?" Tseng inquired conversationally, but there was a genuine concern for those under his command. However, his caution was put at ease almost immediately by the knowledge that this womans' skilled hands would have relieved all his Turks of their burdens. At least for the next couple of days.
The woman slowly exhaled a single breath almost as if in an attempt to relax herself before Tseng heard the snap of a plastic bottles' cap only moments before the barely perceptible scent of lavender enveloped the small space around the two of them.
"Rude was suffering from neck pain and nearly all the vertebra in his neck needed to be realigned. I would conclude that something had fallen on his head and put them out of place." Tseng listened to the woman's diagnosis with the same frame of mind he would adopt while reading a mission report that was mandatory that he read. "Reno," She continued, "As usual, had to have his entire lower back realigned. Again, I would conclude that he's posture is still slouched despite my efforts to convince him to refrain from doing so." Her voice was low and melodic as she spoke slowly, almost leisurely as she relayed the problems of Tsengs' associates to him, all the while rubbing the lavender scented oil into the soft skin of her hands. Tseng nodded curtly in ways of acknowledging the womans' prognosis. "Rufus has improved greatly, although that it more than likely due to the fact that he no longer relies on a wheelchair." She stated it plainly, despite that fact that she knew full well what the young blond had done during his short life. Smooth and well-oiled fingers gently glided across Tseng's shoulders, mapping over the scars and the muscles underneath before the true work began. Tseng could feel the cool layer of oil over his skin left behind from the womans' searching hands, and it had just started to give him a chill when she pushed down with her fingers and kneaded firmly at Tsengs' shoulders with a constant pressure. As an instant reaction to the womans' prodding, Tsengs' body urged to tense. That would only cause him a world more discomfort, so to fight off the sudden need to clench his muscles Tseng used all the instruments of calm and serenity carefully placed around him.
Now was the time that all those barely detectable, pleasing scents and soft comforting sounds came to good use. Tseng let his consciousness wander away from the insistent pressure pushing into sore muscles and to the other aspects of the world around him and willed himself to relax and submit to her messaging hands. He listened to the gentle backdrop of waves lapping at the cliff bellow the balcony, to the more dominant sounds of the insects in the grass calling to each other outside the open windows, and to the soft hummed lullaby she was rehearsing while gradually working her way down the backside of his body. The gentle scent of the outside breeze mixed with her special lavender scented oil that she went out of her way for obtain just for his pleasure.
She was careful, oh so careful, about the sensitive scars he had obtained during his line of work. With hands soft from the oil, she eased over the areas where scars marred his fair, Wutai skin and where underlying muscles were heavily damaged. Her humming continued softly next to his ear as she worked her way down his back, fingers following the full length of every scar she encountered and with a more tender touch, she would massage where he was the most painful.
"And Elena?" Tseng questioned before a grunt escaped him and he clenched his teeth as she found and worked at a knot in his back. Her humming faded off as she focused more on loosening the tension under her hands.
"Much the same as you are I'm afraid. Although," The woman suddenly pushed at the tension she felt, causing Tseng to utter another unwanted grunt of pain. "She handles the discomfort much better." Tseng could hear the smile in the womans' voice, even if she wasn't expressing it, and felt his own smile tug at the edge of his mouth.
"She is a woman," Tseng spoke just before releasing a sigh as she gently eased his body into relaxation. She continued on her path down the rest of his back, before breaking off to work on one pale leg at a time. She resumed her humming, the melody obviously one of a well-versed lullaby that quickly had Tseng feeling completely exhausted and boneless.
She worked both his legs to the point where it would have been unwise for him to walk before she professionally guided him onto his back, keeping the towel in place with a hovering hand. Now she worked from his feet up, gently probing soft fingertips into lax muscles to make sure she hadn't missed any tension in his calves. Tseng watched her through eyes narrowed by heavy lids, watched as her dark brows furrowed slightly as she worked, eyes roving over every scar and anticipating the underlying damage. Her soft hands ghosted deftly over his work developed muscles, relaxing abs that could not been seen but barely felt. Tseng released a long breath through his nose before closing his eyes and finally submitting to her work as the heels if her hands pushed and rubbed.
She was good at her job, considering…
"You would have made an excellent Turk," Tseng told her, eyes now too heavy to open. She made a sound through her nose as she smirked.
"Yes, because every team of assassins needs a masseuse," She replied with sarcasm, working her way from his stomach up to his ribs and diaphragm.
"Your services have indeed benefited out organization, but that was not what I meant."
"Oh?" She inquired slowly, languidly working her way to well defined pectoral muscles. Tseng let out a hiss as he tensed involuntarily at the wrong moment, right as she pushed deep against his chest. Absentmindedly, she hushed him, a soothing sound that escaped her parted lips while she continued to apply pressure.
"Skilled hands go a long way in our line of work. Add to that an intimate knowledge of the human body; you would indeed be a well appreciated member of the organization." He heard that same telltale sound of her smile again.
"Are you offering me a position in your rowdy little gang, Tseng?" Ocean blue eyes glanced up with an unintentional smoulder to meet Tsengs' earth brown eyes as she continued to lean over him, and a silent communication passed from one to the other.
Without dwelling too much on the thought, Tseng raised a still functioning hand to place at the nape of her neck as lips met and melded. It was a somewhat chaste kiss, but it still contained a slow burning spark. The sense of affection was conveyed before they pulled back as if nothing had happened. Tsengs' hand dropped away while hers proceeded with what she was being paid to do.
What she had trained herself to be.
She worked with a ruthless sense of pride and affection, Tseng noticed as he closed his eyes once more as she moved onto his right bicep. She took everything personally and yet was never offended. She must have trained herself diligently to obtain these traits. Or perhaps it was a natural gift, her own personality that allowed her to work with anyone without prejudice.
She was someone to admire.
Someone he would have liked in his team, at his back and at his side. However, she had chosen an existence of peace, one she vehemently defended with her life.
When she had worked Tseng from head to foot, she brought a thin sheet up to the small of his back and removed the towel before stepping away and bowing her head.
"Would you like me to close the shoji screen or any of the windows?" She asked with perfect hospitality. Her tone polite and her posture unobtrusive.
"No," Tseng replied softly, his voice not as it usually was when addressing others. He heard her smile again.
"Sleep well Tseng," She murmured before turning and quietly walking to his door. The bare bottoms of her feet whispered across the hardwood floor as she walked lightly, almost like that of a dancer.
She quietly closed the door with a soft click, and Tseng listened to her walk a few steps before stopping and knocking on the next door down.
"Little busy here!" Reno shouted back in annoyance, his voice muffled in Tsengs' ears as it came through the thick walls that existed between all the rooms. It was meant to give each visitor his or her own privacy, but it was no surprise that Renos' loud voice would cut through all that insulation like a hot knife through butter.
"Jordan, I have to run out tonight remember?" She was patient with the two of them, despite Renos' disrespectful attitude towards her the moment just before.
"Aw, but -" The resorts only other employee complained, her pitiful whine also muffled by the soundproof walls.
"No buts," Jordans' employer cut in, "And if I come in there and see either of yours I'm docking your pay and you can both sleep in the yard."
"She wouldn't do that," Reno tried to play off the threat by denying it with a playful edge to his voice, trying to coax Jordan to stay in his room for a few minutes longer. His juvenile behaviour had Tseng smirking to himself, that woman meant exactly what she had said.
"Yes, she would." Jordan voiced Tseng's thoughts before a loud thud on the floor signalled her feet begrudgingly hitting the floor with unnecessary weight. "Jus' give me a minute!" Jordan called irritably.
"You have thirty seconds," The boss informed her employee, cutting down the requested time in half to put pressure of her ungrateful secretary and her lover.
"Fucking slave driver," Jordan grumbled from still inside the room as she staggered around for a second before catching herself with a heavy footstep close to the door.
"Fifteen seconds," Halving it again as a disciplinary action.
"Seriously Madelyn, I'm going to need more than -"
"Six seconds," Madelyn cut the time again, lessening it more and more as Jordan complained and talked back to her.
"That's not even half -"
The door swing open wildly with only a mild whine of protest from the hinges before slamming into the wall as if some form of annoyance had been fuelling the action.
Silence followed almost immediately after. Tseng in his own room could feel the sudden weight in the atmosphere that came with the sudden lull in activity and biting remarks. The awkwardness of the silence contradicted every aspect of relaxation Madelyn had worked so hard to cultivate, and it made the head Turk momentarily curious as to what his underling could possibly be doing.
"See something ya like?" Reno taunted. His sudden fit of laughter could be heard over the scuffling of feet across the wood floor and the sudden bang of his door and it abruptly closed with a sense of hurriedness.
"How long you gonna take?" Jordan asked her employer as if nothing had happened. As if Reno couldn't be heard still producing belly laughs that resounded through the entire hallway of closed doors.
"All night if the weather holds, later this morning if the storm over the ocean rolls in." Madelyn replied evenly, implying that it was not an uncommon journey to be made at the dead of night.
"Ugh~" Jordan groaned in exaggerated frustration, further proving that Madelyn's long, late night travels were nothing unusual.
"Be vigilant until I come back, Jordan. No distractions." Madelyn reminded sternly, almost playfully in a sisterly way.
"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill." Jordan sighed in defeat before they descended the worn but well polished wooden staircase to the first floor of the seaside resort. The friendly banter continued without being overheard as they leisurely descended to the front room, leaving their guests in peace as they went about their own schedules for the night.
Tseng wondered, briefly before drifting into an utterly exhausted stupor, how Madelyn had managed to afford a seaside mansion of this size in Costa del Sol. Property here was not cheap, and if what Tseng knew about her was true… Then… She shouldn't… Have been… Able…