Tonight We're Goin' Hard

This was a challenge presented to me by a friend. I hope you like it as it is a rather unwritten about pairing. I don't want to give too much away in the description. Events take place in April but shortly prior to the appearance of Aerith Gainsborough. Rated M for several reasons.

I don't own Final Fantasy or anything related to it.

Tseng flipped through the loose pages of the three ring binder before him while occasionally tapping his pen on the table. Aside from the noise in the hall, the office was silent. Cissnei glanced up at Tseng repeatedly as she jotted notes on the legal pad before her. She chewed on her lower lip and nervously wrapped her hair around her finger in a rhythmic circular motion.

She could always tell when Tseng had something on his mind. He dropped his pen on the table, cleared his throat and tugged at his tie. He always went through routines similar to this one when he had something to say. Call it a ritualistic habit, a coping mechanism of sorts. Cissnei tried to keep her focus on her notes even though she knew Tseng was staring at her. He finally broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Chopper's ready in ten. Let's go." Cissnei shook her head and quickly shoved the legal pad into the document portfolio lying on the table. Tseng gathered up his things, shoved them in his briefcase and followed Cissnei out the door.

They walked down the long hallway side by side in utter silence. They didn't have to wait on the elevator that would take them to the helicopter pad. Tseng cleared his throat again and sighed as they rode the six floors up to the east wing landing. This building was littered with landing pads.

Cissnei jumped as the elevator doors flung open and the sound of the bell signaled their stop. Sure enough, there was the chopper with it's blades spinning awaiting them to board. The air from the blades blew Cissnei's hair all over as they approached the open doors. With Reno at the flight deck, he gave them a wave as he opened the side doors for them.

"Reno." Tseng greeted him with ahead nod.

"Tseng, glad you're here. Headset's on the seat." Reno said.

"Hi Reno. We're ready to go." Cissnei said climbing into the chopper after Tseng and throwing her document portfolio on top of Tseng's briefcase. She put her headset on and adjusted the mike as Tseng did the same.

"Tseng, can you hear me, over?" Reno said checking the headset.

"Loud and clear, over." Tseng assured him.

"Cissnei, do you copy, over?" Reno checked her headset.

"I copy, over." Cissnei answered him.

"Doors are closing. We're headed north by northeast. Destination is forty minutes away." Reno said over the headset. Cissnei and Tseng strapped the safety belts around them as Reno readied the chopper for takeoff. The tone over the headset indicated the chopper doors were sealed and the operative outside cleared Reno for takeoff.

Cissnei glanced over at Tseng who was looking out the chopper window at the operative. The blades began to rotate faster, the all familiar sound of the screaming blades before feeling the helicopter go airborne. This was business as usual for Tseng and Cissnei.

The blades reached full speed and Reno pulled the copter off the helipad. Cissnei felt her ears pop underneath the ear pieces of the headset and the chopper pressure changed as they pulled higher away from the Shinra building.

"Pressure will stabilize today at 2300 feet." Reno radioed over the headset. Tseng looked over at Cissnei. He turned Reno's portion of the headset off so that only Cissnei could hear his voice and vice versa. The cabin pressure changed again as Reno approached the cruising height. Once they stabilized, the noise and the pressure balanced out. They were now above the city and cruising. Cissnei heard Tseng sigh in her headset.

"So, are we going to talk about this or let it linger?" Tseng said to her.

"What's to talk about, Tseng? What's the big deal?"

"It's been a month. Did you get your tests back?" Tseng asked.

"Yeah, I got 'em." Cissnei answered.

"And?" Tseng pursued.

"Negative." Cissnei answered.

"All of them? All the tests were negative?" Tseng pressed onward.

"Yes, Tseng! I don't have anything! God, why does this even fucking matter!" Cissnei was irritated.

"It matters to me! He's one of our own!" Tseng said adamantly.

"Oh, so you think our own aren't clean?" Cissnei asked rather exasperated with Tseng.

"It's not that..." Tseng said looking out the window.

"Then what? It's been four weeks Tseng! You've been acting this way for a month! What the hell is your problem!" Cissnei insisted.

"We're partners Cissnei! You are my subordinate! I need to know about you and you need to know about me." Tseng paused. Cissnei looked over at him as he clumsily tried to straighten his tie even though they were both in safety restraints and his tie didn't need fixing.

"What are you saying?" Cissnei asked.

"Are you seeing him?" Tseng asked matter of factly. He didn't make eye contact with Cissnei.

"Why would it matter if I said I was?" Cissnei asked.

"So you are." Tseng said point blank.

"I never said that! You've never given a shit about me in this way before. So why now, huh? I don't know what the hell is going on between us, okay? It's sex! Okay, Tseng? It's a lot of really...good...sex and for some reason I don't think you want to hear that." Cissnei said. He didn't say anything back to her immediately.

"You don't act like it's just sex and neither does he." Tseng said rather disappointedly.

"Why does it matter so much to you what I am or am not doing with him?" Cissnei asked. She heard Tseng take a deep breath. Tseng looked down to notice a blinking red light on the radio unit connected to the headset. That was Reno trying to talk to them.

"We'll talk about this later." Tseng said turning Reno's transmission back on so they both could hear him.

The tension between Tseng and Cissnei could be cut with a knife. This all started four weeks earlier when it was announced Zack Fair had been promoted to SOLDIER 1st Class...