Disclaimer: I don't FFVII or any of the characters.

Theme(s): #24 - Blush (no future)

Title: Wish

Rating: T

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"Yo, 'Lena."

Elena glanced up from her barely touched drink when she heard Reno's voice addressing her above the din of the bar. "What?"

"Well, you see..." Reno trailed off, raising his eyebrows for dramatic effect. He lifted his beer mug to his mouth and took a long sip, glancing at Elena out of the corner of his eye and smirking around the rim of the glass, obviously enjoying trying to keep Elena in suspense.

Elena gave him an exasperated look in an attempt to prompt him to get to the point. He set the mug down.

"...me and Rude've been thinking," he continued.

Elena bit back the reply of, "That's a change," that had initially popped into her head. Instead, she simply nodded. "Uh huh, and...?"

"...and we think..." Elena cast a glance at the bald man who sat on the other side of Reno. Rude did seem to be paying attention to the conversation, but was as quiet as ever. As far as Elena was concerned, that was a good thing, since Reno could talk enough for the both of them, especially after having a few drinks.

"...that you have a crush on Tseng." Reno leaned back, tipping his stool onto two legs, and crossed his arms in front his chest, looking impressed with his own deduction. That cocky smirk was wiped off his face when he lost his balance and nearly fell on his ass.

After that mishap, he repositioned the stool the way it was intended to be and looked at Elena expectantly, as if waiting for confirmation. "So... are we right?"

"Ha, ha, ha... wait, what?" Elena had been laughing at Reno's near catastrophe and hadn't quite registered what he'd said. Then it hit her. Her immediate reaction was to bring her hand up to her mouth, which had formed a bit of an o shape. She knew she must have been blushing.

"You heard me," Reno replied, finishing off his beer. He cocked a brow, examining Elena's face. "So, I take it that's a 'yes'...?" He didn't even try to hide the amusement in his tone.

Elena turned an even deeper shade of red. "Even if I did, it wouldn't be any of your business!" she answered, far more sharply than she'd intended to. Even Rude seemed surprised by her tone.

"Damn. Someone's a bit touchy." Reno pretended to shrink away from her. "I was just fucking around, yo. No need to go all PMS on me."

Elena sighed, wondering why she'd bothered to come to the bar with Reno and Rude in the first place. She didn't even like drinking and she should have expected that she'd be at odds with Reno by the time the night was over. That wasn't something she particularly wanted, since Reno was her coworker. She glanced down at her watch before speaking again.

"Sorry, Reno. I guess I'm just... tired." She stood up. "I'm going to go now. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

The other Turks said their good byes, and Elena shook her head at the hushed tones that followed. She didn't understand how they could sit around and gossip like a couple of housewives all the time. They were supposed to be professionals.

Elena left the bar and stepped out into the foggy night. As she waited for a chance to cross the street, she thought about what Reno had said. She really hadn't meant to snap at him. It was obvious that he'd just been teasing her, which was not an uncommon thing.

The traffic light blinked from green to red. Elena swiftly crossed to the other side of the road. Though there was a fair amount of traffic, the sidewalks were almost deserted. It wasn't shocking; walking alone at night in Midgar could be dangerous. Elena wasn't worried. She was more than capable of defending herself.

I shouldn't have gotten so defensive back there... Shit. I really need to start thinking before opening my mouth...

Unfortunately, that didn't just apply to social situations. The full sting of Reno's playful inquiry hit her as she thought back to her first mission as a Turk. The orders had been simple; find and track Sephiroth. That was it. There was nothing in the assignment about blurting said orders to the enemy. She didn't know if she'd ever be able to forget the look on Tseng's face, the harsh disapproval in his grey eyes or the thinly masked irritation in his voice. It was obvious that, to him, she was little more than the ditzy rookie.

But she wanted to be more; so much more.

When she turned the corner, she caught sight of a familiar structure through the fog; the apartment building in which she lived.

Elena sped up a little, her mind returning to its previous train of thought.

Even she thought it was pathetic, the way she kept wishing that he'd wake up one morning and... she didn't know. Decide that he cared about her as more than just a valuable asset to the Turks?

Elena sighed. Like that would ever happen. Hell, she doubted he even thought that much of her.

No matter how optimistic she tried to stay, no matter how much she wanted to deny the obvious, the facts remained.

She knew deep down that her and Tseng couldn't possibly have a future when there was no chance of a past or present.

-Fin-

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