status ongoing
background it's been a year since AC, so let's just pretend that the city isn't that pathetic anymore, 'kay?
warnings language, angst
pairings future relena
disclaimer i do not own ffvii


3. A Friend In Need

...is a friend indeed.


Tseng had many virtues; he was loyal, punctual and efficient as a Turk, responsible, patient and serious as a person, and sympathetic, compassionate and reliable as a friend. He never got in trouble and always tried to help his friends –Reno– whenever they were in trouble. Tseng would never abandon his friends in their time of need – it's just the way he is. However, he couldn't help but feel powerless and unable to help Reno out with his current problem.

The loud and hyperactive redhead was in, what could perfectly be described as, deep shit.

He had excused himself into the balcony, where he sat, smoking one cigarette after another. The three remaining Turks were inside the Turks' shared office, exchanging looks and trying to come up with any possible solution to help him out. Neither have thought something like that would ever happen. Stuff like that only happen in those crazy stories some twisted author writes. But this was reality, and the chances one has of waking up in the morning and finding out that he is the legal guardian of a baby girl are one in a million–or even more.

Yet, with Reno's unbelievably bad luck, you never could turn down any case.

"Tseng, we have to do something," Elena broke the silence between the Turks, her eyes moving to look at Reno standing in the balcony every five seconds to make sure he didn't try to jump off the building or something.

"Do you have anything to suggest?" Tseng inquired, silently agreeing with her.

"I... I don't know. I'll go out with him to make sure he won't try anything crazy," she said slowly.

Tseng nodded, silently agreeing with her. The last thing they needed was Reno pulling off a stunt like that–again.

Elena slid the glass door open and stepped out on the balcony to join Reno. With what he had gone through the last few hours, she didn't feel like leaving him alone in the balcony.

The air was chilly and Elena had to rub her hands against her forearms in order to keep herself warm. She had removed her jacket since she was stuck on doing paperwork and the thin dress-shirt wasn't keeping her warm at all. Autumn had kicked in and the weather was abnormally cold. It had been raining heavily for five days straight and only today had the storm subsided, with raindrops falling from the grey clouds every now and then. The sun hadn't made an appearance in many days and Elena wondered for how long the weather would be like this. Having grown up in Costa del Sol, she was rather fond of the sun. She enjoyed the rain, too, but she would trade rain for sun any day.

"How are you feeling?" she finally asked Reno, after a long silent moment. She was certain that he was aware of her presence out there –he was a Turk, after all–, even though he hadn't made any moves to acknowledge it.

"Great," he said in that sarcastic tone that Elena absolutely despised, but he didn't turn around to face her. Instead, he took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled a puff of smoke. Elena wondered how many of those he had smoked since he got out there.

She was a little dumbfounded. She knew he was lying – his tone was too fake – but she didn't know what to say. They never had the closest friendship, so she wasn't very comfortable around him.

"If you want to talk about it..." she started again, trying to provide consolation, but Reno cut her off.

"I want ten minutes of solitude, can I have them?" he snapped at her, rage building up inside him.

Elena wanted to say something – anything – to snap back at him, but the words simply didn't come. She felt angry at herself for trying to offer compassion to Reno. If there was one thing she knew about him, that would be that he hated it when people pitied him. She simply shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, looking away from him. Suddenly, Midgar's dull and busy streets seemed very interesting.

Another long moment of uncomfortable silence occurred and Reno was feeling more and more angry. He couldn't decide whom he was angry at, he just felt a strong rage for everything. Why did his life have to be so fucked up? He may haven't been a saint, but his life was already too screwed up. Why did this have to happen, too? Reno always thought it was bad karma and lousy luck. But for how much longer could he blame his tough luck for everything bad that happened to him? He had started thinking that someone up there hated him – bad. But with all the shit going on in his life, he didn't have the time (or the patience) to stop and overanalyze things. So, he just let it be.

Elena watched him out of the corner of her eye, fuming silently and glaring daggers at the sky. By the time he was preparing to start his third cigarette, Elena decided she'd had enough. She snatched it away from his fingers, earning a pure angry glare that could have made a lot of children cry. But Elena just stared at his face with an equally serious expression on her own.

"Seriously, what is your problem?" Reno asked furiously.

Elena shook her head and stepped closer to him. "I'm not gonna let you destroy yourself like this. I won't allow it."

He threw his hands in the air, showing clear despair. "What am I supposed to do then? Laugh and be all sunshine and butterflies? My life is fucked up, Elena! Is there anything I can do about it?"

She placed her palms on his shoulders and looked up at him. "First of all, you need to relax."

"Easier said than done."

"Just try, okay? You have to relax. Let the pressure go," she said with a reassuring smile.

Reno leaned against the railing and buried his face in his hands, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Elena stood beside him, watching him silently try to calm himself down. She couldn't blame him for being edgy. Anyone in his place would have reacted the same way.

He moved his hands away from his face and opened his eyes to look at her.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

Reno shook his head slowly. "Not really."

"Look, I know it's hard. Your whole life is turning upside down, I'm just saying that you have to relax or you'll go crazy. It's a fact, shit happened in our lives, but we have to live it through."

"No, no, no, no, no. Shit like this doesn't happen in everyday life. Shit like this only happens in my fuckin' life, which was perfectly fucked up since the moment I was born!" Reno burst out.

Elena looked down. "I'm sorry, I'm just trying to make you feel better."

"Well, don't. It's pointless."

Suddenly, she found herself feeling powerless. It was an odd feeling. Like suddenly, the world was this dark, evil place (which it was), and she was a small dot on the map, unable to do anything, to change anything. Unable to help the people she cared about in their time of need. Unable to provide consolation to those who sought it. She didn't like this feeling at all.

Elena opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. It was clear that Reno needed some time on his own, to organize his thoughts and figure out a way out of his problem. His friends were supposed to be by his side, but at the moment, they were just as lost and troubled as him. Elena stepped back inside the office, to find both Rude and Tseng gone. Just when she was about to ask herself where they had gone, the door opened and the two Turks entered the Turks' shared office with equally serious looks on their faces.

"Where's Reno?" asked Tseng.

Elena nodded towards the balcony and looked down at her feet. Tseng and Rude exchanged looks and nodded. Rude, repeating Elena's earlier actions, walked out of the room to join Reno in the balcony. Tseng placed his hand on Elena's shoulder, causing her to look up at her superior.

"Don't worry, Elena," he said with his calm voice. "Reno will be fine. We won't let him down."

Elena shrugged. "What's in there for us to do? It's his decision."

"And we'll make sure he makes the right one," the leader of the Turks reassured her.

Before she could reply, Reno and Rude walked in the room, causing her to raise an eyebrow in question. She saw the three men exchange looks and she couldn't help but feel like an outcast. What was going on?

"We'll go get the child," Reno said firmly. "Rude and I will go," he added, looking pointedly at Elena, while Tseng nodded at him.

Now, Elena felt seriously offended. Why didn't Reno want her to tag along? She knew Rude was his best friend and that he trusted him more than anyone, but she was his friend (sort of), too. They have been working and hanging out with each other for over three years. She trusted him and she demanded his trust in return, which she thought she had – until now. And just how did Rude convince him to go and pick up the baby in two minutes? Uh, men. She could never understand them.

The two Turks left the room without further discussions on the subject, leaving Elena and Tseng alone. She looked up at him, expecting some kind of explanation, but he simply smiled at her.

"What the hell just happened? Five minutes ago, he was ready to jump off the building," she said.

Tseng looked outside the window. "You must understand, Elena. Reno and Rude have their own communication code. It might seem odd to us, but they can talk, without saying anything to each other. So, don't feel offended that Reno chose Rude to be by his side at this moment. It's only rational."

"I understand."

Tseng nodded. "Good. Now, I suggest we do some work until they come back."

"Yes, Tseng."

Once again, he nodded and exited the office, heading towards his own. Elena plopped down on her chair behind her desk and sunk into her seat. Like she was able to fill out paperwork with all the stuff that had happened during the last couple of hours. She was troubled about what Reno would do with his life. She might not seem like it, but she cared for Reno like her family. It was the same for Rude and Tseng. The Turks have been through a lot together, and they were going to see this through, as well. There was nothing impossible for the Turks.

The sun didn't peek from behind the dark clouds that day, and Elena silently prayed it wouldn't be that way for much longer.