"Hey! How was the trip minus the detour?" Rude asked as the front door of the lodge opened. Tseng and Elena ran into a major accident that shut down the major highway to Healen. They had called Rude and Reno to let them know that they had to go nearly three hours out of their way. Rude was sitting on the couch punching away on an adding machine while Reno highlighted the numbers after Rude was done with each.
"It was a good trip aside from that damn thing. Do you realize that on top of the detour we sat in stand-still traffic for over an hour. Eventually, me and Tseng just turned the car off and got out. We started talking to this family beside us that were headed north of Kalm. But, we finally made it. Tseng's getting the rest of our luggage." Elena said as she plopped several items into the floor that she had carried in including a large black tote, her purse, Tseng's laptop, her laptop, and his cell phone. Reno watched her. He hated to admit how cute she was in her long-sleeved purple shirt and her faded out jeans. He could see the edge of her camisole peeking out the bottom of her shirt. Tseng arrived shortly behind her, luggage in tote.
"Why'd you two bring so much crap? I brought like…three changes of clothes and I'm just gonna wash 'em downstairs as needed." Reno said.
"Well, unlike you…Elena and I need a lot of crap." Tseng answered him.
"Thanks for bringing all that stuff in. I'm going to take these things upstairs." Elena said turning around to face Tseng. He nodded at her. She grabbed her rolling luggage and the bag that was attached to it.
"God, it feels good in here. I had forgotten what October felt like up here." Tseng said leaving his luggage sitting at the door and walking over to the kitchen.
"I know! But it's beautiful. There's plenty of wood to build a fire every day and night if we want it. Me and Reno chopped a hell of a lot yesterday and there's two days worth on the hearth. The rest is in that closet in the back room." Rude was referring to the massive fireplace in the back room of the lodge. The main floor of the lodge was where the kitchen, a den and the back living room so to speak were located. There was a staircase in the back living room that led to the floor that once held geostigma patients. It had been remolded into five individual suites. The floor below was the former medical floor, which had once housed expensive medical and research equipment. Now, most of the rooms were empty and it's tiled floors and mirrored walls were all that remained. The mirrored walls were used for those patients who required rehabilitation from crippling geostigma. Therapists would work with patients in front of the mirrors so both therapist and patient could monitor progress. One of the rooms was much larger than the other medical rooms. It had been the room where the most equipment rehab mats had been located. The back four rooms on this floor were file rooms. Nothing. But. Files. Steel cabinet after steel cabinet of files. There were hundreds and hundreds of files; perhaps even thousands to comb through in the eight days. They would work the industrial size paper shredder over time because many of the files were patient records to shred. Of course, there were others files here too. Some would return to the Shinra building in Midgar and some would remain right here. They had their work cut out for them in the days ahead.
"Oh my god!" Tseng was rather shocked as he stared inside the refrigerator.
"Yeah, Rude and I picked up some stuff yesterday before we got here." Reno said.
"I guess you did. Elena and I have wine we've gotta cram in here somewhere. How much were you two planning on drinking exactly? You've got as much liquor in here as you do food!" Tseng said.
"Hey, hey…you and Elena can have as much of that liquor as you want, ya know. And look in the cabinets above the sink." Reno said.
"God, just when I thought excess was taken to a whole new level. Why are there so many boxes of macaroni and cheese?" Tseng questioned.
"Why shouldn't there be?" Reno asked thinking Tseng's question was absurd.
"You haven't even gotten to the freezer yet." Rude reminded him. Tseng gave him that 'what the hell is in the freezer look'.
"I'm so glad to know we could have pizza and ice cream every night if we wanted it." He said a bit sarcastically. Tseng wasn't one much for eating out of the freezer. "I'm going to go unpack." Tseng said finally unzipping his lightweight jacket and throwing it on the back of the chair near the door. It seemed so strange seeing Tseng in jeans. Reno and Rude were programmed to seeing him in a suit and tie all the time and for the first time that they had seen in a long time, he actually looked comfortable. Tseng soon disappeared thereafter.
Rude looked over to Reno. "I know, I know. You don't even have to say it man, don't even have to say it. 'Cause believe me….it's screamin'…it's fuckin' screamin' to me." Reno said continuing with his highlighting of numbers. Rude sighed and continued adding.
"It's like…." Rude shook her head. "…never mind. I don't have to explain it to you. Wanna put a pizza in the oven?" Rude asked.
"Totally." Reno answered.
Meanwhile, upstairs; Elena unpacked her luggage all over her bed. "Hey." Tseng said entering her doorway. Elena spun around quickly. "You forgot one." He said plopping a bag to the ground. Elena smiled.
"Thanks." She answered. Tseng caught sight of something on the bed. "What are those?" he asked.
"Nothing." She said shoving whatever it was underneath a nearby pile. It was a bit of a defensive answer.
"Okay, just wanted to give that to you. Since Reno and Rude took the suites at the end of the hall, I'm in the one beside you." Tseng said.
"Oh, okay." Elena answered him. Once Tseng had left her alone she pulled the item she had hid from him back out from under her pile. She picked them up and ran her hands over the satin before placing them on the dresser beside a bag of lamb's wool. She dropped a bag beside her dresser. Within it was a pair of tights, leg warmers, a black leotard, a black chiffon skirt, and a pale pink long sleeved sweater shrug to name a few things. There were other things in the bag as well. She returned to the bed where she was unpacking the rest of her luggage. She had a few piles on the bed and a stack of clothes she needed to hang in the closet. Sure, she had overpacked, but she wanted to be prepared. She stared at her clothes as she sorted them out. Tseng soon returned once more.
"Do you have my small bag somewhere in here?" he asked of her.
"Huh? Uh…no….no it's not in here." Elena said startled and a bit embarrassed by Tseng seeing all her piles on the bed.
"I must have left it downstairs then." Tseng said mostly talking to himself. Realizing this, he headed back downstairs. Elena was a bit relieved. She could unpack now without him seeing the rest of her luggage. She wasn't sure why she was self-conscious about that….but she was. Perhaps it was because she didn't want him to think she was high maintenance or something. Or it could have been because…well she didn't have an answer to give herself. Elena opened up the closet and pulled a handful of hangers out.
"Hey, glad you're back." Reno said seeing that Tseng had come back downstairs. "Me and Rude need to go back into town. Care to come with us?
"Why exactly would you ask me and not me and Elena?" Tseng asked Reno or Rude, whoever cared to answer first
"Uhhhhh…." Was Reno's response.
"She can come too, right?" Tseng asked. Reno looked at Rude. Rude sighed.
"We wont' lie we were gonna hit up a strip club and we wondered if you wanted to come." He confessed.
"No." Tseng said rather irritated. He quickly swiped up the bag he had been looking for earlier.
"We're just askin' jeesh! Shit, Elena can come too I guess…if she'd be into that kinda' thing." Reno said. Tseng disappeared quickly without another word.
"See?" Rude said looking at Reno. Reno threw the packet of papers aside.
"Yep. Come on, pizza's ready. We'll eat and get outta here. It's a two hour ride into town. If we leave now and get gas, stop at an bank and get a shit load of ones we'll be there by 9:30." Reno said.
"Good call. I'll yell up and tell Tseng we're leavin' in 20 that case." Rude said shoving the adding machine aside and standing up. He walked through the hallway and to the back living room where the staircase was.
"Hey! Hey! Can anyone here me!" he yelled up the stairs.
"Yeah, what do you want?" Elena called back.
"Me an' Reno are leavin' in like 20 minutes. You want some pizza with us?
"Where are you going and no thanks." Elena yelled coming toward the top of the steps.
"We'll be back by…like….I don't know….we'll be back later." Rude said.
"Any chance you'd…." Elena shook her hands in front of her.
"What?" Rude asked.
"I need tampons." Elena admitted more than embarrassedly. She had forgotten all of her extra ones she meant to pack at home on the bathroom sink. She could picture them sitting there on her sink.
"Oh my god, are you gonna' be doing that for eight days?" Rude asked. Elena put her hands on her hips exasperatedly.
"No, for your information I'm gonna be doin' that for two days. Good to know you're so fuckin' mature about it though." Elena said leaving the top of the stairs.
"Aww, Elena. I'm just teasing! Come on! Write down what you want and I'll get it! You know I don't give a shit! You could….be doin' that for ten days! I don't care! Come on Elena!" Rude begged her. Elena returned shortly thereafter.
"Here. I only have the one left. I would appreciate one box. That's all." Elena said extending a hand toward Rude. She had written down what she wanted on a post-it note.
"I'll get it for you I swear it. Is it okay if we aren't back till like….all way late and stuff?" Rude asked.
"That's fine, This one will last…" Rude stopped her.
"Elena, I love you...but I don't need to know. That's between you and mother nature." Rude insisted.
"Fine. Eat your pizza and get outta' here. And thanks, Rude." She said leaning up against the wall opposite the handrail on the stairs.
"So uh….what are you and Tseng gonna' do while we're gone?' Rude asked. Elena scowled at him.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean!" She asked folding her arms across her chest.
"Nothing! Nothing! I'm just asking what are you're plans?" Rude asked.
"How the hell would I know Tseng's plans! I'm going to finish sorting out my clothes, have some dinner, maybe read a little. Tseng's right here! You ask him!" Elena said leaving again. Soon thereafter Tseng appeared at the top of the stairs with his hands full.
"Did you want me or something?" he asked.
"Last chance to go see women much hotter than Elena get naked. If it affects your decision any, she needs tampons which will probably mean she's gonna be a bitch all evening." Tseng too, scowled at him.
"You're an insensitive and shallow bastard, you know that? I'm going to change, cook something and unwind the rest of this day. We'll get to work tomorrow." Tseng said seriously before leaving the top of the steps.
"Aww, Tseng! God, you and Elena are both way too sensitive! I'm just playin'. You know I don't think that about her! Tseng get back here!" Rude begged him. Tseng finally returned.
"You're making a drug store stop on your way back tonight?" Tseng asked.
"Yeah." Was Rude's response.
"Good. Get a bottle of Nyquil, please. Just in case." Tseng said.
"Sure. You and Elena tend the fire!" Rude said before returning to Reno and the pizza.
It was around 7:30 and Tseng was rinsing the dishes off in the sink. Elena had been gone for over an hour. He didn't question where she went; she had just left. Tseng had assumed that maybe she had gone downstairs to start on a drawer of files. She had offered to clean up but Tseng had insisted that he had everything under control. As he ran warm water over the plates, he swore he heard something coming from the floor below. He shrugged it off and blamed it on the TV that was on just across the room. He found it quite calming to repetitively wash each glass and line them up on the other side of the sink to be dried. By ten minutes until eight however, he was certain he kept hearing something. It sounded like music but he couldn't determine where it was coming from. Every time he turned off the water though he kept hearing it. It wasn't the TV. Finally, he dried his hands and headed toward the stairwell where he thought the music was coming from. It was faint, but loud enough to recognize. Tseng opened up the stairwell door slowing and leaned in slightly. Yes, this was definitely music and it was coming from downstairs. He began walking down to the medical floor below quietly. The music was louder as he approached the door that would open up onto the former medical floor. He opened the heavy door and saw one light clearly beaming through one of the medical rooms. The hallway was dark otherwise. The one light created a glow radiating from a room with its door propped open. Tseng immediately noticed that the bag propping the door open was Elena's. He quietly and slowly made his way down the long hallway toward the open room. He thought about calling out to Elena; obviously it was her. But what the hell was she doing? There weren't any files in the opened room. He was barefoot and the tile was cold against his feet. Tseng stopped in his tracks when he could see the reflection in the mirrors of the room. He made certain to stay completely out of view of the mirrors possibly catching his own reflection. He was awestruck and instantly captivated at what he saw:
In seven years, Tseng had never known Elena had this talent. His mouth was hanging open as he watched her reflection. The way she glided across the tiled floor, the way she made standing on her toes like that look effortless! He didn't know the terms but her moves were obviously trained into her in the most disciplined of forms…otherwise known as classical ballet. It appeared as if she had done this for years….15….maybe even 20….25….the point was…underneath the guns, and the missions, and the tactical prowess…Elena was a ballerina. He had never been to a ballet in his life. She had never even once hinted that the reason she was so skilled at mixed martial arts was because she could do this! Tseng almost felt guilty. He knew so much about Elena, yet he knew nothing of this part of her life that clearly had been years in the making. He continued watching her in a state of complete infatuation. He didn't even know this was a song you could ballet to….was that the appropriate term 'ballet to?' He didn't know and he didn't care. What he saw was unreal. Her grace and delicacy was unsurpassed. He had never seen her so feminine the whole time he had know her. In the world according to Tseng, everything Elena did was perfect and this art was no exception. She looked like a fuckin' professional dancer in there. It almost made him cringe watching the way she crushed her toes into the boxes of those shoes the way she did on all those turns. That's what he had seen earlier that evening…those shoes….those satin shoes….it appeared that she had put a lot of miles in on those shoes. The satin was stained and dirty, and they appeared to have been calamined at one point. They were very well broken in.
Her legs looked a hundred miles long in those pale pink tights against her black leotard. Tseng panicked a little because he realized he had never seen Elena wearing this little. My god everything was so…skin tight and her suit….well, it was anything but. Tseng watched in the mirror as the expression on Elena's face changed; her moves were slightly losing their precision and control. He could see her and he feared she had seen him so he moved a little farther away from the door. But he could still see her. She just stood there, her hands partially fisted. She then moved her palms to her face.
And then….the unthinkable happened. He watched painfully as she stood there so perfectly. The tears escaped her suddenly and in a torrent. She sounded like a twelve year old girl, her whimpers so high pitched and pitiful. It was painful to see her so hurt. Tseng only wished he knew what drove her to such sudden tears. It absolutely broke his heart…
