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I don't own anything.

Chapter 11

Alex yawned and stretched as the morning sun leaked through the windows and woke her up. It was quite annoying, being woken up so early. She grumbled and turned over, hiding her face in the pillow. It did nothing. A minute or two later, she got up, feeling somewhat cross at the early hour. The Turks had been camping for a few days now, and Alex had learned quickly that if she wished to sleep in, she would have to sacrifice her breath by burrowing her head into the pillow, which wasn't the most comfortable way to sleep for her.

Looking over, she glared evilly at Cissnei who slept soundly on the bed next to her. Looking past her, she saw that nearly every bed was occupied. The women of the Turks slept soundly, apparently unconcerned with the early morning sun. One bed was empty though, and neatly fixed as well. Alex wondered for a moment who it might belong to before deciding she didn't care.

Groaning annoyance once again over the early hour, she got out of bed and got dressed, making sure that no one could or would see her. Emerging from the cabin, she found Risa already awake and skinning a few rabbits for that day's… breakfast? She didn't bother to ask.

Seeing that the wood pile was low, she headed into the forest, knowing she would have to walk far to be able to gather wood since the rookies had virtually cleaned out the forest near the camp. Traveling parallel to the lake shore, she soon found herself near the other side of the lake. From camp, she had seen several cliffs overtake the lake shore, making a sheer wall that stood about eight to ten feet above the water. She had also seen several rookies jumping into the water from here, but now, as she approached the drop, she was the only one there.

Wind picked up as she neared the edge, causing her hair to lift and swirl slightly around her. Sitting down for a bit, allowing her right foot to dangle as she supported her arm on her left knee, she looked out across the lake. From above, the deep water was a beautiful dark blue and she could see a ways into its depths, revealing schools of fish of varying sizes. Above, forest spread in a marvelously green band and the mountains beyond accented the picture well. In short, the scene was virtually perfect.

Meanwhile, Tseng was also awake. Exiting the guys' cabin, he observed Risa cooking and Max helping. Chuckling, he remembered the two martial artists' first meeting. When Max had discovered that there was another martial arts specialist in the Turks, he had immediately challenged her to find out how good she was. She had promptly kicked his ass. After that, he was completely smitten with the silent former mercenary.

He bid the two good morning before crossing to the edge of the lake to wash the tiredness from his face. He loved the scenery but he hated the beds. When he looked up, his face now cold and wet, he noticed something across the lake.

One of his Turks sat on the edge of some small cliffs he hadn't seen before. Long black hair fell prey to the wind, lifting it from where it lay to swirl slightly in the air, and from the look of them it was a girl. Alex? From this distance, he could barely see her face, but he had a feeling she was watching the scenery. She was always watching, always observant, and always aware.

He wondered why she was out there so early, and was answered by a deep, yet feminine voice behind him.

"She went out to collect wood not long ago," Risa said. She knelt beside him and washed her hands in the water. Risa was a good friend of his, and had been in the Turks for nearly as long as Reno, Rude, and himself. Her personality was quite and stern, and she intimidated everyone new, but she was a reliable Turk and friend. "You watch her a lot. But only when she isn't looking. You really should learn to hide that sort of thing," she said, her voice sounding calm and somewhat motherly.

"I thought I was. Surely if she didn't notice it no one would, or so I thought," Tseng said. He knew what he had said wouldn't be taken as an insult. Risa knew just as well as he did that Alex was the most observant Turk. The tall ex-mercenary smiled, almost as if she knew something more. They talked casually for a bit about the vacation, but it wasn't long before that knowing smile crossed her face again.

"Perhaps she does not believe what she has noticed."

"What?" Tseng asked, unsure what his friend was implying.

"Who knows," Risa said, standing up. "I have to go help Max. I fear he will burn our breakfast. He tries so hard though," she said as she walked away. Sighing, Tseng thought about how Alex wasn't the only painfully observant Turk.

….

Alex hummed an old Wutainese tune as she stacked firewood onto a large green branch. The branch had many smaller branches stemming from it, most of which still had plenty of leaves, and made an easy sled sort of thing. When the pile of burnable wood was nearly up to her hip, Alex began to drag the branch and its burden through the forest towards camp, walking backwards to ensure no firewood would fall unnoticed. She was careful, checking her path to be sure she wouldn't run into anything. Emerging from the trees, she heard someone approach her from camp. Stopping, she turned around, not letting go of her branch, and looked to see who it was. It was Max.

"Hey, want some help?" he asked, sounding and looking very depressed.

"Uh, sure," Alex said, wondering what was wrong with the big martial artist. He ended up just taking the load himself, dragging it behind him with ease.

"Is something wrong Max?" Alex asked as she watched to make sure they didn't lose any wood.

"I burnt breakfast," he said, clearly upset about it.

"Oh. You mean the rabbit Risa was cleaning earlier?"

"Yeah. Risa went to clean off and talk to Tseng. She told me to watch it and make sure it was cooked right. But I forgot to turn it over, and I only watched the top. The bottom is scorched now, and it's all my fault."

"Oh. I'm sure Risa doesn't mind," Alex said, trying to comfort the big Turk. She knew Max and Risa's story. She also knew Risa would understand, and probably not care at all anyway. Then, an idea came to mind.

"I know how you can fix it though," she said, speeding up till she was in front of the depressed martial artists. Turning around, she walked backwards again so she could speak to him face to face.

"Over by those cliffs I was at earlier, there are some wild apple trees. And I've seen plenty of berry bushes too. Why don't we go get some for breakfast?"

Alex watched as Max's face lit up. "Yeah! Of course! Oh this is perfect, thank you Alex. And guess what!" he said, his excitement evident all over.

"What?" Alex asked, smiling at his enthusiasm.

"Risa's favorite fruit is apples!"

"Perfect!" Alex said. "Why don't we leave this here? I'll run to camp and make Reno come get it and grab a basket. Kay?"

"Yeah, ok," Max said, dropping the branch, still trembling with the news that he could fix what he had done wrong. Alex smiled and jogged to camp. Reno wasn't awake, but Jacob was and he agreed to get the firewood. Risa was in the girls' cabin, getting together her hunting gear.

Alex realized that it wouldn't be good if she went out to get more food. "Hey, Risa," she said, sticking her head in and whispering as to not wake anyone up. "Don't worry about breakfast, ok?"

Risa just looked at her for a bit, slight confusion on her face before nodding. Alex smiled and thanked her as she retreated from the girls' cabin and into the center cabin for that basket.

Running back to where Max stood impatiently, she carried the basket under her arm, as well as a small bag for berries. They headed to the wild apple grove, Max talking about how awesome Risa was. Alex couldn't help but laugh. He was so deep in love with the silent ex-mercenary. Alex knew he would be very devoted to his fellow martial artist too. She also knew that Risa probably would accept him. She didn't say anything about it though.

When the two arrived back at camp, their basket full of apples and the bag full of dew berries and wild strawberries, they found the camp full of newly awakened Turks. Risa sat at the table outside with Tseng and a not quite awake Reno. Alex could see Max shaking with anticipation beside her.

Standing aside, she motioned that he lead the way into camp. He nodded slightly and, holding the basket of apples, approached the table.

"Risa? I wanted to apologize about ruining breakfast. But I fixed it, hopefully," he said, not meeting her eyes as he placed the basket on the table. Risa's lips opened just barely, and her eyes widened ever so slightly. It was the most surprise you'd get from her Alex realized. She hadn't expected this.

Then, the martial artist looked up at Max and smiled. "Thank you Max. And it's alright. The rabbit I mean. Besides, apples are better anyway," she said with a light chuckle. Alex smiled as she watched. It was nice to know she had helped. And the apples and berries did make a good breakfast. Max of course gave her all the credit, but he beamed the rest of the day.

…..

Alex once again sat on the roof, watching the sky and reflecting about that day. She knew soon enough Tseng would arrive. Every night, she would come and sit on the roof, and not long afterwards, he would join her. Occasionally they were joined by others, but never for long. She had a feeling why, but promptly ignored it.

She had told herself once that she would never hope for something like a relationship with someone specific. After all, if it didn't happen, all she would gain is a depression. She could save herself the time and self pity by just ignoring things like that, right? 'Oh well,' she thought. 'It's nice just being his friend.'

It was about now that she heard Tseng climbing up the ladder on the far side of the roof. As always, she didn't turn around or look away from the sky in front of her. She did listen though. She listened as his footsteps, wondering whether their walking on the roof could be heard below, or if anyone would even notice. When her commander reached her, he paused for a moment before sitting down. It was a first. He didn't ask if he could join her. She wondered absently if that meant something.

"Are you going to miss this when we go back to Midgar?" Tseng asked, not looking away from the sky in front of him. It was then that Alex remembered that they left for Midgar tomorrow afternoon. She wasn't really sure what triggered it, but her mind decided it didn't need to edit her thoughts.

Her first response, both mentally and vocally was "The unpolluted sky or hanging out with you every night?" Instantly after she said it she began to kick herself figuratively. How could she just say that so openly? What made her lose control of her words?

Tseng just laughed. Then he said, "Well, we don't really have to end the latter just because of the location. The sky though is only available here."

Alex could feel bubbles in her stomach. She would love to spend time with him like this all the time. But she had figured that once they got to Midgar that sort of thing would be over. Apparently not.

"Well, then yes. I will sorely miss this view. Will you?" Alex asked, glad once again that her blush was hidden by the lack of bright light. The moon had been full just the other night, and though it was bright, it wasn't enough to reveal the pink tinge on her face.

"Definitely."

Alex smiled slightly and looked over at her commander. For a moment, her breath caught in her chest. Tseng was bathed in the pale moonlight. He leaned back on his arms, one knee up while the other leg lay flat against the rooftop. The colors of his clothes were indiscernible due to the light, and appeared black. His face was serene, and a small smile was visible on his lips. She wished dearly she could just take a snap shot of this moment.

Noticing her gaze, he looked over at her, catching her eyes. The light made his eyes even darker, and if possible, deeper. She couldn't tear away. Why did his eyes affect her so much? it drove her crazy some times.

Tseng smiled. "You ok?"

"Yeah," Alex said, breaking from whatever spell she had been under and looking out to the sky again. "It's been a recently increasing occurrence…"

She heard him chuckle. Then he spoke again. "You know, it was pretty cool, that you helped Max with breakfast."

Alex hadn't expected this. "He was so upset," she said. With a chuckle, she added, "Poor boy is head over heels for Risa. You should have heard all of the things he said when we went to go get the apples."

"I can guess," Tseng said with a small laugh. "Risa knows too. She's observant like you," he added, looking over. Inside, the thing Risa had said earlier had plagued him all day. Would Alex really not believe that sort of thing? And if so, why?

"I've noticed. Maybe mercenaries and ninjas are closer than most people believe," Alex said. It was nice being able to not have to hide that bit of her past from people. Before, Cissnei was the only one who knew. Now, little inside jokes about her ninja history was passed between her, Cissnei, Reno and Tseng. They were the only ones who knew, but it was enough.

After that, for the most part, they talked about normal things. The wind began to pick up and Alex soon found herself shivering. Being cold never bothered her really, especially due to some of the training she received becoming a ninja. However, Tseng began to insist they go inside. Finally after a bit, Alex agreed and the headed down.

When they reached the ground, Alex realized how tired she was and told her commander she was going to go to bed.

"Ok. I hope you sleep well," he said, sounding kind of different for some reason. Was he nervous?

"Thank you," Alex said smiling slightly, wondering what was making him nervous. She turned to go, but he stopped her.

"Wait. Uhm… Do you have plans next Friday?"

"Not that I know of, no," Alex replied, suddenly feeling the same nervousness. Was he…? No… But maybe…

"Well, would you like to have dinner that day?"

Alex's breath stopped. He did. He asked her out on a date. "Sure. That would be nice," she said, feeling a smile crossing her face. She couldn't believe it.

"Awesome," he said, the nervousness now gone. "Uhm… how about I get you at five?"

"Yeah, ok," she said. Damn the bubbles in her stomach!

"Ok, great. And uh, sleep well, ok?" he still sounded a little off, but not nervous this time.

"Yeah, thanks," Alex said as she retreated, not wanting to turn away from him. It took a second, but at the same time, they both turned and walked away. Alex could feel giddiness radiating from her. How was she going to sleep now?

Awwww! I'm so nervous about writing this next chapter though. Also, after this chapter I'm going to have to upload only one chapter per week rather than my original two chapters a week and this week's three. Hope you all enjoy, and PLEASE review