Chapter 21

Ok... please don't kill me? I have a valid excuse. So I keep this story in two different places (my computer and a jump drive), or at least, so I thought. Until the one I used most often (jump drive) and had the up to date story was lost. I thought, no big deal, I have a back up on my computer... except I only had 15 chapters... meaning I lost around 7-10 half written chapters on this story. Needless to say, I freaked out and gave up hope. I have only just discovered that I, in fact, at some point in time, backed up my jump drive and thus had those chapters after all. So yeah... I'm sorry.

This chapter is purely drabbles that I've thought of and act as relationship development. They make me happy :D This is the Tseng/Alex chapter of drabbles.

I DO NOT OWN FINAL FANTASY

Alex woke up just enough to register that it was her cell phone that wouldn't shut up. She shook her head slightly and reached for it. Was that the office's ring tone?

"Hello?" Alex asked, still quite tired.

"Hello, Ms. Dawn? It's me, Matilda from the office," an old woman said. 'Matilda?' Alex thought. Isn't that the secretary for the Turks?

"Yes ma'am. Is there something I can do for you?" she asked, her mind still groggy.

"I'm just worried about the director," the old woman began. Matilda was like the office mother for the Turks. She was purely a secretary, and probably couldn't lift a pistol, no less fight. She definitely took care of the Turks though.

"Tseng?" Alex asked, wondering what was wrong.

"Yes. Yesterday was his office day, and I left after closing, but he was still here working. Told me he was behind on paper work. He does that a lot so I didn't pay any attention to it. But this morning when I got to work, he was still here. I haven't gone in yet but I heard him a little while ago. I've tried telling him to stop working before, but he doesn't listen to me anymore. Will you perhaps come and make him go to sleep?"

Alex chuckled a bit and sighed. That was definitely like Tseng. "I'll be right over."

Alex stepped off the elevator to the Turk's main lobby to see that the light in Tseng's office was indeed on. Matilda walked over and was about to say something when Alex just waved her hand and put her finger to her lips. Matilda just stopped, nodded, then returned to work.

Alex walked over to the door to Tseng's office and opened it slowly and quietly. Inside, she found Tseng with his head on his desk, his laptop still on and a few written reports loosely on his desk. Alex listened for a second and could discern light, even breathing. She chuckled quietly as she walked around his desk and hunched down on her knees till her face was on the same level as his. She sat there for a moment, noting how peaceful he looked when he slept. Then, she gently rested a hand on his shoulder. His dark eyes snapped open quickly at her touch and she smiled at him.

"Alex?" Tseng asked, confusion evident on his face. Sitting up, he looked around and remembered where he was. "Why are you here?"

"Matilda called me and asked me to make you go to sleep. Go to sleep… in a bed," she added as an afterthought, still smiling. Tseng chuckled.

"I am very behind on paper work. Last Monday's mission had leaked into my paperwork day and now I have to type out all of the reports for that day as well as yesterdays, both of which were already busy days," Tseng muttered as he got his laptop out of sleep mode.

"I'll do it. Go to sleep," Alex said as she grabbed Tseng's arm and pulled him out of his chair. He didn't resist much but Alex put that mostly on him still being quite tired. He did mumble resistance.

"Alex, you aren't supposed to do my paperwork. It's my job. I know you know how but still. I don't need to sleep yet. I can get a cup of coffee," he muttered as she dragged him towards a second door that stood on the side of his office. Anyone who looked inside his office would think it was huge, but they didn't even see all of it.

Opening the door, Alex pulled Tseng into what was virtually a mini apartment. The main room had a bed, a recliner, drawers, a stocked mini-fridge, and a bookshelf, and the room still have plenty of room and walking space. Another door led to a full bathroom. Veld had had it made so he could work late, like he had tendency to do. Tseng tended to work late too, but didn't stay here as often as Veld had. The bookshelf had one shelf of books and the rest had an adornment of materia of multiple types and levels, but few other signs suggested that the rooms were Tseng's.

"Alex, I have to do my work. I'm almost done anyway," Tseng protested again. Alex rolled her eyes and turned till she faced him as he stood with the door to his main office at his back.

"You need to sleep more. Tseng, I'll take care of it. You're falling asleep on yourself as we speak," she said before pulling him to the bed again and making him sit down on it. He glared at her tiredly before sighing. Looking up into her eyes again, he smiled just slightly.

"Convince me?"

Alex smiled at this. She knew what he really meant. Leaning in, she kissed him, lingering long enough to pull his hair out of its pony tail and run her hands once through the soft onyx hair. She pulled away and smiled at him again. "Now go to sleep."

He didn't argue after that. Alex smiled to herself as she went to tell Matilda that she had succeeded before finishing up the reports for her Tseng.

…..

Alex scoffed as Tseng took out one of the enemies she had been targeting. They were on a mission clearing out a base from the bottom up, taking out Genesis copy after Genesis copy. From the main entrance of the base, Zack and another soldier were assaulting. They would meet in the middle, and the enemy would probably not exist after that.

She shot Tseng a look and he laughed quietly. Occasionally, they would compete during missions, most of the time starting due to someone stealing the other's targets. She shook her head with a smile as she ran forward, her long blades drawn. Unlike her, Tseng was unaware of the line of enemies around the corner who were attempting to make a human wall against them. She smiled as a plan quickly came to mind.

Darting around the corner, she dropped low and slashed widely, cutting the legs of each of the six copies. Before they could even fall to the ground, she rolled back and shot several jets of lightning, making sure each group of bolts would hit and each enemy would receive damage. By the time Tseng came around the corner after her, she had killed each of the enemies with a final knife throw each. As they fell to the floor, Tseng just shook his head and smiled before continued on. Alex smiled and followed after, wondering what stunt he would pull to catch up with her. She loved going on missions with him.

…

Alex sighed as she waited for Tseng to finish his reports. They were going to hang out at his house after he finished working but that seemed like it would be late tonight. She didn't mind though and didn't notice when she fell asleep in the recliner they had moved from inside the mini apartment.

Tseng finished up his reports and looked at the clock. It wasn't really late, but he knew Alex was still rather tired from her mission with Cissnei the day before. Looking over, he found her already asleep, curled up like a cat in the recliner. He smiled as he turned his laptop off and got up. The main office was closed already and empty, so he gently pulled the sleeping ninja on to his back, making sure not to wake her up. It wasn't easy, but he seemed to be successful, to his surprise.

Exiting his office, he began to head towards the main elevator before remembering that the doors were messed up. He would have to use the stairs to get to the floor below so he could use the elevator. Sighing, he shifted Alex on his back and headed towards the stairway.

Suddenly, he felt light warm air brush his neck, sending shivers down his spine. Alex's head, resting on his shoulder, was facing his neck. When he had shifted, her gentle breathing came within reach of his skin. He had had no idea how ridiculously sensitive his neck was.

And he couldn't do anything about it. As he walked towards the small enclosed room that housed the stairs, he would feel the tickling sensation repeatedly on his neck, making him have to stop walking on occasion.

When he finally got into the stairwell, he found his progress was limited to a few stairs, then a pause, then a few stairs, then a pause. It was quite awkward. Then, he heard steps on the flight above him, walking down.

Turning around, Tseng looked up and saw Rude approaching. The bald Turk advanced with an odd look on his face as Tseng shivered again when Alex sighed. Tseng glared at his subordinate for a second before shivering again.

"Would you mind turning her head Rude?" Tseng asked before shivering again. It's not that it felt bad… no, it didn't feel bad. He just couldn't really function properly…

"… Of course," Rude said. He walked over and gently turned Alex's head till she faced away from Tseng's neck. Stepping back, he looked and Tseng with another funny look on his face. Tseng glared at him for a bit before sighing.

"Just… don't tell Reno."

…

Alex knocked on the door to Tseng's apartment. She'd already been there several times, and the slightly uncomfortable feeling was gone. She could hear her boyfriend's footsteps approaching the door as she ran a finger through her hair.

She still couldn't get use to it being short. It was so much lighter, and so much easier to handle. Her bangs had moved now, from framing her face to falling over the left side, covering her eye on occasions. She thought at first this would get in the way, but she quickly discovered that she could still see through her ebony locks.

The door in front of her opened and Tseng stepped out. He was wearing a red button up shirt that was untucked and some slacks.

Smiling, he hugged her and gave her a quick kiss before stepping back to let her in. Smiling as well, she walked in and was immediately met by warm air that smelt slightly of mint. His apartment was large and spacey, reflecting his position and wealth. But at the same time, it was modest. He cleaned it himself and took care of himself. He didn't adorn the walls with priceless paintings, nor were his dishes made of silver.

She liked the feel of his home.

"So what do you want to eat?" Tseng asked as he closed the door. "I can have virtually anything sent up here."

"Hm… I haven't had pizza in a while. Do you want to do that?" Alex asked as she hung her coat up and slid off her shoes.

"Sure. Any preference?"

"Not really. You?"

"Same," Tseng said, crossing the room to where his phone lay on the arm of his couch. Flipping it open, he sent an order for pizza. His task complete, he turned around to see Alex sitting down on his couch. He took a second to look at her.

She was wearing a striped long sleeve shirt with a t-shirt over the top and some well fitting jeans. Her now short hair hung just above her shoulders, and since being cut, had adopted a slightly wavy trait. Her bangs hung over her face now, but was constantly moving in and out of the way, so he didn't really mind the new obstruction. Also, with the new swatch of ebony black that often hung over or around her eyes, the blue stood out drastically, making her eyes even more beautiful. As he stood there, thinking this, said eyes looked up and met his.

Smiling, he came and sat down with her. "They said it'll be about half an hour," he informed her.

"Ok, cool," Alex said, thinking about how nice it was to have a break from work. As the thought came into her head, she realized she had no room to talk. Tseng needed a break way more than she did. As her smile faded from her face, she looked over at Tseng who had noticed the change and began to look concerned. Smiling reassuringly, she asked "so what do you want to do while we wait?"

"Well," Tseng began, not really forgetting what had just passed. "I don't really have much entertaining things here. Mostly it's just movies."

"That works," Alex said with a smile. She had discovered early on that just spending time with him was enough for her.

"Hm. You need to relieve stress. You work to much Tseng," Alex said. They had finished their food, and had gotten to talking, the movie they had put it now ignored. They were in his room, having opted for the bed rather than the couch, with the movie playing quietly in the background. "You need to relax more."

"Is that so?" Tseng asked, amusement showing in his eyes.

"Yes."

"And how should I do that?"

Alex smiled. Before Tseng could say anything, she tackled him, tickling him as much as she could before he stopped her. He was surprisingly ticklish, which was so unlike him. She was glad though.

The surprise on his face was priceless. However, it ended quickly as he grabbed her wrists (though not painfully hard) and held them away from him. Breathing heavily, he tried to back away but Alex slipped from his grip and lunged forward again, a mischievous smile on her face. But before she could reach him and start to tickle him again, he moved forward, turning his body and flipping her over his hip and onto the bed.

"No fair using martial arts moves!" Alex laughed. But Tseng was competitive, and definitely one for revenge, so before she could get up, he was tickling her. She was just as ticklish as he was, so this wasn't good for her.

Twisting around, she pushed on his side, causing him to fall sideways on the bed, lying parallel to the pillows at its head. As quick as to be expected of a ninja, she straddled him and pinned his arms on either side of his head. Leaning in ever so slightly, she whispered "Pinned ya".

Breathing kind of heavily, Tseng smiled up at her before taking a deep breath. With one quick movement, he turned the tables, pulling himself up and throwing her over his side onto the space of bed next to where he had previously been.

Alex looked up at the now smug looking Tseng as he pinned her arms above her head and leaned in close. "Pinned ya". His hair slipped from his elastic band, falling down and framing his face as he looked down at her. He only took a second to glance at it with an annoyed look before returning his gaze to the ninja beneath him. He smiled at her mischievously.

Looking up at him, she had time to stick her tongue at him and return it before he leaned closer, almost parallel to her body with his face mere inches above hers. "What was that about relieving stress?" he asked.

She didn't have time to answer before his lips met hers. At first it was soft, but quickly grew more passionate. His grip on her wrists weakened but she didn't move them, being quite thoroughly distracted with his wonderful taste.

Slowly, his hands moved from her wrists and onto the bed so he could support his weight, while hers lifted up to his head to run through his surprisingly soft hair.

This was bliss. The feeling of him, the taste, the affection. Everything was perfect. She wondered how he felt right then. When it all came crashing down.

They both stopped moving as a familiar ring filled the air. Pulling away just the tiniest bit, she could feel him sigh before he sat up (though still on top of her) and dug in his pocket. Pulling out his cell phone, he grimaced and answered. She knew what it meant. Poor Tseng.

"Yes sir… goodbye sir," he said after a few minutes of silent listening and the occasional short response before snapping the phone shut. For a second, he looked down at her, and then fell forward and slightly to the side, landing half on and half next to her on the bed. His face had landed in a pillow, but he didn't move.

Alex sighed sadly and turned on her side, wrapping her arms around him as best she could in this odd position. "Work?"

"The President wants me to rewrite the past week's reports in a new format… there is barely any difference between the two but he insists," he said, his voice muffled slightly by the pillows.

For a while, they just laid there, both procrastinating getting up. Finally, Tseng sighed again forced himself up. He pulled out his laptop and started it up before leaning over and giving her a quick kiss.

"I'm sorry to leave you bored. Do you want to start another movie or a book or something?" Tseng asked. Alex just shrugged. She knew she wouldn't really be able to enjoy herself if he was working. But she put a movie on in the living room where Tseng would be working and fixed a couple of drinks.

About half an hour later, Alex decided that the movie wasn't enough to distract her and replaced it with music. She looked over at Tseng and once again felt bad for him having to work. She wished for probably the fiftieth time that there was something she could do to help. Then, an idea popped into her head. And it would work because the chair Tseng sat in had a low back.

Alex walked over to where Tseng worked and for a moment just listened. He sighed randomly every now and then, and Alex could tell he was tense. She had brought a small stool and sat it behind him quietly and sat down. Gently, she began to massage his back.

With the first touch, he jumped slightly. He must not have heard her come up. He turned to look at her for a second, but when she shrugged her shoulders at his inquisitive look, he smiled and returned to his work. Alex didn't look over his shoulder to see what the reports were about because she already knew. She just sat there, gently kneading his back until the many knots were worked out of his muscles and until shoulders became less tense. His hair was back in its pony tail and out of her way whenever she focused on his shoulders and neck. They didn't talk as they worked, though they both had expected this. The music Alex had put on could be heard in the background, but that was it.

She could tell she had helped, which filled her with a sense of completion. When he completed the reports, he sighed in a happier tone then before and stretched a bit. Turning the chair around, he faced her, a small smile on his face.

"Thanks, Alex. Where'd you learn that?"

"I actually taught myself when I was little," Alex said with a smile. She had learned for her father, and never really had the chance to use it since. It made her happy knowing she was able to help her Tseng.

A few hours later Alex and Tseng lay in his bed again, a movie playing once again. Tseng's arm was wrapped around Alex's shoulders and she had her head on his shoulder with one of her arms lying across his torso. They had sat like this in silence for quite a while as the movie played on his TV.

Tseng looked over at the clock. It had gotten late and Alex had opted to stay. The movie was ending and he was about to ask if she wanted to start another when he noticed that she was fast asleep.