Out of My League
By: zhakeena
a/n: Okay, I dunno what I'm supposed to do… oh, yah, write a songfic! Sorry if I screwed up somewhere in here in terms of what actually happened in the game, but it's been a while since I last played FF7… (might as well say that I don't own any of it…)
The song is "Out of My League" by Stephen Speaks. All right. On with this crap.
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{It's her hair and her eyes today
That just simply take me away}
"Reno, you know it would help all of us to be done with this if you paid attention," Tseng remarked, obviously annoyed.
Reno, resting his head on his chin, snapped back to reality. After realizing that he zoned out again by staring at the rookie, and that she and Rude were staring at him in a confused way, he blinked twice. "Oh, yeah, boss, whatever…" he mumbled, and turned him.
"All right. Now, tomorrow, we are to go to the Gongaga forests to accompany Scarlet to the ruined Mako reactor. Understood?" Tseng explained.
"Uhm, excuse me, sir?" Elena piped up. "What if Strife and the others show up? Should we kill them, or something?"
There she goes again, Reno thought, leaning back on his chair.
{And the feeling that I'm falling further in love makes me shiver
But in a good way}
He looked at her with a hint of annoyance in his eyes. "No, Elena, because they'd know better than to barge in there. But, just in case they do show up, don't make a fuss of it…"
"But—" she began.
"Look, rookie, what he says is we're not gonna do anything but wait for Scarlet, all right? Simple as that," Reno cut in.
Elena turned pink at the mention of the word 'rookie'. "For your information, I was just trying to make things clear!"
"Yeah, you wouldn't want to mess things up again, like you did in the Mythril Mines…" he mumbled.
"Hey! How would you know?! You weren't even there! You were at the hospital getting your bones glued back together, for crying out loud!" Elena snapped back.
Reno smirked at her. "Rude told me all about it. Right, Rude?" he faced him. "……" was the reply, as usual. Tseng sighed.
"All right you two, stop that bickering…" Tseng said. That got the two of them to stop arguing. "Now if you don't have anymore questions, you are all dismissed."
{All the times I have sat and stared
As she thoughtfully thumbs through her hair
And she purses her lips, bats her eyes and she plays
With me sitting there slack-jawed with nothing to say}
"… Reno, you're doing it again." Rude mumbled.
"What? What am I doing again?" Reno asked.
"Staring at the new Turk," Rude replied. Reno looked at him in annoyance, because he could have sworn that his tall bald companion smiled for a nanosecond.
"Shut up, Rude… I am not staring, I just glanced at her."
"Defensive," Rude muttered. Reno scowled at him.
They were in the cafeteria, seated at one table. The aforementioned new Turk Elena was still buying her lunch, while Rude and Reno were eating theirs. (actually, Rude was eating his sandwich while Reno was just drinking Duff in a can.) Elena, after picking out her eatables, spotted their table and approached them.
"Hey, mind if I sit with you guys?" she asked them.
"Yes!" Reno snapped. Rude shook his head. Elena sat down and began taking out her sandwich.
"So, what were you guys talking about?" Elena asked.
"Nothing you would be interested in, newbie," Reno replied.
"Hmph. I'm not talking to you anymore," she muttered. She pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear before proceeding to eat. "So, Rude, you're not gonna say anything either, huh?" As usual, "…………"
"Have you seen Tseng? Doesn't he eat lunch here?" she piped up. Geez, she really wants us to know about her little crush, huh? Reno thought. But, he just chose to hold his tongue back. He's running out of snide remarks to say. Besides, he could have sworn that at the mention of Tseng she started to bat her eyes in a weird way. Sickening, he thought.
"No, he had his lunch brought up to his office. Either that, or he didn't eat at all," Rude replied.
"Oh… all right," Elena said, somewhat dismayed. "We're gonna go to Gongaga tomorrow, huh? For some reason, I'm kinda nervous…"
{Coz I love her with all that I am
And my voice shakes along with my hands
Coz she's all that I see and she's all that I need
And I'm out of my league once again}
The Turks were aboard the helicopter that would take them to Gongaga. Rude was seated next to the pilot while Tseng, Reno and Elena were seated at the back. Well, actually, Elena was cramped up in the back because Reno took the liberty of hogging up all her space.
"Would you mind moving your legs a little, Reno?" Elena squeaked. (After all, Mr. Tseng was sitting right in front of her)
"Sorry, but I was assigned to give you hell while we travel," Reno sneered. Elena hmphed and Tseng rolled his eyes.
"Well, do better than just getting in my hair," Elena mock challenged him. "Try getting me so pissed off that I'd send you to that hospital again…"
"Okay, I'll take note of that," Reno said, giving her that oh-so-annoying smile.
"Be quiet, both of you, or I'll personally push you two off this chopper," Tseng snapped, some of his Wutaian accent slipping out. That got the two of them to shut up, again. He certainly has a knack for doing that kind of thing.
A few moments later, Elena just chose to look out to the scenery. She couldn't help noticing from the corner of her eye that the redhead was glancing at her from time to time.
"Hey, Reno, you're doing it again," Rude mumbled, just loud enough for Reno to hear.
"Shut up, Rude."
{It's a masterful melody
When she calls out my name to me
As the world spins around her she laughs, rolls her eyes
And I feel like I'm falling but it's no surprise}
"Kyahahaha! About time you Turks showed up!" Scarlet said as they hopped off the chopper.
"… Have you gotten in the reactors yet?" Tseng asked.
"Of course not, I'm not stupid. Kyah~," she replied. "I don't have my materia equipped with me, and there are those pesky things that attack people there… I'm just waiting for at least one of you to come with me there…"
"Very well. You three," Tseng called out to the three remaining Turks, "You stay here and keep a lookout on AVALANCHE. I'll go with Scarlet." Elena saluted. Rude nodded. Reno yawned. Then, they went off to a patch of non-grassy land nearby.
"I wonder if it's gonna take them awhile," Elena wondered out loud.
"What, you miss the boss already?" Reno said, meaning to make fun of her. "Does Elena have a school girl crush on the boss?"
Elena rolled her eyes at him. "What's your age again? I'm sorry, but the way you make fun of me makes me feel like I'm in the 4th grade again, Reno…"
The redhead took in the exasperated way she'd said his name. He muttered, "Sheesh!" as he watched her storm off to another clearing. "Yeah, just cause you asked, 'Leena, I'm 24!" he shouted after her. "HAH-HAH!" she laughed sarcastically.
{Coz I love her with all that I am
And my voice shakes along with my hands
Coz it's frightening to be swimming in this strange sea
But I'd rather be here than on land}
It was taking Tseng and Scarlet quite a while… Reno was getting tired of pacing around. Rude, on the other hand, seems to be amused enough standing there.
"Hey, Rude," the redheaded one called out.
"?" the bald one turned to face Reno.
"Who do you like?" he asked him. Seems like a stupid question, but dammit, Reno was getting too bored.
"………" Rude replied. Man, does this guy know when to talk, Reno thought in annoyance.
"Aw, c'mon! No need to be shy about it. No one's here, as far as I know…" Reno said. (a/n: sorry, but I forgot Reno's exact line in the game… -__-)
After what seemed like an hour of pondering, Rude answered uneasily. "……… Tifa."
Damn. He has a fine taste for women, though. Unlike me... "Tifa?! Too bad. Poor Elena, she… you…" Reno replied, not letting up his making fun business.
Rude shook his head. "Nah. She likes Tseng."
Reno mock-gasped. "What?! I never knew that!" he said sarcastically. Well, well, well. Tseng, huh? Reno felt something weird inside him. Out of the blue, he said, "Tseng likes that Ancient…"
{Yes she's all that I see and she's all that I need
And I'm out of my league once again}
Somewhere else, Elena was listening to their conversation. All she had to hear was who Reno liked, so she has something snide to say to him. Also, get a clue on which one of the girls was that Ancient.
"Hmph. Those two are sooo shallow. But Tseng is different. He—" she stopped when she realized that she was talking to herself, and that 3 people who came out of nowhere were staring at her confusedly. She blinked, then her eyes widened when she realized who they were. "It's you!" she gasped out. She ran into where Reno and Rude were talking. "They're here!" she announced.
"… Then it's time…." Reno replied. Swinging his mini-cattle prod thing over his shoulder, he looked over to Cloud Strife, who got out his sword. He almost laughed when he saw Rude blush, because he realized that Tifa was with him, and probably was listening to their conversation.
"I'll go tell Tseng!" Elena said urgently and ran off.
Right. Tseng… "Hey, are you two jerks gonna fight us, or what?" Cloud said.
{It's her hair and her eyes today
That just simply take me away
And the feeling that I'm falling further in love
Makes me shiver but in a good way}
Elena was blushing furiously as Reno & Rude turned her right side up again. Don Corneo had just captured her, and, sad to say, Cloud and his company were there to rescue her and that other ninja with the attitude. At least Reno and Rude cared enough to chase her and to kill that fat-ass DOM…
"Argh," Elena grunted as she felt the blood rush from her head.
"Well, I did tell you not to do any meddling in our vacation, but I guess you gotta learn the hard way…" Reno said.
"Oh… you don't need to rub it in…" she said, swishing her messy hair back. Rude handed her a comb.
"Thanks Rude… uh, what are you doing with a comb?" He shrugged in reply.
Reno was staring at her. Again. "Uh… what are you staring at?" she asked.
"Oh… nothing," Reno told her. "Just remember what I said to you about not being weak, all right?"
"Yessir…" she walked on ahead.
"Hey, dude," Rude called Reno. "Yeah, what?"
"Better not make it seem too obvious, all right?" Rude told him. Reno raised a curious eyebrow at him, wondering why he suddenly spoke and what he meant by that. "I mean about that liking thing, you know?" he answered his questioning glance.
"Yeah, dude, whatever…" Reno said.
{All the times I have sat and stared
As she thoughtfully thumbs through her hair
And she purses her lips, bats her eyes as she plays,
With me sitting there slack-jawed and nothing to say}
Reno and Rude waited at the bottom of the Temple. They were waiting for Tseng and Elena to be done with looking at the inside of the Temple.
They saw Elena come down first, her face looking as if she would break down into girlish giggles in any second. "Wow," she said as she reached them. "Like, wow…"
"Wow… what?" Reno asked. Man, what did they do there, make out or something?! They'd better not have…
Rude also cast her a questioning glance. "He—Tseng, that is—he actually asked me out for dinner once this mission's over with!" she told them with glee. "Isn't it great?!"
Rude, as usual, didn't say anything, or even gave a proper facial expression. Reno didn't feel like giving a remark either.
Elena looked at them curiously. "What? No reaction whatsoever?" she asked them. She waved a hand in front of Reno's face. "Hey, dude, aren't you even gonna say something evil to me?" she asked with a silly grin.
He looked down at her. "In this case, no. Can't think of a damn thing." He smiled at her.
{Coz I love her with all that I am
And my voice shakes along with my hands
Cause it's frightening to be swimming in this strange sea
But I'd rather be here than on land}
The day later after that incident, Elena found herself trying hard not to cry. Being a Turk is hard… she thought. Too hard…
They were checking out all that remains of the Temple of the Ancients. Or, at least, the spot where the Ancients once built it… because the said temple is now a little black sphere. And in that little black sphere probably were the last compressed bits of Tseng.
Reno and Rude looked over to her. It was obvious that even though her eyes were dry, they must be burning inside.
"Hey, Reno," Rude called out to him. "Better talk to her."
Reno shrugged. "Fine, but I don't see why I should do it…"
He walked over to Elena, who was biting her lower lip. Without making a sound, he put his arm around her shoulder. "Hey, you alright?"
Elena, surprised to feel his skinny arm on her, shook her head.
"Shoulda guessed," he replied. "Look, Elena," he began. She looked up at him, expecting maybe another lecture on how strong a Turk should be, or something. "About that being strong thing…"
"Yeah, I knew it. 'Elena, don't be so weak' again, huh?" she said gloomily.
"Uh…" he felt himself getting a bit nervous. What the hell?... "Right. No, I mean…" he inhaled deeply.
"Uhm… What are you trying to say?" she asked him. She felt like breaking down at that moment.
"Yeah… I think that you acted strong enough for this thing…" he said slowly. Shit, that sounded stupid. "Er… what I mean to say is… you know? Don't hold it in if you have to cry. You know, as long as no one here that can fire you is around, might as well break down…" He heard Rude slap his forehead somewhere behind him. I gotta wash my mouth with soap, sometime. That sounded lame.
"I know it sounds stupid, don't rub it in…" Reno mumbled when he felt Elena staring at him confusedly.
"Yeah…" Elena said, as a few of her tears finally found their way out of her eyelids, "Don't worry, Reno. I won't…"
{Yes she's all that I see and she's all that I need
And I'm out of my league once again}
Reno, a minute after that, was surprised to find himself holding Elena, who was crying all over the front of his not-that-neat shirt. Not knowing what else to do, he awkwardly embraced her. At least, while he's not shivering at thinking about it.
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a/n: Please don't laugh at me, I know I suck at songfic writing… That's why I'm practicing right now!
Okay, now tell me what you think. If you have to flame me or stuff like that, please do it in a way that I can understand and apply what you've ranted about.
Buh-bye!
