My longest chapter yet! The others were short, because I like doing
cliffhangers. I know, I'm totally evil for doing that, but I like it! I'm
evil, so what? I'm born this way, what's your excuse?
.
Yuffie's eyes travelled upwards, taking in the blue suit, the neat tie, the crisp white shirt and the long black hair, and then she did a double-take. It couldn't be.But it was.
"Tseng?" She asked hesitantly. Indeed it was.
The tall man smiled at her, pushing his sunglasses down a bit, just enough for him to peer at her over the rim of them. It had been ten years since he last saw the young girl in front of him.
"Happy birthday, princess." He said, holding out her present.
She took it without hesitation, her grin once again appearing. She started tearing at the wrapping paper, but then she remembered she had a guest.
"Where are my manners?"
"I wasn't aware you had any, princess." Tseng teased. If anyone of his colleagues had seen him now, they wouldn't have recognized him. The stoic Turk leader, who hadn't cracked a smile for as long as anyone could remember, was actually grinning.
Yuffie gave him a Death Glare .
" I was going to continue that, you blockhead! Don't interrupt me! I was going to tell you to come in. So do."
"Thank you, princess."
"You're welcome, bodyguard." She answered.
"Why so formal, Tsengie? You haven't called me ´princess´ for years." She asked while ushering him inside, showing him to the kitchen. Wincing a bit at his horrible nickname, Tseng answered.
"Because I felt like it. And please don't call me ´Tsengie´. Tseng is just fine."
"Oh, please, Tseng, you don't expect me to believe that, do you? You never do anything ´just because you felt like it´. Now, have some cake, you look like they never feed you, boy!"
" I am not a boy, I am 17 years your senior, Yuffie." He protested, but sat down and took some of the cake. It was a chocolate cake with strawberry jam. Both chocolate and strawberries had always been two big addictions of hers, and even ten years hadn't changed that.
Yuffie fixed him with a level stare, and put some more cake on his plate before he could tell her not to. Knowing better than to argue with her when she had that particular look on her face, he ate without further protest.
Sitting down across from him, she took some cake for herself. Only then did Tseng realize that he was the only one there besides Yuffie. He wondered where her Avalanche friends were. He had no time to ask her about it though, since she started question him herself.
"Soooo, how's life with Shin-Ra? Ok, I hope?"
Making himself comfortable, Tseng started telling her about his life and the sayings and doings of Shin-Ra's employees.
***************************
Reeve was sitting in his office, tinkering a little with what one day might become Cait Sith's successor, when the three Turks, Reno, Rude and Elena burst in through the door. They looked completely dishevelled, and Reno was swearing worse than normal.
"Reeve!" He shouted once he was well inside the aforementioned mans office.
"Calm down, Reno. What's wrong?" Reeve asked him, quite a bit shocked by their sudden appearance. Reno drew a deep breath, trying to calm down, not totally succeeding.
"Tseng, that's what's wrong!"
"Tseng? What's with Tseng?"
"He's fucking gone! That's what's with him! We searched the whole damn building, and we can't find him anywhere!"
That stunned Reeve into silence for a while. Then, his memory kicked into action, throwing up a conversation he had with Tseng the night previous. It was something about taking a day off.He couldn't remember Tseng's exact words, but it was something along those lines.
" I can't believe he actually took a day off! I though he wasn't serious!" Reeve exclaimed, making the gathered Turks look at him as if he had grown an extra head. Reeve hastened to explain.
" He called me last night, telling me he was taking today off. He gave no explanation, so I though he was joking."
"Joking? Reeve, you really don't know Tseng, do you? But day off? He never has a day off!"
"Then maybe it was time for one, Reno." Elena pointed out.
"Shut up, rookie." The red head shot back. He turned back to Reeve. "We need him here. Now. Do you have is number?"
"Yes, I do. As a matter of fact, I need him here too. He needs to hand in some reports, and as far as I know, he's the only one who has them. We'll just have to call him."
"That's what I have been telling you, Reeve. Now get cracking."
****************************
Tseng was amazed at how easily they had slipped into their old banter that had been established when he was her bodyguard. It was as if those ten years had never passed at all. He was just telling her of Reeve's latest experiment, a replacement for Cait Sith, when his PHS rang. He had forgotten he even brought it with him, so he was quite shocked when it rang suddenly. Of course, being Tseng, he didn't show it. He just pulled it out of his pocket and answered calmly.
"Tseng."
"Tseng, it's Reeve. We really need you to come ba-"
" No."
"What do you mean, ´no´? It is of outmost vitality that you come back imidia-"
"NO. I will not come back. I don't care if the whole fucking building has burned to the ground, you'll just have to manage. I'm off duty, I don't have time to save your sorry asses."
"Bu-"
Click. Tseng hung up on his superior, and met Yuffie's curious gaze.
"What?" He asked.
"What ever happened to; ´Be polite at all costs` , Tseng?" Said, referring to something he had always told her when she was younger.
"I woke up." The told her dryly.
" The real world can do that to you, I suppose." She said, a hint of sadness in her eyes.
" It can." He decided not to ask her why she was sad, he knew her only too well. She would shrug and act like nothing was wrong. If it was something she wanted him to know, she'd tell him.
Instead, he listened silently as she started to tell him of her friends in Avalanche, and their adventures together. It was something that had always interested him; he had always wondered how his little princess had ended up saving the world together with a bunch of rebels and an ex-Turk.
*******************
End of chapter. Not many more to go. I've decided to write a prequel to this afterwards, and after that, I'll write a sequel to it. Screwed up order, I know, but I like it that way. I would once again like to thank my reviewers, you're great. If you want more of my fics about the Turks, go and read Office Day. If you want humour, read You Must Be Joking. Enough of self advertisement, goodbye.
- Metallicafangirl.
.
Yuffie's eyes travelled upwards, taking in the blue suit, the neat tie, the crisp white shirt and the long black hair, and then she did a double-take. It couldn't be.But it was.
"Tseng?" She asked hesitantly. Indeed it was.
The tall man smiled at her, pushing his sunglasses down a bit, just enough for him to peer at her over the rim of them. It had been ten years since he last saw the young girl in front of him.
"Happy birthday, princess." He said, holding out her present.
She took it without hesitation, her grin once again appearing. She started tearing at the wrapping paper, but then she remembered she had a guest.
"Where are my manners?"
"I wasn't aware you had any, princess." Tseng teased. If anyone of his colleagues had seen him now, they wouldn't have recognized him. The stoic Turk leader, who hadn't cracked a smile for as long as anyone could remember, was actually grinning.
Yuffie gave him a Death Glare .
" I was going to continue that, you blockhead! Don't interrupt me! I was going to tell you to come in. So do."
"Thank you, princess."
"You're welcome, bodyguard." She answered.
"Why so formal, Tsengie? You haven't called me ´princess´ for years." She asked while ushering him inside, showing him to the kitchen. Wincing a bit at his horrible nickname, Tseng answered.
"Because I felt like it. And please don't call me ´Tsengie´. Tseng is just fine."
"Oh, please, Tseng, you don't expect me to believe that, do you? You never do anything ´just because you felt like it´. Now, have some cake, you look like they never feed you, boy!"
" I am not a boy, I am 17 years your senior, Yuffie." He protested, but sat down and took some of the cake. It was a chocolate cake with strawberry jam. Both chocolate and strawberries had always been two big addictions of hers, and even ten years hadn't changed that.
Yuffie fixed him with a level stare, and put some more cake on his plate before he could tell her not to. Knowing better than to argue with her when she had that particular look on her face, he ate without further protest.
Sitting down across from him, she took some cake for herself. Only then did Tseng realize that he was the only one there besides Yuffie. He wondered where her Avalanche friends were. He had no time to ask her about it though, since she started question him herself.
"Soooo, how's life with Shin-Ra? Ok, I hope?"
Making himself comfortable, Tseng started telling her about his life and the sayings and doings of Shin-Ra's employees.
***************************
Reeve was sitting in his office, tinkering a little with what one day might become Cait Sith's successor, when the three Turks, Reno, Rude and Elena burst in through the door. They looked completely dishevelled, and Reno was swearing worse than normal.
"Reeve!" He shouted once he was well inside the aforementioned mans office.
"Calm down, Reno. What's wrong?" Reeve asked him, quite a bit shocked by their sudden appearance. Reno drew a deep breath, trying to calm down, not totally succeeding.
"Tseng, that's what's wrong!"
"Tseng? What's with Tseng?"
"He's fucking gone! That's what's with him! We searched the whole damn building, and we can't find him anywhere!"
That stunned Reeve into silence for a while. Then, his memory kicked into action, throwing up a conversation he had with Tseng the night previous. It was something about taking a day off.He couldn't remember Tseng's exact words, but it was something along those lines.
" I can't believe he actually took a day off! I though he wasn't serious!" Reeve exclaimed, making the gathered Turks look at him as if he had grown an extra head. Reeve hastened to explain.
" He called me last night, telling me he was taking today off. He gave no explanation, so I though he was joking."
"Joking? Reeve, you really don't know Tseng, do you? But day off? He never has a day off!"
"Then maybe it was time for one, Reno." Elena pointed out.
"Shut up, rookie." The red head shot back. He turned back to Reeve. "We need him here. Now. Do you have is number?"
"Yes, I do. As a matter of fact, I need him here too. He needs to hand in some reports, and as far as I know, he's the only one who has them. We'll just have to call him."
"That's what I have been telling you, Reeve. Now get cracking."
****************************
Tseng was amazed at how easily they had slipped into their old banter that had been established when he was her bodyguard. It was as if those ten years had never passed at all. He was just telling her of Reeve's latest experiment, a replacement for Cait Sith, when his PHS rang. He had forgotten he even brought it with him, so he was quite shocked when it rang suddenly. Of course, being Tseng, he didn't show it. He just pulled it out of his pocket and answered calmly.
"Tseng."
"Tseng, it's Reeve. We really need you to come ba-"
" No."
"What do you mean, ´no´? It is of outmost vitality that you come back imidia-"
"NO. I will not come back. I don't care if the whole fucking building has burned to the ground, you'll just have to manage. I'm off duty, I don't have time to save your sorry asses."
"Bu-"
Click. Tseng hung up on his superior, and met Yuffie's curious gaze.
"What?" He asked.
"What ever happened to; ´Be polite at all costs` , Tseng?" Said, referring to something he had always told her when she was younger.
"I woke up." The told her dryly.
" The real world can do that to you, I suppose." She said, a hint of sadness in her eyes.
" It can." He decided not to ask her why she was sad, he knew her only too well. She would shrug and act like nothing was wrong. If it was something she wanted him to know, she'd tell him.
Instead, he listened silently as she started to tell him of her friends in Avalanche, and their adventures together. It was something that had always interested him; he had always wondered how his little princess had ended up saving the world together with a bunch of rebels and an ex-Turk.
*******************
End of chapter. Not many more to go. I've decided to write a prequel to this afterwards, and after that, I'll write a sequel to it. Screwed up order, I know, but I like it that way. I would once again like to thank my reviewers, you're great. If you want more of my fics about the Turks, go and read Office Day. If you want humour, read You Must Be Joking. Enough of self advertisement, goodbye.
- Metallicafangirl.