This is what my life has come to. This. THIS.

Tseng sat, head in hands, as he tried to drown out the noise opposite him. He would have thought on a helicopter the only noise would be the whirr of the engines. That had certainly been the case every other time he'd been on a 'copter. Heck, even when he was flying away from a collapsing sector 7, all he'd heard was the whirring. He missed the whirring. It was nice.

Instead, the predominant sound was across from him, as the woman opposite him was admonishing her poor assistant. This woman. This WOMAN…Tseng liked to think he was someone who believed in equality. Maybe not economic equality, it wouldn't quite fit with having worked for ShinRa, but certainly equality between the races and the sexes. He did have some Wutai-blood after all, and he'd always respected women based on their character, and not bringing in the fact that they were a woman (or a man) at all.

Tseng had always been notorious amongst the Turks for his patience and his fine language. Whereas Reno had a mouth like…well…Cid, and a temper as fiery as his hair, and Rude had a habit of swearing when he did say anything, and Elena wasn't exactly the most patient of people when working…Tseng had always been respected (well, except by Reno) for these qualities.

So it was definitely a sign that all that was running through Tseng's head was:

You bitch. You fucking bitch.

She reminded him of Scarlett, in far too many ways. In fact, Tseng couldn't be sure that they weren't somehow related, or that god forbid Scarlett hadn't met her…unfortunate end…at the hands of Cloud and company in her stupid contraption. This woman, however, was not Scarlett. She was high up in the WRO, some consultant or something. She had introduced herself to Tseng as they'd boarded the helicopter taxi, which was taking them both to Junon from Edge. Her for a meeting apparently, and him to get away from work. She had been all sickly sweet, knowing who he was, all prim and proper in her grey pinstriped suit and tied back brown hair. Tseng didn't know her age, but he was tempted to ask. And then guess. Guess a higher number than he thought. The idea amused him, but instead he sat there, head in hands. The woman had actually broken off mid-stream in her rant to ask him what the matter was, that same tone she'd introduced herself with returning for a split second, and he'd waved it off, claiming a headache. It was partly true. Her voice was causing him great pain.

He just felt sorry for the assistant. A slip of a girl, probably no older than early twenties, with big, bright green eyes and short black hair. She looked pale, and tired, and terrified of the woman next to her as she was shouted at for various things, most of which Tseng guessed weren't actually her fault. She reminded him slightly of Elena when she had first joined the Turks. Bright-eyed, eager to impress, but somewhat over her head. He allowed himself a slight smile knowing how successful she'd turned out to be. He hoped the same for this girl. It did remind him though of how much he missed Elena. She was off in Wutai, making enquiries for Rufus. Somehow he felt it wasn't going to be a successful trip.

After what seemed like an age, the Helicopter finally touched down in Junon. Tseng let the woman disembark first, although it seemed she had forgotten his existence entirely, and as soon as she got off the helicopter he saw her pull out her phone and start yelling at somebody else. Sighing, he drew himself up, straightened his tie, and jumped of the 'copter. He looked around. It was mid-afternoon, and the sun was still up in the sky. Even so…

He took out his own phone, punched a few buttons, and waited.

"…Tseng." It was a statement from Rude, not a question. The man always checked his call ID.

"Hey Rude. You're in Junon at the minute right. Any chance…?"

"…the usual place. We'll make sure a drink is ready for when you get here. Reno will pay." Tseng heard a brief exclamation in the background before the phone went dead. Chuckling to himself, Tseng began to walk into the city. So much for small mercies. God he needed that drink.