A/N: Flashbacks are written in Italic.
The damp, humid air was so thick she felt that she could cut the air into bricks and make a house out of them. She didn't know that by being a Turk she would have so many assignments outside of Midgar. She had thought that Soldiers were the ones who got deployed, and that Turks worked out of Midgar alone, but now she was seeing that that was not the case. They had taught her wrong at the Academy.
Midgar had seasons, and never had humidity this thick. She missed Midgar right now for more reasons than the weather. Gongaga was such a backwater place. She was a city girl at heart.
She wiped the sweat beading from her forehead as she climbed a stump, to have a vantage point to look for Reno and Rude. They ran off somewhere, leaving her, as usual. Rude was easy to work with but when he got together with Reno the two were such buddy-buddies that she was left on the sidelines as they went off to do their own thing. She really didn't feel like part of the group, or at least their group.
Reno was back from the Infirmary, his injuries healed. Now, seeing him in action, she realized how dedicated and skillful he was at his job. A bit underhanded and reckless at times, but his methods were effective. Working with him, and Rude together, changed her perspective on the flame-haired Turk. He became more (in her eyes) than the lazy playboy she knew from before. Well, maybe just a little more, she thought He still annoyed her to no ends.
"Ugh," she sighed, the heat was getting to her. "Where are they?" They were supposed to be on the lookout for Avalanche, you know, because that was their job. According to their informant, they were to be coming through the area any moment now.
She got tired and sat down on the stump. Damn, she needed a drink. She never drank so much until she started working with these guys. Her thoughts flashed back to a week before, when she was in Junon with Tseng, Reno, and Rude. She wondered if they were avoiding her because of what happened that night.
The icy blue lights at the bar were so comforting. She just stared at them, never could she imagine that she would be here, with Tseng, outside of work. Well, to be fair, Reno was here as well. She glanced at Reno who was beside her; he was flirting with the lady bartender as he popped peanuts into his mouth. Ugh. She tried to crane her neck to look at Tseng at the other end of the bar. He had unceremoniously joined them for a drink, but then just sat in the corner, drinking to himself.
When she was at the Academy, everything was always so disciplined. But now that she was a Turk, she saw just how stressful and chaotic the job could get. She wondered how Tseng had coped with it all these years. She'd heard he'd been with the Turks ever since his graduation from the Academy, almost 20 years earlier.
He never seemed that old to her, anyways ...
Tseng, of course, made first in his class and was recruited to the Turks immediately after his graduation. He trained under Veld, one of the most famous Turks ever, besides Vincent Valentine, although no one had heard from that Turk in years.
She looked Tseng up using the employee database. She read the files dealing with his record - which was immaculate. That was what was open for general knowledge, but some things (actually a lot of things) were deemed classified and she couldn't gain access to them. From what she did gather, he rose quickly up in the ranks after an assignment, one of his first on the job, involving a little girl living in the Slums. She didn't know the details, most of it was labeled in the classified sections of his dossier, but it seemed Tseng, being the only one who knew anything about it, was given full responsibility for the job. Not only was he the only one responsible, but he was also the only one who had executive access to the files. No one else could even touch the file, and nothing was known on these secret files until just recently when the Scientific Research Division took complete control. Which reminded her, she wanted to go see if those documents were released yet. She could at least check from SRD on what was inside those files. When she got back to Midgar she had to check it out. In them she might find a clue as to why Tseng acted the way he did.
Even though she didn't know him very well, she could tell Tseng was not his normal self. Something seemed off - perhaps that's why he decided to join them on this drink. He gave in without much effort from Reno's insistence, telling him he should just forget about it and come have a drink. She wondered what was bothering him so. Was it the President's death? But Rufus was in control now, and honestly he handled Shinra better than his father ever did, and everyone felt the same way. It had to be something else. She was curious to find out what but didn't want her developing feelings for him to be known. If Reno or Rude got a whiff of her devotion to her boss, not only would she never hear the end of it from them, but it also might affect her job. That and she couldn't deal with rejection, not from him. She admired him too much for that.
She wanted to know more about Tseng, and she wanted to 'fit in' but she also felt that they should be doing more. Even if they were not as enthusiastic about their jobs as she was she still felt that they shouldn't be here drinking on a night like tonight, especially since Sephiroth and Avalanche were still out there.
All of the sudden she felt a tap on the back of her shoulder. She twirled around. A lower-class soldier member just stood there, looking at her. She felt the need to vent. "The second this job gets boring they want a drink," she uttered sarcastically. The young soldier then went over to Reno who slurred something at him. God, he's drunk already! The boy then went over to Tseng who brushed him off. He then walked around checking the tables and jukebox before leaving. What a weirdo, she thought and then returned to her drink. She'd ordered what Reno called a "girlie" drink, and she had barely touched it, while Reno was on his fifth shot of vodka already. Tseng nursed his glass of red wine and he looked as if deep in thought. He looked so beautiful pensive. Her heart fluttered.
A sad jazzy song came on from the jukebox and she watched as Tseng took another sip of wine and stared off into the space in front of him. She could tell the music was affecting him because his shoulders slumped and he looked, well… he looked defeated.
"Elena," she jumped in her seat a little. Reno was talking to her. He scared her. She was staring at Tseng. "Why do you look at Tseng so much?"
She blushed feverously. "No reason," she returned to her drink. "I was just wondering," she asked, after taking a small sip. "Why is he, you know, down so much?" She looked over at Tseng one last time, he didn't seem to overhear them talking. Honestly, he looked like he was off in his own world. She then looked at Reno, wanting an answer.
"Oh, him," Reno just shrugged, as if the answer was evident. "He's upset over a woman."
"A woman?" Elena remarked, trying to sound nonchalant, but her heart sank over those words. Just what she had hoped it wouldn't be.
"Yeah," Reno then smirked, giving her a curious look. "It's always a woman that dooms a man."
Elena rolled her eyes at him. Jerk. Why couldn't he spare her feelings for Tseng? She then drank all of her drink down through her straw in one long sip. It was a frozen cocktail and it gave her a brain freeze. "Damn!" she cried as she held her head.
Reno just laughed at her. At least she now had Tseng's attention. He told her to go back to her room and that they had a big day tomorrow. Reno then said something sarcastically about work and Costa del Sol. As she left the bar she overheard Reno joking to Tseng about her inability to hold liquor, calling her a 'lightweight.'
Ugh. She drank too fast, and now she felt dizzy. Was she drunk? She walked back to their hotel. The conditions they stayed in weren't exactly luxury – creaky beds, leaky faucets, moldy wallpaper, and no heat or air conditioning just loud overhead fans. As she came upon the hallway leading to her room she almost toppled over.
"Hey, hey, there," a voice came out and so did a hand helping her up.
She looked up to see Rude holding her. This was the second time he had to help her onto her feet after a tumble. She felt embarrassed and unprofessional. She was a grown woman not some floozy damsel in distress. But being in his arms felt too good. He was like a wall, so big and muscular. She was safe, and the feeling was new for her. She'd never even had a boyfriend before. She didn't want to leave his arms, not just yet anyways.
"I, I," she tried to get her speech down at least. He helped her to her door, it being right next to his. She just smiled weakly at him. "Thanks."
He was still holding onto her. She could smell aftershave and liquor on him and the two smells mixed together were intoxicating. "You all right?" he asked.
"Mmm," she just moaned. She looked up at him. "Do you want to come in?"
She felt his body tense but he just nodded silently after some thought. She opened her door and walked in, taking off her shoes and socks, and then her jacket. She was still mad over learning that Tseng was in love with some girl … she should have someone feel that way about her. She looked at Rude who was sitting on a chair, his arms crossed. He could do.
She smiled seductively, or at least she tried to be seductive, she wasn't used to doing this sort of thing. She walked over to him and before she knew it she had taken off her tie and was unbuttoning her blouse. She sat on his lap, straddling him so her legs dangled behind him – he was so tall. He sat up straighter in the chair but didn't say a word. She thought she saw him blush but couldn't really tell because she hadn't turned on the light. The only thing that lit up the room was the garish Mako powered streetlights from outside. She then realized what she was doing.
"Oh God!" she yelled and flung herself off of him. She then lay down on her bed and started to cry. After a minute or two she felt a wet washcloth on her forehead. And honestly it felt good so she didn't fight it. She then began to tell him of her dilemma. About Tseng not paying attention to her, about his being in love with another woman, and about how he would never love her. Her confidant didn't stop her or chastise her for having a stupid and silly schoolgirl crush. He only folded the washcloth and reapplied it to her head. Before she knew it she was fast asleep.
She felt embarrassed about what had happened, but Rude never said anything about it and she wasn't going to bring it up. She wondered if he told Reno. Not that she cared …
All of the sudden she heard voices. They sounded familiar. She began to walk into a clearing that was surrounded by thick jungle brush. She could now tell that those voices belonged to Reno and Rude. They were so loud.
"So Rude, who do you like?" That would be Reno.
"Come one, tell me who you like."
"Tifa." Elena was surprised; she had no idea that Rude would go for that type of girl.
"But, I thought you, Elena." Damn! He did tell Reno.
No, she likes Tseng." She was going to kill Rude.
"But he likes that Ancient." Elena froze, now the mystery woman had been revealed. Aerith Gainsborough: the woman who fled from Shinra with the help of Avalanche. But they were the enemy …
"Who do you like?" Rude was asking Reno. She didn't know why but she wanted to hear this.
"Hmm, that's a hard one." Elena rolled her eyes. Typical - Reno liked every girl. She wondered, offhandedly, if he even had a type.
All of the sudden she saw a young blonde man and two women in front of her. The man just shrugged, "What are they talking about?"
She huffed, "They're always so stupid talking about who they like." She remembered Tseng wasn't like that though; he was private and evasive about his feelings. "But Tseng is different." She said that loud so that Reno and Rude could hear her.
The man turned around. That face. "They're here!" she yelled and this got Reno and Rude's attention. The man and the two women then prepared themselves for a fight and Elena signaled to her comrades. "You take care of this, I'll report to Tseng."
She ran through the forest until she was out of sight of the battle. She took out her phone, quickly dialing Tseng's preset number on her phone. He picked up immediately. "Tseng, Avalanche is here. Reno and Rude are engaging them in combat."
"Which from the group are they?" Tseng then asked. He was in the area. She could hear the chopper blades in the background as he spoke.
"The man is definitely Cloud, the ex-Soldier and the other two are women. I'm not exactly sure which ones they are from the group though."
"Can you describe them?" Tseng asked her, a little too eagerly.
"Well," Elena hesitated, "one girl has … very large breasts." That was the only way she knew how to describe her. "I think it's Avalanche member Tifa Lockhart."
"Good," Tseng replied, his voice sounding tense, "and the other?"
Hmm, Rude likes busty girls. "The other," she tried her best to describe, "she's more … ladylike and she's wearing pink."
There was a silence. "Um," Elena broke the silence. "Do you know the other girl?"
Tseng took in a deep breath. "Aerith." His voiced danced around her name for a moment, but he then just, quite tersely, told her. "Don't engage any further with the enemy and pull back for now. I'll tell Reno and Rude to do the same."
"But, but, Sir," she replied.
"Don't worry," he said, disregarding her confusion. "Our little friend will keep an eye on them."
"Very well, Sir," she said and he hung up. She flipped off her phone and watched as Tseng's helicopter landed a little ways off in the distance. She wanted to ask him about that 'Ancient,' Aerith, but she would have to first learn more about her from his files, and she would also have to work up the nerve.