The file you are reading is not meant for your eyes; put it down and walk away or I Tseng Director of the Turks, or my successor, will find you and silently and effectively remove you from society, to then slowly starve and torture you to your breaking point. It is as this point that we will bring you do the absolute middle of nowhere where you will be given your freedom of choosing how you would like to die. Should you ever make it back to society the Turks will take this is as you rejecting our kindness of letting you choose your own death, and will be subject to a death at either my, or my successor's, discretion. This is the record of six of my most extraordinary Turks. They came from another world, a world where Final Fantasy 7 is owned by Square Enix but this is their story and theirs alone. For the sake of the future I left a record of their adventures locked deep in the Turk Archives but only if the fate of the world is threatened should this file be opened. You have been warned. Read at your own risk.
-Tseng Akira, Director of the General Affairs Department, Shinra Electric Power Company
Chapter 25: Costa del Sol
A week later found all of them leaving Midgar, but this time, not for a mission.
"WAAAHHOOOO!" Zack yelled, as he jumped from the car, and ran right for the beach. His towel was streaming behind him, his flip flops kicking up sand.
"I told you, he had to be wearing his trunks before we left." Angeal said, to no one in particular. The rest of them laughed. Piper was chasing after Zack, the two of them laughing.
"It's also why I handed out protection assignments before we left Midgar." Tseng said.
"I'll take the bags to the hotel and get us checked in." Rude commented quietly from his seat in the second car. Tseng nodded his head.
"Well," Tseng said, "Enjoy your stay at Costa del Sol."
"Why did you dye my hair blonde again?" Gen asked, pulling his shirt over his now light blonde hair and dropping it onto the sand. Alanna grinned. She was wearing a bathing suit he'd designed. It was a racer back one piece, with multiple straps crossing her midsection; it was a beautiful sea blue.
"So your fans don't recognize you. So we can enjoy the beach." She said, looking up at him. She patted the spot beside her. He smiled, and sat next to her on the towel she'd spread out. He gently picked up her hand.
"I am forgiven yet?" he asked her. Alanna smiled, and rolled her eyes.
"I suppose. Just don't ever do that again. Don't even think about it!" She told him, serious. He nodded his head.
"Never, ever." He promised. Alanna smiled and leaned against him happily. Genesis smiled and wrapped his arms around her. He was quite content to sit in the sun, with Alanna in his arms.
Mary finished adjusting the strap on her neon green bikini, as Angeal waited patiently outside, tapping his foot on the ground. His hair had been pulled back into a low ponytail at the base of his neck, and he wore a folded dark green bandana as a head band. His swim trunks were dark green, with a few neon green stripes on the sides. Once she emerged, Angeal grabbed her hand and pulled her after him.
"Come on, or we'll lose sight of Zack and Piper." He said. Mary grinned.
"They're probably in the water already." She said. Angeal grinned at her over his shoulder.
"And where do you think we're going?" He asked her, as he pulled her out onto the dock leading into the water.
"Ladies first." He said, gesturing to the water.
"It was your idea." She retorted playfully, giving him a solid shove off the dock. He caught her wrist and pulled her in after him.
They both surfaced, grinning. Mary shoved at his shoulder laughing. He laughed and caught her wrist, and started swimming out past the waves coming in.
"What about sharks?" She asked. He paused to look at her over his shoulder, giving her a puzzled look.
"Is that a monster back in your home?" He asked. Mary sighed.
"Forget I asked." She said.
"If you want me to." He said, laughing. Mary grinned at his back as he turned back to swimming. Life seemed good. They'd worked things out, and it seemed that life had suddenly given her something truly wonderful.
Cloud sighed and plopped into the sand. He was tired of keeping up with Zack and Piper, who were eagerly diving into waves.
"Miss Tseng, Chocobo?" He heard from behind him, just before a red bandana wrapped itself around his head, hiding his spikey blond hair.
"There, no one will recognize you now." Ryu said, satisfied. Cloud turned to look at her. Ryu was standing behind him, one hand propped on her hip, the other hanging free by her side. She was wearing a bright red bikini, a tropical sarong around her hips, with a black what she called a cadet's hat on her head. Her goggles hung in their usual place around her neck. A canvas bag was slung over one shoulder. He smiled slightly.
"A little bit." He admitted. Ryu set her bag by his side and flopped into the sand beside him.
"Chloe offered to watch Seph for him, but you know Tseng. He takes things seriously. Seph's fangirls are far more devious than Gen's, and unlike with Gen, we can't just dye his hair and he's disguised." Cloud smiled.
"I know. It'd..."
"It'd just be nice to spend time with him, right? I mean, who cares that there's a ton of paparazzi? With 'Geal being one of the worst shutterbugs, snapping pictures of all the SOLDIERs they can identify." She said. He flushed.
"Is that why he assigned himself to Seph?" He asked. Ryu shrugged.
"My guess? He's trying to protect you from the public. Until you're both ready to face the fire storm that'll come down on you two, that is." She told him. He sighed, and drew his knees up to his chest.
"I'd like to spend some of my vacation with him." Ryu ruffled his hair.
"Cheer up, Chocobo. It's not like Tseng's going to waste an opportunity to be with you." She told him.
"You think so?" He asked, brightening up.
"I know so." She told him.
Seph watched the crowd nervously. Tseng was sitting next to him, a laptop open in front of him. Both of them were dressed casually, in shorts and sleeveless shirts and flip flops.
"I don't understand the appeal of the beach." He said. Chloe, who had just walked up to them, smiled.
"I could probably show you the appeal." She told him, winking at him as she handed both of them a bottle of water. Tseng scowled at her.
"Are you flirting with him Chloe?" He asked, surprised. Chloe grinned.
"Oh no, Director. I'm just being friendly. He'll know when I am flirting with him." She said coyly. Tseng shook his head and waved his hand at her.
"Go and annoy someone else, Chloe." he said. Chloe looked at Seph.
"Am I annoying you, General?" She asked, batting her eyelashes at him. Seph grinned. He might have bought Chloe's innocent act, if he didn't know that under her low cut sundress, was a knife strapped to her leg, if not two.
"No Chloe, you're not."He told her. She smiled.
"Tseng. I'm taking Sephiroth in hand. You're clearly in no mood to teach him about the joys of the beach. He's on vacation, he should be having fun and so should you. Ryu will gladly hand Cloud over to you so she can spend time with Morgan." Chloe said, as she bent to haul Seph to his feet. He stood. He was suddenly eager to learn about the beach.
"You should be with Cloud." He told Tseng. Tseng sighed.
"Unfortunately, I have some work I have to finish up. Ryu will be with him for at least today." He said.
"Suit yourself, Director. I am taking Sephy swimming." Chloe said, brightly hauling Seph away.
"But I don't have..." Seph said. Chloe reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of swim trunks.
"Oh." Seph said, surprised.
"Now where'd she get those, I wonder?" Reno said, watching from a nearby bench as Chloe shooed Seph into a booth to change.
"Your suitcase." Morgan replied, straight-faced, before taking a sip from his water bottle.
"She didn't!"Reno gasped.
"No, she didn't. I just wanted to hear your reaction. She bought them at the store we stopped at on the way here."Morgan told him.
"Oh."
"One wonders how she knew he wouldn't bring a pair." Matti mused. Reno and Morgan turned to look at him, both of them raised an eyebrow.
"One wonders how she knew his trunk size."
"Oh, I see how it is, yo." Reno murmured.
"I'd say you've lost a conquest, but I don't know if you ever actually slept with Chloe or not." Morgan said to him. Reno grinned, and pushed him from the bench. Seph emerged from the stall dressed in silver and green swim trunks.
"A time or two." he admitted.
"Might be a good thing, because I don't know if Sephiroth actually knows what to do in that situation." Matti said, as Morgan sat back down.
"While Reno was so rudely pushing me off the bench, I spotted some members of the RLC." Morgan said, refocusing them. Rude came up behind them, and casually tipped the bench, spilling them all on the ground.
"You're all supposed to be wandering around, not gossiping." He said mildly. Reno stood and brushed his swim trunks off. Morgan and Matti stood a second after he did.
Chloe, mean while, was quickly dyeing Seph's hair black, braiding it back and creating a headband from a gray bandana.
"Very funny, Rude." Morgan said dryly, flicking a clump of dirt from his trunks. Rude pointed to his shirt.
"If you're going to look like me, you should be tanning." He pointed out. Morgan sighed and pulled the shirt off, and shoved it into his backpack.
"In that case, Reno, you'd better go slather Ryu with SPF 100, or she'll be as tan as Rude by the end of the week." He pointed out.
"HEY!" Ryu protested over the mics, "Just because he's punishing you, don't do it to me!"
"Ryu, put the sunscreen on." Reno said. She sighed, and grumbled something unintelligible.
"Fine." She snapped.
Ryu growled and handed the bottle to Cloud.
"Here, get my back please" She said. Cloud gingerly took the bottle and squirted a decent portion into his hands. He hesitantly rubbed it into her back as she briskly slathered her arms, legs, face and front.
"Hey, that's my job." Morgan protested. She blew a raspberry at him through the mic.
"You tattled, so no touchy for you." She told him. Cloud went beat red.
"That's just mean, Ryu." Matti said, laughing.
"Justice." Ryu replied smugly.
"Sorry we didn't get to spend much time together today." Tseng commented to Cloud, as they all crowded into the elevator to head to dinner. Cloud smiled at him.
"I understand." Cloud said. Tseng smiled and gently rubbed the tip of his nose, it was a deep pink.
"You should have put sun screen on." He said. Cloud grinned.
"Ryu said a tan is good for a person." He said. Ryu stuck her tongue out at Reno at that. He shrugged.
"I don't tan, yo. I go from pale to red, to peeling, to blistered, to freckled." He said. Tseng rolled his eyes, as the others laughed. Cloud smiled shyly as the doors opened, and the paparazzi flashed in their faces.
"Oh, for the love of Gaia's dumbapples." Ryu muttered. She, Reno, Rude, Morgan, Matti and Chloe stepped forward to force the crowd back.
"Aren't you glad you put a hat on?" Alanna muttered to Gen.
"Or your dye job would have been for nothing." He agreed, as they squeezed through the crowd. Once they made it the entrance and the waiting vehicles, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"You know, I always said I hated super stars. I never thought I'd get along with five of them." Morgan said. Ryu thumped him lightly on the leg.
"It's not like they're movie stars, or rock stars, or super models. They're heroes." She said, making them all blush. Cloud, who was sitting next to her, sunk down into his seat as they approached the restaurant.
"Can we order in tomorrow?" He asked, when he saw the crowd waiting for them.
"I agree." Tseng said.
"You guys are no fun at all." Zack complained.
"I agree with Cloud and Tseng." Angeal said. "This kind of attention is not what we came for. We came to relax away from the fans." He said, putting his arm around Mary.
"I hated crowds to begin with, now I am seeing wutainese assassins in every one because of Tseng." Ryu muttered, kicking the back of his seat with her black boot. He grinned over his shoulder at her.
"I gave you a reason to dislike them." He told her.
"How come you never liked crowds, yo?" Reno asked, as they all climbed out. She shrugged.
"Too many people, too many distractions, just too much chaos." She replied.
"Can I pretend to be sick, and go back to the hotel?" Cloud asked, trying to make himself small behind Tseng.
"I like that idea." Ryu said.
"No." Tseng said, at the same time as he reached behind him, and dragged Cloud out from behind him to walk beside him.
"You'll be fine." He whispered to him.
"They're all looking at me." Cloud muttered to him.
"Actually, most of them are looking at Seph, who is talking with Chloe. They're trying to figure out who she is." He told him. Cloud relaxed marginally. Ryu scowled at the crowd of shutterbugs.
"This should be illegal." She muttered.
"You can't stop them, yo. Seen a Wutainese assassin yet?"Reno asked.
"I'll kick you later." She muttered at him. He laughed.
"You can try, neesan." Finally, they made it into the restaurant.
"There has got to be a better way to manage that." Ryu said, once they'd ordered drinks. They'd managed to secure a secluded table, but they all knew the contents of what the SOLDIERs ate would be known by their fan clubs almost as soon as they ordered.
Tseng rested his hand on Cloud's knee, and gently squeezed.
"I promise once we get back to the hotel, you won't have to deal with crowds for the rest of the night." he said. Cloud smiled at him.
"I'm going to hold you to that promise, Tseng. And if I find a paparazzi in our room, I am going to go ballistic." He threatened. Tseng smiled.
"That's why Rude chose to stay behind; he doesn't like these kinds of things anyways." He said.
"Lucky." Cloud muttered.
The Turks gathered in Tseng's room later that night to go over security. (Cloud had been kicked out to go play with Zack) Ryu logged into the fan clubs and checked to see if anyone had tattled the SOLDIERs location. Like they had guessed, it was known that all four of them were on vacation. But many fans were suggesting staying away, and allowing them to enjoy it.
"You're welcome." Her goggles chimed in. Ryu grinned, as Tseng nodded his head.
"It's a bit scary, her taking initiative like that, yo." Reno commented.
"Helpful, in this case." Rude agreed.
"In other news, the RLC has yet to locate Gen." Ryu said, grinning at Alanna, who smirked at Ryu.
"I knew my plan would work." She said smugly.
"Don't let it go to your head." Matti told her. Alanna scowled at him.
"Yes, bossman." She replied. Ryu shook her head and yawned.
"Phew, the sun takes it out of me. If that's it for the night, can I go to sleep Tseng? I have to keep up with energetic SOLDIERs in the morning."She asked. Tseng waved his hand.
"Go." He told them. They all stood and dispersed.
The next morning, Tseng wisely ordered breakfast for them all, and they gathered in Sephiroth and Zack's room to eat. Cloud sighed, and cuddled up against Tseng on the bed. Tseng smiled.
"Sorry, I won't be on the beach with you today. I have a ton of calls to handle." He said. Cloud sighed.
"I know. You're not really on vacation." He said glumly. A grape smacked him in the side of the head. He looked up, surprised. Ryu grinned at him over her fruit, as she idly tossed another fruit up into the air.
"What was that for?" He asked.
"Tseng will join you as soon as he can today, so don't be so glum, chocobo. Give him a smile, and let him know you'll have fun this morning and don't forget your bandana." She said. Reno poked her lightly with a half eaten skewer of bacon, seasoned eggs, and bits what looked like grilled bread.
"Don't forget your sunscreen, yo." He told her. She scowled at him.
"Yes, mother." she said, sticking her tongue out at him. Alanna grinned evilly at Ryu's back.
"Where is mother?" She asked, in a sing-song voice. Ryu shuddered.
"Bleck, don't ruin my breakfast Alanna, by mentioning those three." She said.
"Stop breaking the law, asshole!" Mary chimed in. Alanna laughed, as the SOLDIERs and Turks looked very confused.
Ryu watched Cloud, as he absentmindedly made a pile of sand in front of him. The chocobo was bumming because Tseng hadn't emerged from the hotel yet.
"Alanna." She murmured.
"Hpm?" The sleepy reply came back over the mic.
"Stop dozing with Gen in the sun, and come over here. Tell him to meet us by the volleyball courts." She said. As Alanna grumbled, but obliged, Ryu dashed out into the surf where Piper and Zack were playing.
"Piper, why don't you go hang out with Matti for a while. I'll watch Zack, I need his help cheering Cloudy-kun up."
"Cloudy-kun?" Zack asked, confused, as Piper and Alanna giggled. Ryu sighed.
"One of many nicknames for him. Come on, I need your help hauling him off to the volleyball courts and forming a team." She told him. Zack looked at Piper.
"Go on Piper Puppy, you should spend some time with Matti." He paused, and threw Ryu over his shoulder. "I'll be in Ryu's capable hands while you're gone." Ryu pounded on his back, laughing.
"Zack, put me down. We're hauling Cloud off, not me." She protested. Piper giggled and waded back to shore.
"Looks to me like Ryu's in your hands, Zack." She said.
"Hey. Why does Zack have his hands on Ryu?" Morgan asked.
"Because he picked me up." Ryu explained.
"Puppy, drop her. Come here boy!" Alanna called from the beach, laughing. Zack grinned and ran back to shore, Ryu still over his shoulder. He came to a halt in front of Alanna, and gently deposited Ryuko on her feet. She sniffed and made her way to Cloud. Reaching down, moved to grab his arm. Before she could touch him Zack whipped past her, slung Cloud over his shoulders, and took off running through the surf, with Alanna and Ryu chasing him laughing. Cloud was protesting loudly, pounding on Zack's back.
Tseng looked out his window to see Zack running through the surf Cloud slung over his shoulders, Alanna and Ryu chasing after him laughing. He watched as Zack ran up to the volleyball courts and set Cloud down in front of Genesis, who stood waiting for them. Alanna and Ryu sprinted up to join them.
He watched as they bullied Cloud into playing with them. With a sigh, he turned back to his laptop. Oh how he wished he could be down there with them, Cloud in particular.
"Oh Alanna, you'll like this next match." Ryu called over after they won their third match. They'd managed to get entered into a volleyball tournament.
"Why's that?"Alanna asked. Ryu grinned.
"We're going up against members of the Red Leather Club." Ryu said, as they watched their opponents gather across the court from them.
"Oooh, are those two in the front who I think they are?" Alanna asked, just as Gen made sure the red bandana he was wearing as a headband was secured.
"Why, yes they are." Ryu said, grinning. She watched as Zack tried repeatedly to push his loose purple bandana headband up his forehead. She reached up and quickly undid the knot and then retightened it.
"Better?" She asked him. He nodded his head.
"Thanks, Ryu." She nodded her head.
"So, who are these people?" Cloud asked.
"Members of RLC. The two in front slushied 'Lanna on Gen's birthday." Ryu told both him and Zack, as the volleyball was handed to the opposing team.
"Heads up." Genesis murmured. Zack dashed forward, focused on the ball. Once they served he was after it, muttering, 'My ball, my ball' the entire time.
At one point, he plowed over Cloud, standing in the back of the court, watching and occasionally hitting the ball. Cloud shoved him off.
"Watch it, Zack" He complained.
"Come on and play Cloud." Zack said, before he bounced away. "Bet'cha can't keep up with me!" He challenged over his shoulder. Cloud grinned, his competitive streak rising.
"You're on!" He yelled, running forward and diving to hit the ball, throwing up a spray of dirt, making the others cover their eyes.
"Watch it with the dirt!" Ryu called to them. Zack waved an acknowledging hand over his shoulder.
"Somehow, between those three, we aren't needed." Ryu said to Alanna, during a lull in the game. They watched as Gen delivered a mean spike.
"But it's still fun." Alanna said. Ryu nodded her head.
"Hey, isn't that the girl that was with the great Genesis?" One of the RLC members said.
"You're right, and that's the Turk that banished us."One of the banished girls added, recognizing Ryu. Zack's sensitive ears picked the conversation out of the noise of the beach. He cast a glance at Ryu.
"I think you were just identified." he said to her. She cocked her head to the side.
"By who?" She asked. He gestured to the RLC.
"You banished a few of them?" He said. She grinned and nodded her head. She glanced at Alanna.
"They might recognize Alanna, and if they do, they'll see through Gen's disguise." She said.
"They already think she was the girl with him on his birthday." He told her, before he smacked the ball back to them. Ryu sighed.
"End this match quickly. Get them out of the tournament." Ryu told him. Zack grinned and nodded to Cloud, who'd lingered near them, eavesdropping.
Between the two of them, they quickly scored enough points to win the match.
"You bitch! You think you can win his heart!" One of the members on the sidelines screamed. Zack, Cloud, Genesis and Alanna turned to look at her, and saw the gun in her hand aimed at Alanna. Something bright and silvery flashed through the air and slammed into her elbow. The woman screamed in pain, and shock, and dropped the gun.
Cloud, Zack, Genesis and Alanna turned to look at Ryu. She was causally flipping her second hair stick in her hand, the empty sheaths still in the intricate knot below the base of the cap that Alanna had made that very morning. Ryu grinned savagely at them.
"Chocobo, grab the gun." She told Cloud. He nodded, and dashed over to grab it. Rude and Reno were approaching quickly to take the girl in hand.
"You people just don't learn, yo." She said. Rude pulled the girl to her feet and casually ripped the blade from her arm, eliciting a louder scream of pain from her, as Reno took the gun from Cloud. Rude wiped the blade clean on her shirt, and then gently tossed it back to Ryu, who caught it in the air. With a quick twirl, she sheathed them back in their holders.
"She's bleeding, she needs a doctor!" One of the girl's fellow fan girls called after Reno and Rude, when she realized they were hauling her off.
"She won't bleed to death, yo. And you and your club just ruined one of the few vacations we Turks get. Keep that in mind." Reno called over his shoulder. Ryu let her shoulder's sag.
"Now I have to go do paperwork." She groaned and then sighed, as Alanna walked over to her.
"I can defend myself you know." Alanna snapped. Ryu shrugged.
"I know, but I knew about her first, so I reacted first, and now I have to go fill out the damn paperwork." She replied.
"How'd you know first?" Alanna asked. Ryu tapped the goggles fitted over the brim of her cap, a quick squiggle of color appeared on the lenses.
"Seriously?" She said, surprised.
"Seriously." Ryu said. "Now I have to go fill out some paperwork. So if you'll excuse me, I am going to kick Tseng's butt out here to watch Cloud. And you're in charge of Zack now." She said, before she walked away. Alanna scowled at her retreating back.
"Clean your hair sticks too!" She called. Ryu waved an acknowledging hand over her shoulder. Alanna turned to look at Zack. He was standing there looking a little lost.
"What just happened?" He asked. Gen shook his head.
"The Turks were never really on vacation Zack. Their job for the week is to watch us. Ryu has to fill out paperwork because she injured that girl. Reno and Rude are handling whether she needs to be punished or not." He explained.
"But the tournament..." Zack protested. Alanna sighed as Tseng came out of the building. Cloud immediately perked up, and took half a step toward him.
"We won't have much of a team. Cloud is about to disappear with Tseng." She pointed out.
"Oh." Zack said, "So now what?"
"You can go play in the ocean. We're going to go sit back down." Gen told him, his arm around Alanna's shoulders.
"But it's no fun alone." Zack protested, trailing behind them away from the volleyball courts.
"Why don't you act like a puppy and dig yourself a hole, and sit in it." Alanna suggested dryly.
"You're grouchy all of a sudden." Zack commented to her. Alanna scowled at him over his shoulder.
"Someone just tried to kill me, and I didn't get to defend myself, again. Which I can do just fine." She said.
"Sorry, but I saw it first." Ryu muttered over her mic.
"Shut up, Ryu."
"Make me."
"Challenge accepted." Alanna said gleefully.
"Uh, Alanna? What are you talking about?" Gen asked, looking at her curiously. Alanna reached up and fingered the ear piece.
"Ryu was giving me her unrequested opinion on the matter." She said with a fake smile. Gen nodded and wisely did not pursue the matter anymore than that.
"Race you to the vendors." Seph said, balancing lightly on his bare feet. Chloe eyed him. With his hair dyed black and pulled back in a braid, he looked very different than he normally did, but he still looked like himself in some strange way.
"There's no way I'd have a chance of winning that challenge." She told him. He sighed, his shoulders drooping slightly. Chloe grinned to herself, as a plan came to her.
"Unless I get a head start!" She called over her shoulder, as she sprinted past him, running as fast as she could. Seph stared after her, dumbfounded for a bit, before he shook his head and took off after her, laughing.
As he chased after her, he noticed Reno and Rude escorting a young girl with a bloodied arm to the hotel. He caught up to Chloe, and ran along next to her until they reached the vendor's cart.
"What can I get you folks?" He asked politely.
"Two ice cream cones, both vanilla please." Chloe said quickly, while Seph stared unsure at the man.
Once they had their ice cream in hand, they strolled slowly along the beach, dodging children playing, and the towels and umbrellas that marked people's pieces of the beach.
"So why were Reno and Rude escorting that girl?" He asked her.
"She's a member of the RLC, and she tried to shoot Alanna." Chloe told him.
"Is Alanna all right?" He asked, worried. Chloe nodded.
"Ryu got her first. That's why that girl is bleeding." Chloe explained.
"Oh." Seph said, looking thoughtful. He glanced down at Chloe.
"None of you are really on vacation, just us." He said. Chloe smiled.
"It's very easy work. We just have to keep an eye on you, which generally means spending time with you, doing what you want to do. It's only Tseng who brought his work with him." She told him. Seph laughed.
"The man is a workaholic. He's worse than me when it comes to getting work done." He said. Chloe smiled.
"It must be lonely being in charge of the whole Shinra Army. Even your best friends are your subordinates." She said. He shrugged.
"I've always been in the army, since I was a young kid. I don't know any different." He told her. Chloe looked out over the ocean, looking sad.
"Chloe?" He asked, catching sight of her face. She looked up at him and smiled.
"Nothing, I was just thinking how sad it was, you didn't have a childhood." She admitted. He smiled and took her hand.
"I can't miss what I never had right?" He told her. She nodded her head.
"I guess that's true." She agreed. He smiled.
"Come on, I'm sure there's more of the beach for you to show me." He told her.
"Oh, she could but she won't." Reno muttered. Chloe sighed.
"Stop eavesdropping, Reno." She muttered. He snickered.
"What? You don't want me to hear you talking to him?" He asked.
"No, as a matter of fact I don't." She hissed at him. He laughed.
"Enjoy yourself. Rude and I will get the RLC mess sorted out. But beware, the Silver Elites might be here as well." He told her. Chloe sighed.
"If they know what's good for them, they won't approach him." She said, vehemently.
"Someone sounds protective." Matti noted, laughing.
"Go play with Piper." Chloe snapped at him. Seph grinned, looking down at her.
"Are they giving you a hard time?" He asked. Chloe shrugged.
"They mean well, but yes, they are." She told him. He reached out and gently touched the earpiece clipped to her ear.
"Ryu's always wearing one of these, the others do only sometimes." He noted. Chloe smiled.
"Ryu likes having access to information at all times. She's a meddler, you know that." She told him. He grinned.
"She and Alanna bring me dinner when I work late at the office." He told her. Chloe looked up at him, surprised.
"How often are you that late?" She asked. He shrugged.
"As often as I have to be." He told her. She shook her head.
"You and Tseng both. You're going to work yourselves into early graves." She told him. "You both need to live a little. You know, let loose, have some fun." Seph grinned.
"I would require a Turk escort willing to have some fun."He told her. Chloe grinned.
"Hey, when I'm not on assignment I'd be happy to escort you."She told him. He grinned.
"Would you also being willing to try sparing against me?" He asked her. Chloe frowned.
"Only if you're unarmed, General. Masamune scares me." She confessed.
"I'd never impale you with Masamune." He told her sincerely. Chloe shuddered slightly, as every Turk listening to them cracked up laughing.
"I should hope not, his sword is seven feet long; that would hurt." Piper said, Matti laughed harder.
"Piper, just stop." Morgan pleaded.
"If it hurts, you're doing it wrong." Matti added.
Seph frowned, hearing the laughter and comments coming through Chloe's earpiece.
"What do they find so funny?" He asked Chloe. She just shook her head, her face actually a bit red.
"I refuse to tell you." She told him.
"Please let me in on the joke, Chloe." He begged.
"Dude, we weren't talking about the actual Masamune. Please tell me your brain has a gutter." Morgan said. Seph frowned.
"Gutter?" Morgan appeared by his side, coming over from where he'd been watching.
"You know how clubbing you got the implication about the overcooked noodle?" He asked. Seph nodded.
"Morgan, please don't. I'll be forced to hurt you." Chloe threatened. Morgan grinned.
"I'm currently training with Vincent. You can't do anything worse than he can." He told her, he turned back to Seph.
"That place where all those little thoughts come from is called the gutter. It's where the dirty thoughts reside." He explained. Seph frowned.
"Dirty?" He asked, perplexed. Morgan sighed and crossed his arms.
"You are really innocent. How'd you make it to twenty without at least one inappropriate thought about somebody? Not even Chloe, she was dirty dancing with you at the club?" Morgan asked. Seph blushed.
"HA! So you do have a gutter." He said triumphantly.
"Of course he did, he's a guy." Matti chimed in.
"Are you happy now? You've made your point." Chloe muttered.
"Wait, what does this have to do with what you were laughing about?" Seph asked. Chloe groaned and hung her head. Morgan raised an eyebrow.
"Seriously? You can't figure it out now that I told you it landed in the gutter?" Seph looked thoughtful for a few minutes, then his eyes widened.
"OH!" He said, his face flushing red.
"My work here is done." Morgan said, pleased, as he turned to walk away. Chloe punched him solidly in the arm.
"Ow." Morgan protested, before he took off running.
"Now, where were we?" Chloe asked Seph sweetly.
"You were umm… considering sparing with me." He told her. She nodded her head.
"I'll think about it." She told him.
"You have to think about whether you want to spar with him? Ouch Seph, that's a low blow." Matti commented.
"If you or Morgan say one more thing, Matti, I will rearrange your faces for you." She hissed.
"Ooo, you made Chloe mad." Piper said, tugging on Matti's arm to get his attention refocused on the sand castle they were building.
"This is different than poking Mary's buttons how?" He asked.
"Just try it today Matti, I dare you." Mary said playfully.
"Oh, so you aren't constantly eating Angeal's face? I was wondering if it was safe to look over there." Morgan teased.
"Only if you dare. And like you and Ryu are any different." Mary protested laughing.
"Actually, they are." Alanna piped up.
"The worst they do is cuddle in public, like Matti and Piper do."
"Butt out, Alanna. Clearly Gen isn't keeping you busy." Mary said.
"Neither is Angeal for you." Alanna retorted.
"And to think the others must think you're ready to kill each other, but you aren't." Ryu said with a sigh.
"How's the paper work going?"
"Boring. Now shush and let me concentrate." Ryu told them, scowling at the stack of papers in front of her. Reno and Rude were in another room with the girl, informally interrogating her.
Cloud ran toward Tseng happily, as he left the hotel, and headed out onto the beach. Tseng grinned and braced himself once he saw him. Cloud barreled into him to hug him.
"Easy, Cloud." Tseng laughed, as he hugged him back.
"Sorry." Cloud said, pulling away, smiling widely.
"So, what would you like to do while I am free?" Tseng asked. Cloud shrugged, and looked at all the people crowded onto the beach. Tseng followed his gaze and looked at all the people.
"Would you like to get away from them all?" He asked. Cloud nodded his head. Tseng smiled, and put his arm around his shoulders.
"I know just the place." He told him, leading him away. Cloud smiled happily and fit his shoulder under Tseng's slightly taller frame. Neither one of them was aware that someone unfriendly was watching them intently.
Mary sighed, and shook her head at the others antics. She felt Angeal grab her ankle, so she wouldn't float away, as she lay on her back in the water. He was floating next to her in a quiet cove farther down the beach from the main crowd.
"Are you getting hungry?" He asked her. Mary thought about it.
"A bit." She admitted, just before his stomach grumbled loudly. She laughed.
"And that, my dear, is the difference in Mako between a 1st and a 2nd." He told her. Mary smiled.
"I won't be a 2nd for long. You boys are going to have to handle having girls as your equals soon." She told him. He grinned.
"I look forward to it."
"Race you to the shore." Mary said, before she took off back to land. Angeal laughed, and chased after her. Once he caught her, he scooped her up in his arms.
"Angeal, this isn't how a race works." She protested, laughing. He grinned and hugged her.
"I caught you, so there must be a fee to get free." He told her. Mary laughed.
"You're copying Morgan, he pulled this stunt on Ryu last night." She told him. Angeal grinned.
"It's a good trick." He told her. She smiled and kissed him.
"There, fee paid, now put me down so I can shame you in this race." She told him. He grinned and gently set her on her feet, but kept his arms around her.
"How are you going to do that if I don't let you go?" He asked. Mary giggled.
"You're too hungry to hang on to me for too long." She replied. He sighed.
"True, I am controlled by my hunger."He lamented. Mary laughed.
"Wow, you guys really need to watch how you say things." He gave her a puzzled look, one that was strangely similar to Zack's, but more dignified.
"The way you say things can be taken the way you mean, or another way entirely." She told him. He frowned, and then his face lit up with understanding.
"I did not mean it as such." He told her. Mary sighed.
"I know. I'm just telling you, so you'll know why people will sometimes laugh, even when you made no joke." He nodded his head, and suddenly let go of her, racing past her.
"If you plan to shame me Mary, you must first catch me." He told her, laughing. Mary grinned and chased after him.
He won the race. His longer legs, and greater Mako gave him an edge over her, but she wasn't that far behind him. Once she got close enough, she threw herself at him in a tackle, pulling him down into the shallow surf. She quickly clambered over him. Angeal grabbed her ankle and pulled her down next to him.
"Caught you again." He told her playfully. Mary squirmed playfully in his grasp.
The sound of a shutter going off made Angeal look towards shore. A young man was standing there with a camera, taking pictures of them.
"Damn." He swore. Mary looked at what had made him swear.
"Really? Even out here, on the beach?" She asked, aggravated.
"I got it." Morgan said, as he walked up to the young man and tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned he casually took the camera from him, took the SD card from the camera, and put in his pocket. Then he said something to the young man, as he handed the camera back. The young man looked as if he was going to argue with him, but Morgan said something else, and the fight went out of him. He walked away, casting a glare at Morgan over his shoulder.
"What did you say to him?" Mary asked, as she reached the shore with Angeal a few steps behind.
"It's illegal to take pictures of Shinra property, which technically all SOLDIERs are." He said idly, turning the card over in his hand.
"Are you going to break that thing?" Mary asked him, eyeing it. Morgan shook his head.
"He may have gotten pictures of other paparazzi in some of his shots. We'll be going over them tonight to add them to our list of people to look out for." He said, as he tucked the chip into his pocket.
"I hate you, Morgan." Mary muttered. Morgan grinned at her and started walking away.
"Trust me, I don't want to see pictures of you and Angeal together. But hey, it's my job to protect Shinra investments, which involves lots of unpleasant duties. This is just one of many." He said over his shoulder as he walked away, Mary fuming silently behind him. Angeal placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Let's get some food, and forget about it." He told her. Mary agreed, and let him put his arm around her and steer her towards the vendor.
As the week passed, the group tried to relax and unwind. Those that could developed deep tans. They swam and played, both in the water and on the beach. At night, couples could be seen walking along the starlit beach holding hands. Although, Seph and Chloe preferred to grab a blanket and star gaze, something he found fascinating. Tseng finished up his work by Wednesday afternoon, and spent the rest of the time with Cloud, which freed Ryu to be with Morgan, to both their delight. Slowly, they all unwound, and the sadness in their eyes faded. The North Star looked on, glowing contentedly.
The last morning at Costa del Sol, Chloe lay on a beach towel enjoying the sun, working on a tan that would make Scarlet jealous when she saw the arrogant Director of the Weapons department again. Seph was sitting under a beach umbrella, reading a novel he'd borrowed from Alanna. His eyes were only on the book half the time, the rest of the time his eyes drifted to Chloe in her strapless bikini top and tiny bottoms in hot pink. Finally, he sighed and stretched out to take a nap. He figured that concentrating on the book was pointless.
Sometime while Seph dozed, Chloe became aware of a presence close to her. Barely opening her eyes to see that it was one of his fan girls, she whipped her knife out from under the towel and came up on her feet. Her arm whipped around to catch the woman around the throat, her knife pressed to her neck.
"And what exactly do you think you're doing?" She hissed. Seph popped his eyes open, to see Chloe standing there her knife to one of his more persistent fans. The girl squeaked out something incomprehensible. Chloe sighed, and let her go, stepping away from her.
"Since I don't feel like filling out paperwork for hurting you, I'll let you go this time. But next time I won't be so lenient." She told her. The woman nodded, and ran off.
Chloe looked at Seph, who was watching her with a raised eyebrow.
"Do you always have a knife on you?" He asked her. Chloe smiled.
"Always, even when I sleep." She told him. Seph nodded his head.
"That's impressive that you noticed her before I did." He told her. Chloe smirked at him, and stretched back out on her towel.
"She crossed into my sun." She told him. Seph laughed.
"How dare she?" He murmured, pretending to be horrified. Chloe grinned.
"Exactly." She agreed.
Ryu sighed and leaned against Morgan's side, content to enjoy the sun. As per their orders, they could see Alanna and Genesis, and Chloe and Seph.
"Reno's gonna be pissed if you fry." He told her. She smiled.
"You already slathered me with sunscreen." She told him, her eyes still closed.
"But it was SPF 15." He protested.
"Shhh." Ryu replied, flicking him with a finger.
"He can let me have one day of sun." Morgan grinned.
"You feeling better now that we've had some vacation?" He asked. Ryu grinned.
"You know for a vacation I'd rather get to go out into the wilderness and get to camp, and just be in peace. This is more of Lanna's type of vacation. Though, how Gen managed to keep her on the beach instead of in the water is beyond me." She told him. Morgan shrugged.
"I don't think we'll get too much of a chance to go camping now." He told her.
"We'll probably get our fill of woods from work." She agreed sadly. Morgan sighed.
"I'm surprised you haven't gotten a pet." He told her. Ryu grinned.
"I did see a cute hedgehog like creature before we left, but our schedules are too erratic to get a pet." She said with a sigh.
Later that night, crews from the hotel set up huge tents, and staked out huge stretches of sand with rope. After dinner, guests began to trickle down to the beach for the party.
Around eight o'clock, the group of fourteen emerged from the hotel's doors, and made their way toward the dance. Zack bounced forward excitedly. He was wearing khaki cargo shorts and a blue, green, and yellow tropically printed shirt.
"Zack, stay with the group." Angeal called. He was wearing dark brown shorts, with a dark blue tee-shirt. Mary, whose arm was linked through his, was wearing a one shoulder dress, with a black and green pattern to it. Her hair was pulled back with a headband.
"You know he won't stay with the group, yo. He's too excited." Reno said. He was wearing black frayed shorts, with a gray sleeveless shirt under his unbuttoned red winged shirt, with the sleeves rolled up.
"Like you're any better? If you come back to the hotel room alone, I will be surprised." Ryu said. She was wearing a red, one shoulder, flowy, short sleeved dress, with gold fireworks printed on the shoulder and across one side. Her hair was in a bun, with her hair sticks through it. He smirked at her.
"That's the plan, sis." He agreed. Morgan rolled his eyes behind Ryu's back at him. He was wearing black cargo pants and a black shirt with the Shinra logo on it.
"Reno…" Tseng said. Reno flashed him a grin.
"Yes, bossman?" He asked.
"Remember, you're sharing a room with Rude…" Tseng said. Rude snorted.
"When has that ever stopped him, Director?" He asked. Rude was dressed in dark blue jeans with a bright orange, yellow, and red tropical shirt. Tseng sighed.
"Is that why Rude is often in Tseng's room?" Ryu asked. Cloud gave a look of surprise. He was wearing dark gray shorts and dark blue shirt. Reno grinned.
"I would never kick him out of the room." He said, clutching at his heart, pretending to be hurt.
"I don't think he'd want to stay." Chloe pointed out. Rude flushed an interesting shade of red. She was wearing a tye-dyed, strapless dress. Seph was behind her, trying to hide. He was wearing khaki shorts, and Chloe had clearly bullied him into the bright purple, red and yellow tropical shirt he was wearing.
"I'd sha…"Reno started to say, but Ryu covered his mouth with her hand.
"Don't finish that statement, niisan." She asked him.
"Please don't. We don't want to know your sexual preferences." Alanna muttered. She was wearing a mint green dress, with a black apple blossom pattern scattered over it. Gen, standing behind her, nodded his head. He was wearing loose, light black pants, with a blue-green shirt. In the corner of his shirt was a single black apple blossom. They were all barefoot, enjoying the freedom from shoes.
"Awww, you guys match, how cute." Ryu said, teasing Alanna. Alanna scowled at her. Ryu grinned and stuck her tongue out at her, laughing.
"Morgan, why are you bringing work to the party?" Alanna asked. Morgan grinned.
"I refuse to match Reno, and my only other clean shirt is red."He told her. Ryu grinned.
"So I can match Niisan, but not you?" She asked. Morgan did a double take, and looked at the both of them grinning at him.
"Oh, dear." He muttered. Ryu nudged him gently in the ribs.
"Wanna go change quickly?" She asked him. He shook his head.
"No thanks, I'm good. You two sibling twin things can match, that's fine. But I refuse to be a matching threesome." He said. Reno waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Morgan rolled his eyes and pushed Reno toward the bar.
"I know you've all ready hit the bar, but go get your sister some rum." He said. Ryu perked up.
"Oooo, I get rum? Without you protesting?" She asked.
"I want rum!" Alanna added. Morgan sighed.
"If it gets your brother to stop making weird suggestions, then yes."
"Make that two rums please, niisan!" Ryu called after him. Reno waved his hand at her.
"One for me?" Alanna asked. Ryu nodded her head.
"You won't dance until you have some rum." Ryu told her.
"That's the truth." Alanna agreed. Gen and Matti rolled their eyes. Matti was wearing black shorts with a medium blue shirt. His PHS was in one hand, ready to be used. His hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. Piper, standing beside him, was wearing a pink sundress, her hair pulled into a ponytail as usual.
"Dancing!" Zack said, diving into the mass of bodies already dancing under the stars.
"Well that breaks the ice I suppose." Ryu commented. Mary grinned and pulled Angeal toward the crowd. He dragged his feet, not really wanting to dance.
"Mary, I don't think he's drunk enough for that." Ryu called. He cast a baleful look at her over his shoulder. Ryu giggled as Mary side tracked towards the bar, almost running Reno over as he returned.
Reno handed Ryu her drink, and then handed Alanna the other. They both smiled in thanks. He nodded and took a sip of the beer he'd gotten for himself.
Slowly, the group drifted toward the dance floor. Zack could be spotted jumping in the crowd, amid a large group of girls.
"He always seems so to attract girls." Angeal noted, as he rejoined the group, a bottle of beer in his hand. Mary appeared beside him a second later with a glass of rum, which she quickly knocked back, and hauled 'Geal and his beer onto the dance floor.
"How does she do that?" Cloud asked, in wonder. Alanna and Ryu shrugged.
"Personally, I blame her mother." Ryu said. Alanna giggled as Piper gave her a slightly shocked look.
Ryu let herself sway in time with the music, as they all talked and acquired drinks. Slowly, the rest of the group acquired the courage to dance. Reno lead the group, finding a random stranger and dancing with her.
Genesis steered Alanna away from the main group and deeper into the crowd. Cloud and Tseng retreated to a dark corner. Rude lingered near the bar, talking to the female bar keeper. Piper and Matti were sitting in the sand, apparently playing with it. Mary and Angeal gravitated toward a speaker, and Chloe fearlessly lead Seph into the middle of the crowd.
"I think this is how things are going to be when we attend these kinds of things." Morgan said to Ryu, bending close to her ear to be heard. She nodded and grinned.
"I kind of like it." She admitted. He grinned.
"Everyone can dance as they please?" He asked her, she nodded her head.
They regrouped part way through the night, gravitating around Matti and Piper's sand castle near the bar.
"Remember, we leave in the morning." Tseng told them. "So we can't linger for much longer." The others nodded their heads. Reno glanced at the girl he'd been dancing with for most of the night. Rude sighed.
"Are you, or aren't you?" He asked pointedly. Reno glanced up at him.
"Huh?" Then he shook his head. "Nah, she's okay, but…" He shrugged.
"The next morning always sucks anyways, and add in leaving, and no thanks." He said. Rude nodded his head.
"So I don't have to do a scan of the room first, or wonder if you and your date will stumble in later?" He said. Reno shook his head.
"No worries there." He agreed. Ryu raised her hand to cover her yawn. Morgan grinned.
"Looks like someone is ready for bed now." He commented, wrapping his arm around her waist. Ryu grinned.
"A little bit, maybe." She agreed.
"Come on, Ryu, don't be a party pooper." Reno said, giving her a light shove. She rocked slightly on her feet, leaning on Morgan. He slapped lightly at Reno's hand, catching him on the wrist. Reno drew his hand away and gave Morgan a hurt look.
"Why would you do that?" He said, pretending to be hurt. Morgan shook his head.
"You're so drunk, Reno, you don't even know what you're saying anymore." Morgan told him. Ryu giggled.
"Is that why you don't want me to drink?" She asked him. Morgan sighed.
"Yes..." Ryu left his arms to spin around in a giddy circle, laughing.
"I'm not drunk, just tired, and sun scorched." She told him. He shook his head, sighing again. Alanna grinned, and grabbed his arm, tugging like a small child.
"Come on Morgan!" She said, imitating a small whiny child. "Stop being such a fuddy duddy. You're so uptight and straight laced, stop being so brooding, that's Rude's thing." Rude raised an eyebrow to look at her.
"I brood?" He asked, surprised. Alanna nodded her head.
"What else would you be doing, being silent all the time?" She asked. Ryu giggled and clapped her hand over her mouth and Reno smirked. Morgan facepalmed, as Rude went bright red.
"Oh?" Matti said intrigued. Mary raised an eyebrow.
"Well, well." she said, surprised.
"Do we want to know?" Piper asked. Ryu shook her head.
"Inside Turk joke." She choked out between laughs. Rude put his hand over his face.
"Stop laughing, Ryu, it isn't funny." He said. Reno let out a howl of laughter.
"You're right." He agreed, "It's hilarious!" Rude glared at Reno, and took a menacing step toward him. With a smirk Reno took off, dashing down the beach, Rude chasing him.
"He won't catch him." Ryu said.
"Why? Rude has longer legs." Piper said.
"Did you ever hear how Rod became a Turk?" Ryu asked. Piper shook her head. Alanna grinned.
"This involves a Shinra bike, doesn't it?" She asked. Ryu nodded, grinning.
"Rod was a member of a gang. He was a very strong fighter and he has a liking for bikes. He knew Shinra has some of the best bikes, so one night he decided to steal one. He got into the garage and managed to get on one. Reno was down there tweaking his company car. He got out from under the car just as Rod fired the bike up. Reno chased after him all the way down the ramp as he was getting up to speed. Just as Rod hit top speed, Reno tackled him from on foot. The Mako he gets as a Turk makes him incredibly fast. He might not be very strong, but he makes up for it in speed. Anyways, he tackled Rod and managed to not crash the bike. He told Rod he had two choices, go to jail or become a Turk. Rod, from what I understand told, Reno to do something that even for him, is anatomically impossible. Reno roughly introduced Rod to EMRs when he tried to run. Rod wisely chose to become a Turk." Ryu told them.
"Doesn't Rod use an EMR?" Matti asked, having worked with the spiky haired strawberry blonde Turk in Wutai.
"Yes, he does, and speaking of Rod." Tseng said, as Rude rejoined the group. "When you get back, you three," he pointed at Ryu, Morgan, and Ryu, "will be reporting to him for your mechanics lessons." Ryu groaned.
"I suck at fixing vehicles." She complained. Morgan snorted.
"When was the last time you tried?" He asked her.
"I gave up after I realized the mechanics gorilla gripped the bolts tight." She told him, sticking her tongue out at him.
"That could be a problem." Tseng muttered.
"Shouldn't Reno have come back?" Piper asked, just as every Turk, excluding Mary, Alanna and Piper, winced. Ryu shoved her fingers in her ears.
"EEeewwww, gross, Reno. Turn your earpiece off, there are just some things I don't want to hear and that was one of them." She complained. After a moment Rude gently tapped her on the shoulder and mimed, taking her fingers out. Hesitantly she unplugged her ears, still making faces.
"While he might not have had romantic thoughts in mind, she clearly did." Rude muttered. Alanna, Mary and Piper all crinkled their noses.
"Eww." Alanna muttered.
"How'd she mange to catch him if he's so fast?" Mary asked.
"Probably as he made his way through the crowd back to us." Tseng said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"At least he won't be stumbling into the room drunk with a girl." Morgan told Rude. "I don't think he's going to make it off the beach for a while, from what we heard."
"I hate you, Morgan." Alanna said, scowling at him. He shrugged, unrepentant, as Tseng shook his head.
"If I have to be aware of it, so do you." He told her, she made to hit him. Morgan twisted and caught her wrist, slapping it away from him. Ryu made a face when Alanna scowled at him.
"You should have known he would do that." She reminded her. "Remember the sparkling cider, and the puddle?" Alanna made a face, remembering as Mary cracked up laughing.
"Don't remind me..." Alanna muttered. Ryu grinned.
"Too late for that." She said cheekily. Alanna lunged out to chase her. Ryu let out a yelp and ran away, running circles around the group until Tseng stepping back caused Ryu to plow straight into him.
When she realized she wasn't going to be able to stop, Ryu squeezed her eyes and slammed smack into him. She opened her eyes to find her face in the middle of Tseng's chest.
"Uhhh, hi Mr. Director, sir." She said, back pedaling away from him, as Alanna, Mary, Piper, Zack, Chloe, Genesis, Matti and Morgan broke into peals of laughter. Tseng smiled slightly.
"If I can't harass Reno, I guess I'll have to harass you, since you're his double." He said; his dry humor showing. Zack gaped at him.
"Did Tseng just crack a joke?" He asked in shock. Cloud smiled.
"He does have a sense a humor." Ryu rubbed the tip of her nose. "His sense of humor hurts, just like Dad's." She said, grinning. Tseng leaned in close to examine her nose. Ryu squeaked and covered her nose when he gently flicked the tip.
"It looks fine to me." He told her, grinning. Ryu glared at him, he chuckled.
"The glare works better when you aren't covering your nose." He told her. She blew a raspberry at him.
"You're a bad man, Director." She told him. Alanna facepalmed, as Matti and Morgan made amused faces, and Mary smirked. Piper looked on bemused. Cloud smirked at Ryu.
"You have no idea." He told her. The rest of them looked at him, shocked. Alanna and Ryu snickered.
"HA!" They exclaimed, and pointed at Tseng.
"Won't you be my bad boy, be my man.
Be my week-end lover, But don't be my friend. You can be my bad boy, But understand. That I don't need you again, No I don't need you again." They sang at him, grinning. Tseng sighed.
"Are you two done singing strange lyrics to strange songs?" He asked.
"Probably not." They agreed, trading a glance and grinned. "You can't stop us, Mr. Director, sir." Ryu added, backing away from him. Tseng sighed and then smiled.
"I think I keep you two around just for amusement." He told them. Piper grinned.
"They say laughter is good for your health." She said.
"They say the same thing about sex, but I think we can agree Reno's gonna catch an STD because of it." She grumbled.
"Ewww. Ryu, gross." Piper said. Ryu shrugged.
"What? It's bound to happen." She said.
"Thank the Leviathan for monthly health exams." Tseng muttered under his breath.
"And mako baths that up the immune system." Rude added. Tseng nodded his head in agreement. Cloud yawned.
"I think the sun tired the chocobo out." Ryu muttered, fighting back her own yawn. Tseng put his arm around his shoulders, as Cloud's eyes closed tiredly.
"I suppose we all should go to sleep, we have to get up early." He said. Ryu leaned against Morgan and yawned.
"If I am staying up late, I'd rather be up playing video games." She said. Mary scowled.
"Such a waste of time, dances are so much better." She disagreed. Morgan made a disagreeing sound as Alanna shook her head. "Nuh-uh. Dances are fun and all but, playing a video game with friends is such a better use of time." She said. Matti nodded his head in agreement. Mary opened her mouth to argue when Angeal yawned.
"I agree with Tseng. Maybe we should all turn in for the night." He said. Zack sulked, still bouncing on his feet.
"But..." He protested. Angeal pointed to Piper, who was falling asleep on her feet. Matti's arm around her waist was the only thing keeping her upright. Zack sighed.
"All right." He agreed. With that, they all made their way back to their rooms, agreeing to meet for breakfast the next morning.
The next morning dawned far brighter and earlier than any of them wanted. They all stumbled, bleary eyed, into Tseng and Cloud's room at six. Tseng had thoughtfully ordered breakfast for all of them. The doppelgangers, excluding Mary, were in full zombie mode, and grabbed food silently to sleepily nibble on it. Mary sat on the floor, humming a happy morning song, while she munched on a piece of toast.
"Stop it, morning person." Matti said, glaring at her.
"I can't help it, once I'm awake, I'm awake." She replied, with a bright smile on her face. Matti sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You may want to stop; he looks like he is going to hit you." Alanna said. Mary stopped humming, and instead sat and bounced her leg up and down.
"Can you seriously not sit still?" Matti asked. Mary frowned.
"Just twittle your thumbs, it's less annoying." Alanna told her. Mary did as she was told, and remembered how much that actually helped.
Rude appeared to be his usual self. Angeal and Genesis appeared to be more awake, but still wishing they were still asleep. Zack bounced up on to the bed next to Cloud, who was rubbing his eyes sleepily.
"Wow, you really do look like a chocobo this morning." He said, grinning. Scowling, Cloud pushed him off the bed, as he tried to flatten his hair. Unfazed, Zack climbed back onto the bed and grabbed his breakfast, and started wolfing it down.
The door opened, and Reno entered the room. His hair was wet from a shower, and he was dressed in a clean uniform.
"Nice of you to join us." Ryu told him, grinning as she moved over to make space for him. He glowered at her and sat. He picked up his breakfast and took a big bite out of it.
"What, no stories of your conquest?" Chloe teased him, grinning at him from across the room. Reno yawned, and flipped her off. He swiped Ryu's coffee cup to take a sip, and found himself confronted with her knife at his throat.
"Put the coffee down, Reno, and you won't get hurt." She told him. Morgan grinned, and took the cup from Reno, as he stared at her in shock.
"There are a few things you never take from Ryu, if you value yourself in one piece." He said, handing her the cup. Ryu took it, smiled at him, and took a sip as she stowed her knife.
"And those are?" Genesis asked, mildly curious.
"Steak, chocolate, and coffee are the major ones." Morgan said, taking a bite out of his breakfast sandwich.
"Steak?" Chloe asked. Ryu shrugged.
"What? My dad raised a carnivore."She replied.
"I thought it was, never reach in front of you when you're eating, cuz you bite." Alanna said. Ryu shrugged again and grinned.
"That comes from people, namely my dad, trying to steal my steak."
"How dare they?" Morgan muttered, she kicked him lightly.
"It's very rude." She told him. Alanna gave her startled look.
"And biting and or stabbing people with whatever piece of silverware is in your hands isn't?" She asked. Ryu grinned sheepishly, as Tseng sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, and Reno chortled at the thought.
"Probably not but it's a gut reaction dumbapples, I can't help it."
"You could, you just refuse to." Mary muttered.
"Hey, I haven't hurt you when you were clearly reaching for the napkins. Which by the way, its rude to reach across people, you know." Ryu retorted.
"It's too early for you to be fighting." Morgan muttered. Matti nodded in agreement.
"We aren't." Ryu and Mary said, at the same time. Tseng looked at his watch.
"Finish up; we have to leave in half an hour." He told them. They all groaned.
"If I have to ride with Zack, I might kill something." Ryu muttered. Zack gave her a hurt look.
"I thought you liked me." He said, appearing to be hurt. Ryu sighed.
"I do puppy, I do. It's just that you in a confined space... if you don't sit still; I'll be liable to hit you."
"We could play games." He suggested. Alanna groaned.
"Nope, I'll be sleeping." She said, as Ryu shook her head and cracked her fingers.
"I brought a sketch pad for the ride, puppy. I am drawing all the way home."
"Damn, I didn't think of that." Alanna said. Ryu grinned and stuck her tongue out at Alanna.
"While I may be able to day dream all the way home, I like keeping my fingers active."
"Shut it, Turk." Alanna grumbled. Ryu grinned and pounced on Alanna across the bed, knocking her into Gen.
"Yep, and I'm your favorite Turk." Ryu said, brightly clinging to Alanna.
"Morgan... get her off." Alanna said, trying to pry Ryu's fingers off, but couldn't reach them.
"Why should I? She's bugging you, not me."He said. Ryu made a face and launched back across the bed to cling to Morgan's back.
"You're mean, Morgan..." She said, right before she licked his cheek.
"EW, Ryu, that's gross!" He snapped, wiping at his face. She giggled, still clinging to him.
"Well, at least it wasn't the colored chapstick." She told him. He grimaced.
"That sounds like a good story." Reno muttered, sipping from his own coffee cup.
"It's not." Morgan assured him.
"It's embarrassing for Morgan." Ryu said, still laughing as she grabbed her coffee and took a big swallow, still clinging to Morgan's back.
"And now she's awake enough to be a pest." Matti muttered.
"Morgan, you have a koala attached to you." Alanna told him. Morgan looked at her over his shoulder. Her head comfortably cuddled into his shoulder, her arms and legs wrapped around his torso. She smiled at him and winked. He sighed.
"I'm used to it." He said, resigned to his fate. Ryu grinned and nodded her head.
"I've been bugging him for six years now." She agreed. Gen rolled his eyes, as Tseng and Angeal shook their heads. Zack and Cloud looked at them surprised.
...
A/N: Sorry this took so long. Work has started up again, and I have no internet, so updates are going to be very slow for a while. Hope you all enjoyed Costa del Sol to go with the hot summer days!