Recollecting

The endless sea stretched out under the window he was staring out of, never seeming to end. His memories came unbidden of the time that Cloud had stolen the submarine from ShinRa base to chase down the one carrying the huge materia, and along the way had nearly run into the huge monster Emerald Weapon. They had also found the crevice underwater that led to the lake and cave where Vincent's (finally) last love was before she disappeared during the whole Chaos incident. He could barely hear the obnoxious punk rock music Reno (why was it always Reno that picked him up?) was playing over the chopper speakers, his eyes glazed over. Cid was idly playing with the new dog tags hanging around his neck, unaware that a set of eyes were on his back.

Tseng didn't mean to watch the blonde man, but couldn't help but stare. The pilot's mood had changed too drastically since he had left Vincent standing at the doorway, and now Cid was hiding himself in silent solitude. Not even the obnoxious music Reno was playing would stir the man from his thoughts. Tseng cleared his throat, wondering if the man across the chopper would notice the sound. When it was obvious he didn't, Tseng sighed. "Highwind?....HIGH-WIND."

"YO old man! The boss is tryin' to talk to you, shorty!" Reno looked back from where he sat towards Cid's still silent figure. "Wow, if that didn't work. What the hell is he thinking about so hard? You'd think there'd be smoke coming out of his ears!"

"Reno, keep your eyes on the sky, will you?" Tseng smiled to himself as reno shrugged and turned back around. Good to now some things haven't changed since he left, he decided. He looked back at the pilot, sliding over some in his seat to softly rest a hand on Cid's broad shoulder. "Highwind?"

Tseng barely had time to blink as Cid turned, grabbing at his wrist and looking straight at him. He was obviously thinking about something heavy, and it reflected in the intense color burning in his eyes for a moment before he blinked, letting go of the Wutaiian. "....Sorry Tseng. Did you need something?"

Tseng flicked down to Cid's wrist before he put it back on the seat armrest, deciding not to say anything about the obvious bruises from what he could only guess were Vincent's fingers. "I just wanted to see if you were alright. You looked a little stressed." He watched Cid sit back, his gaze turning to look back out of the window.

"Nah, I'm just thinking...haven't been in the service since I was eighteen, just wondering what it's gonna be like twenty plus years down the road. Thinkin' bout all the papers Reeve gave me, thinking bout routines, and drills, and deadlines n' such. Thinking 'bout Vince and Shera, wondering what the fuck Reeve is thinking laying bombshells on me..." Cid rolled his head back and stared at the chopper's ceiling with a sigh. "Ya know...little things."

"Well, you have a few days to settle down and get things straightened out before you have to meet any of your recuits, as do I. If you're worried about your wife, call her."

"I did. After the fifth time she got mad at me."

"Hmmm." Tseng focused his attention back at the back of Reno's cherry red hair, trying to think about things of his own. He wondered just how he was going to fulfill this 'promise' he made to Vincent if there was a sheer possibility that the two men could be stationed at opposite ends of the encampment. He drifted his eyes back over to Cid, almost feeling sorry for the man. He looked tired, and the clean shaven face he was sporting for the past few days was now peach fuzzed again, his blonde hair falling down his neck and into his eyes, giving the illusion of bangs. The pilot had been growing it out since the whole clone incident, he'd noticed. The olive green shirt he'd been given was just drapped over the arm of his seat, waiting to be put on over the tight fitting black tank top when necessary. The camoflauged pants Cid wore hung loosely on his waist, the ends of the legs tucked into shiney, new black combat boots. Cid looked like a soldier, sure enough, a seasoned one at that, whereas Tseng himself could have looked like one of Cid's recruits in how his own BDU's didn't seem to look right on him. "Did President Tuesti tell you where you were going to be stationed?" He closed his eyes as he waited for Cid to answer.

Cid looked up at Tseng, nodding as he reached down to his dufell bag at his feet and shuffled through it "Yeah, aparently I'm going to be stationed outside of the normal encampment in a restricted area. I don't know what wild hair he's got up his ass, but the man's decided to stick me with training a small, special operations team that'll kinda be like the Turks."

Tseng's eyes snapped open at that, and he lifted his head, scowling. "Oh really? Let me see your papers." He took them from Cid's hand when offered, and as he flipped through them his scowl became deeper and deeper until it almost became a glare. "I'm going to kill that man. I'm going to rip his head off and feed it to his cat!"

"What the hell's the matter with my papers?"

"Did Tuesti happen to tell you WHO you'll be working with?" Tseng's anger was creeping into his usually calm voice.

Cid frowned, shifting in his seat. "Nah, he kinda neglected t' tell me that much, said he'd tell me when we got to base...why? You know who it is?"

"YES, IT'S ME!" Tseng fisted the papers, scruching them up before he slammed them back into the envelope they were in. "This is the exact same assignment he gave me when agreed to his cockamaymee deal, and he never once mentioned this fact to either of us!"

"Yer fuckin' shittin' me."

"OH, BeLIEVE me, I wish I was!" He flung the envelope over to Cid's feet, practically seeing red. Cid was trying to talk to him, but the Turk wouldn't listen. He was silently counting down the hours until the chopper finally landed in Edge and he could personality throttle Reeve Tuesti.
*******************

Reno barely landed the helicopter before Tseng flung the door open, jumping out with duffel bag over shoulder as he made a furiously fast paced walk towards HQ where he was told the President would be. He ignored the saluting gaurdsmen outside, ignored Cid behind him telling him to 'calm the fuck down and wait a fuckin' minute!', and rushed into the building to the door marked 'Reeve Tuesti, President'. He practically kicked it open, to find Reeve standing by his desk with a handfull of papers, curiously watching Tseng storm in. "What the hell are you trying to pull, Tuesti?!" Tseng flung his duffel bag to the ground, hand reaching out to grab Reeve's collar before he was jerked, literally, away by the blonde pilot who had just reached him, and straight into a wall. He got the wind knocked out of him as his body made contact, and had no time to move before a large fist promptly slammed itself down beside his head, making a dent in the wall. All he could see when he focused his eyes was a very close, very angry, blue eyed man looking up at him.

"AH...SAID.FUCKIN' WAIT!"

"Let me go, Highwind, I'm going to--!"

"You ain't gonna do SHIT WILLOW! You stand right here and calm the fuck down 'fore you take another step, cause so-help-me-GAIA you touch him an' I'll fuckin' KILL you!" Cid shoved Tseng up against the wall for emphasis, shaking him a bit.

Reeve watched the spectacle with a surprised, albeit amused face as he calmly walked over to Cid, pulling the shorter man's fist out of the wall. "Cid,let him go. He wouldn'thave hurt me, and even if he did I'm sure he had a good enough reason." Reeve glanced at the three WRO soldiers that now stood in the room, having heard Tseng's screaming and rushed in with guns drawn. He waved them down and turned back to the blonde in front of him. "Let him go, Cid...I can't have you protecting me forever."

Cid turned his eyes to look into Reeve's, then down to the brunette's hand on his shoulder before he let go of Tseng, taking a step back. He pointed a finger at Tseng, his face still set in a warning glare. "Try that again, and next time he won't be able to haul me back."

Reeve sighed, patting Cid's shoulder. "Cid, wait outside while I take to Mr. Willow."

"After what he just--!"

"PLEASE, Cid...for me?" The pilot just stared at him for a moment, and Tseng watched as a silent conversation passed between them before Cid turned and left the room, the three WRO soldiers following after at Reeve's request. Reeve turned back to Tseng who was just dusting himself off and straightening out his clothes. "NOW, Mr. Willow, if you would kindly tell my what the problem is withOUT screaming at me or threatening to wring my neck?"

"Why didn't you TELL me I would be on the same assignment as HIGHWIND!"

"I didn't think it was important at the time."

"Not important! I can NOT work with that man, he's-"

"He's WHAT?" Reeve's calm demeanor slipped, and he scowled at Tseng in a challenging stare. "....What reasons do you have for not wanting to work with him? Do you think he's not qualiied enough for the position?"

"NO, He's-"

"Do you not want to work with hm because you doubt my abilities to pick the best man for the job?"

"That's not the po-"

"Or do you NOT want to work with him because he HAPPENS to be Vincent Valentine's lover?" Reeve waited for the protest that never came, stepping away from Tseng as the Turk simply stayed silent. "You're just going to have to get over that, like I did. I will NOT change my mind about this. You two are just going to have to learn to GET ALONG, aren't you? OH," Reeve turned to Tseng, an unusual smile on his face, "and by the way, I forgot to mention. Since you agreed at such a LATE date past deadline, the cabin you two will have to SHARE only has ONE BED, I'm afraid, which you will ALSO have to share until I procure the funds to get another one." He picked up another packet of papers from his desk and handed it to Tseng, who took it with a wordless glare. "You'll find the restricted area you'll be working in a few miles outside of Edge, near the border of Kalm. Those papers will tell you about your compound and where you will find everything. Now if you'll please step out of my office, I wish to talk to Captain Highwind alone." Reeve gestured towards the door, Tseng stepping away from the wall as he walked towards it.

Cid stood outside, leaning against the wall with arms crossed as the door opened the the Wutaiian stepped out, both men casting glares at eacg other. Cid pushed himself up, walking into the room without Reeve's bidding, shutting it closed roughly beind him. He didn't even bother to lower his voice when he finally spoke. "That man must live to piss everyone off!"

"Cid." Reeve's voice was gentle enough to make the pilot look up at his friend standing across the room. He didn't notice until then, but Reeve was also donning the camo and olive green atire he himself was wearing. The brunette had chosen to remain clean shaven, his hair, which was longer since the Choas battle, was pulled back as he watched Cid with an amused smle. "You would have broken that man's jaw if I hadn't stopped you, then we'd be short one specialist."

"Fucker deserved it the way he charged after you."

"You can't ALWAYS protect me in a fight, Cid. One day I'm going to be punched and kicked around and you won't be there to save me." Reeve shook his head as he crossed his arms. "I've already told Tseng, but your cabin and the one bed inside of it you two are going to have to share, if you can stand it. I'll try to get another bed put inside as soon as possible, but I can tell you it will about a month, two at the most, before I can. You two are stationed about three miles away from Edge, one away from the border of the city of Kalm. Your recruits will be sent there in two days time, which before then you can get to know the grounds and such. Tseng has all of the papers."

"I gotta work with and SLEEP WITH this fucker too?!"

"Well, I just said share the bed, wether you two sleep with each other is all up to you."

"HARDY HAR-FUCKIN'-HAR. Anything else you need to tell me before fifteen years pass again, smartass?" Cid waited for Reeve's answer, but all he got was an enigmatic smile. "What?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if you jump to everyone's defense like that."

"Oh can it Reeve, he was about to lynch ya, and I wasn't about to let a guy with a stick that big up his ass just wallop my best friend!"

"MMmm...I'm surprised you still call me your best friend after all these years." Reeve's tone grew solemn, and Cid shifted his weight to one leg as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Not all of that was just your fault, Reeve."

"I know...but that doesn't mean I don't feel that way." There was a silence hanging in the air for a moment until Reeve cleared his throat. "There are some Chocobos outside in a pen waiting to take you to your station...you had better hurry up and leave, the sun will be setting in another few hours."

"Uh...yeah, alright..guess I'll go find the asshole. You take care of yourelf 'til next time I see ya...and you still owe me that explaination about you takin' your sweet time t-"

"Yes, yes, I know." Reeve waved Cid away, watching as the blonde tossed him a thumbs up and walked out of the door, shutting it closed behind him with a click. Reeve stood there for a minute, mulling over what had just been said between the two of them for a moment, pushing it to the back of his mind as he remembered he still had paperwork to get to.
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AN- I hope y'all are catching the small, subtle hints of a personal past between the two older guys there. ~_^ More later.

Edited 3/14/08