Disclaimer I don't own anything from Final Fantasy VII. Square Enix does.
Addiction
Rude staggered into the kitchen, his arms full of shopping. Sweat poured off his bald head, his sunglasses akimbo. "Reno!" he called through the half open door to the living room. "Give me a hand!" He placed the bags on the table with a thud and headed back outside to fetch the rest.
He returned a few minutes later with another armload of shopping to find everything as he left it. The door was still half open and the shopping strewn across the table. Sighing, Rude placed the rest of the shopping on the counter, closed the backdoor and entered the living room.
Reno was sat on the floor in front of the TV, controller in hand, staring at the screen. His jacket lay on the floor next to him, his shirt was unbuttoned and his red hair was a mess. He had obviously not bothered to get ready today.
"Reno?" Rude asked, trying to get his friends attention. No response. Rude glanced around the room and noticed an open package lying on the sofa. Inside was an empty videogame box: Pacman.
"#&#&!" Reno yelled suddenly, throwing his controller at the floor, as on the screen a little yellow ball was eaten by some form of ghost. He glared at the screen for a moment muttering curses under his breath. Then as suddenly as he threw the thing, he grabbed the controller and started all over again.
"Reno!" Rude said walking behind his partner. "I've got the shopping..."
"Hey, Rude!" Reno said finally noticing him. "Where have you been?"
"Shopping," Rude replied watching Reno as he guided the small yellow ball around the screen. "What is this?"
"Oh, it's my new game," Reno replied, not taking his eyes from the screen. "100 levels and I can't seem to get past level 32. Hey, do you want to team up?" he asked looking up at his bald partner.
"But the shopping..."
"We'll sort that out in a bit," Reno said passing a spare controller to Rude. Rude took it and sat down on the sofa behind the redhead.
Elena and Tseng walked into the kitchen yawning. They had been out on a mission for the past three days and had finally got back, tired and hungry. Trying not to make a sound they navigated their way across the dark kitchen, only for Elena to slip on the floor.
"What is this?" the blonde asked, wiping some sticky pink substance off her trousers.
Tseng stared around at the shopping left across the kitchen. "Strawberry ice-cream, by the looks of it," he answered picking up a plastic tub from the table. "Reno! Rude!" he shouted stalking into the living room. He stopped suddenly when he saw the mess.
Reno was sat in front of the TV, his nose virtually pressed against the screen He now sat only in his boxers. Rude, who normally looked so smart in his Turk uniform, had taken off his jacket and shoes and was wearing pink fluffy slippers as he sat back in the leather armchair. Lying around them were various empty boxes of cereal and pizza boxes, not to mention several empty bottles of beer.
Tseng swore loudly. He ran his hand through his long black hair, counted to ten, and then lost his temper. "Reno! Rude! What is going on here!"
"Hey, boss!" Reno said glancing behind him. "How was the trip?"
"Don't 'how's the trip' me! What is this mess?"
Rude threw the videogame box towards his boss, taking his eyes off the screen for barely a second. Tseng caught it and stared at the cover. "Pacm... what the hell is this!"
"How long have you guys been playing that?" Elena asked from being Tseng.
"Oh, about 36 hours now," Reno answered.
"We're on level 83 now," Rude added.
"We'd be finished if you hadn't wasted that invincibility token," Reno muttered angrily. Suddenly there was a beep and the words 'GAME OVER' appeared across the screen.
"$#&£! #&£$!" he shouted angrily. "We were so close!"
Rude sighed and rubbed his eyes, yawning. "There is a four player option," he informed the room in general. Reno looked at his partner, and then at his boss and colleague.
"No," Tseng said automatically.
"Why not boss?" Elena asked sitting down beside Reno. "It looks fun."
"We've got work tomorrow!"
"Just one game..."
Tseng sighed. He gave up.
They didn't notice when the telephone rang at 9:30. They didn't notice when the doorbell rang. They didn't even notice when Rufus stalked into their living room, his face a picture of pure fury. They did notice, however, when the screen went black. They stared at it for a moment shocked. Then, as one, they looked at the president. "You four. My office. Now." was all that he said. They stared him a second, looked at each other, then scrambled to their feet and ran out the door. Rufus brushed himself off and headed after them. He could hear Reno screaming.
"Wait! I can't run and put my trousers on at the same time!"
My second ever fanfic, so please review. Woodster