1. Introduction:
The moment Reno was introduced to Tseng, he knew life was about to get very complicated.
2. Love:
Despite popular belief, Tseng had been married once. Fortunately, his love of cats and his work had proved stronger than the ties of arranged marriage.
3. Light:
There was nothing Tseng liked better than walking alone in a light rain. The fact that he nearly always went home shivering did not deter him.
4. Dark:
He hated moving to a new apartment. It took weeks of tripping over things in the middle of the night before he had the floor plan memorized.
5. Seeking Solace:
Hidden deep in the back of his closet was a well-worn stuffed puppy. Patches was always there when he came home scared or upset.
6. Break Away:
He never truly regretted becoming a Turk, even when it meant leaving home for good. It was his life; he could do what he liked with it.
7. Heaven:
He is not religious, and looks down upon those who use religion as an excuse for their actions. But sometimes, when the sun is out and the sky is clear, he thinks that there may be a heaven after all.
8. Innocence:
He's seen the two children that live with Cloud and Tifa, and he wishes that they had had more time to be little before everything made them grow up.
9. Drive:
After assuring himself that all of his body parts are still intact, Tseng vows to never, ever let Reno drive again.
10. Breathe again:
Even after he knew the nets had halted Rufus' fall, it still took him a few minutes to remember how to breathe again.
11. Memory:
No matter how many times he gets hit in the head or nearly dies in one way or another, Tseng can always go back to the day he first donned the blue suit.
12. Insanity:
The days Reno doesn't come to work are the days when Tseng sits back in his chair with a sigh of relief and notes that it is one more day in which his downward spiral into certain insanity slows drastically.
13. Misfortune:
He had a litter of kittens once. There were five of them, named Misfortune, Chaos, Pain, Suffering, and Doom. Looking back on it, he realized that the naming of kittens should not take place directly after being dumped.
14. Smile:
Despite what Reno says, Tseng does smile. He smiles quite often, in fact. He does so nearly every time Reno accidentally inflicts injury upon himself and/or a defenseless piece of furniture.
15. Silence
Silence may be golden, but noise has red hair, blue eyes, and a blue suit. Its name is Reno, and Tseng has yet to find a way to quiet him.
16. Questioning:
Tseng absolutely refuses to admit to it, but his favorite part of being a Turk is getting to question captives. Question, of course, is a relative term; he prefers interrogate. There is nothing better for stress relief than an hour or two of wringing information out of someone by any means necessary.
17. Blood:
Yes, he is a Turk. Yes, his job involves quite a bit of killing. No, that doesn't mean he likes blood. And no, Reno still hasn't forgotten the day Tseng fainted after a nasty knife-fight and hadn't even been scratched.
18. Rainbow:
One lesson Tseng has learned is that he should always keep markers, paint, chalk, pens, and Reno away from his luggage. Explaining why there are rainbows all over his shirt at 3 o'clock in the morning is not his idea of a good time.
19. Grey:
If he could make one change to his uniform, he'd change the dark blue to a deep bluish grey.
20. Fortitude:
Written on a mental Post It Note: Fancy words should not be used in or on anything Reno will read or hear, even if they are meant as compliments.
21. Vacation:
He was sent on a forced vacation once, to Costa del Sol. He was so stressed when he returned that Rufus tried to send him out again.
22. Mother Nature:
Reno thinks Tseng has a green thumb. The truth is, the plants growing in his apartment are just about idiot proof.
23. Cat:
Rufus found out about Tseng's love of cats when he was still young enough to forget about thinking ahead. As a result, Tseng received a black and white spotted fuzzball that Rufus forgot to mention had been genetically altered to learn human speech. Not surprisingly, 'Fluffy' vanished within a few months.
24. No time:
The middle of a big conference was no time to get sick, but he did. Reno took time off to haul his sorry butt back home and tuck him into bed. He ended up returning the favor a week later.
25. Trouble lurking:
Tseng learned quickly not to underestimate the destructive power of a redhead. There seemed to be a redhead lurking behind every corner, and where the redhead lurked, so did trouble.
26. Tears:
Never again will he baby-sit for Cloud and Tifa. Marlene was having a bad day and finally broke down mid-afternoon. As soon as the tears began to fall, Tseng realized that this was something he hadn't received training for.
27. Foreign:
One lesson he'd learned in the presence of an audience was one he'd never forget: don't mess around with foreign liquors f you expect to retain any scrap of dignity the next morning.
28. Sorrow:
No matter what he might say in public, Tseng secretly admires Cloud. A man who can still smile after handling that much sorrow is someone he thinks everyone could learn something from.
29. Happiness:
Tseng has known happiness for many years. It is a soft armchair, a good book, and a lapful of purring cat.
30. Under the Rain:
Some people like to enjoy the luxuries. He does too, but his ideas are a little different. A glass of fine wine under a tin roof in a rainstorm will do him just fine.
31. Flowers:
Tseng likes flowers. Why shouldn't he? What he doesn't like is arriving at work to find his desk submerged in a veritable sea of dandelions because Reno decided to liven the place up a bit.
32. Night:
Unlike one of his associates, he knows what nighttime is for. Sleep.
33. Expectations:
Tseng can safely say that Reno exceeds expectations. On first sight he expected your average goof-off pain-in-the-neck guy with a weird sense of humor. What he got was their king.
34. Stars:
When he was a kid, he liked to find the constellations while lying on the roof. Now, as an adult, he likes lying on the roof of his apartment building and counting shooting stars.
35. Hold my Hand:
There are a few things he can hold over Reno's head. One of these is the time they had to pose as a couple. Naturally, Reno got the girl's part. The redhead had looked positively shocked when Tseng offered to hold hands.
36. Precious Treasure:
Reno has learned not to walk in unannounced. There are few things he claims to be worse then walking in on Tseng cooing over a new kitten.
37. Eyes:
Tseng is fascinated by Reno's eyes. He has never seen someone with eyes that are naturally the color of a tropical sea.
38. Abandoned:
Tseng began to warm up towards Reno when he discovered that Reno can pull off an incredible abandoned kitten impression. All he needs is to have locked himself out of his apartment in the middle of a cloudburst.
39. Dreams:
Back when he was contemplating becoming a Turk, he had dreams of what it would be like. Most of them involved being something of a hero and rescuing a beautiful woman who immediately fell in love with him. In reality, the sneaking around and lack of hero-worship is much better, and he now knows that he'd rather not have a flock of adoring damsels anyway.
40. Rated:
Depending on how the day is going, Reno's language earns a rating between PG and R. Tseng has yet to hear him at a level that can be rated as G.
41. Teamwork:
The problem with being the head of a team is that when the teamwork doesn't work out and something goes wrong, he is the one who has to tell the President.
42. Standing Still:
Tseng likes to people-watch. There is nothing as amusing as standing still by the wall in a public place and observing the masses of humanity around him.
43. Dying:
There were times when Tseng wondered what dying was like. Then he got the phone call saying Reno had been shot (in the arm, but that was beside the point). His heart stopped. Oh, said a little part of his brain. This is what it's like.
44. Two Roads:
There are two roads to home. One is as close to a straight route as you can get in Midgar. The other detours to a quiet little café where he is simply Tseng, a quiet man looking for dinner before he goes home.
45. Illusion:
He has never entertained illusions of grandeur. Being the equivalent of one of the corporate assassins in the cheesy movies Reno likes to watch is much more fun.
46. Family:
He no longer regrets choosing ShinRa and the Turks. The family he left is nothing compared to the one he has now.
47. Creation:
Reno is a disaster in the kitchen. The last time Tseng landed himself in the hospital, a certain well-meaning redhead presented his boss with his latest creation. Tseng managed to eat every single bite.
48. Childhood:
On days that have involved the more entertaining aspects of his profession, Tseng notes that he is having more fun now than he did during the entirety of his childhood. The explosions are real now.
49. Stripes:
No, Reno. Stripes and plaid do not go together, even when you wear them. Go put your suit on. Now.
50. Breaking the Rules:
The only thing missing from this job is the thrilling rush that comes from breaking the rules. Being a Turk means that there aren't that many rules to break. Pity.