A/N: I cannot for the life of me remember who asked for this, but there were two requests combine here: somebody asked for Tseng/Aerith in some form, and someone else asked for Aerith asserting herself. Here we have both, of a kind. I liked playing with Aerith here, because she could be the woman I like most to use- a sweetly manipulative darling, one that smiles at you while she threatens to clobber you with a rolling pin if you don't do what she tells you.
There were only so many places for a Turk to hide outside Aerith's little house, and she had learned where they were very quickly. Most of the spots could be seen from one window or another, and she took to watching them in the evenings, like her own personal performance. She got to know each of the regulars, through their mannerisms, and she'd learned quite a bit about them.
Reno, for example, was a very casual observer. He tended to get comfortable wherever he'd chosen for the night, smoking for hours. He usually brought dinner, sandwiches and a variety of sides, but always with a small bar of chocolate to finish. Some nights, Aerith could hear him humming tunelessly.
Elena was fidgety. She was always looking around, hardly staying put for long. She never brought food with her, and was invariably exhausted at the end of her shift, but Aerith had never seen her fall asleep or leave her post.
Rude found things to keep himself busy. Usually, this involved taking some weapon or another apart, cleaning it, and putting it back together. She had also seen him with paperbacks and crossword puzzles. He came with an apparently inexhaustible supply of granola bars in his jacket, and a water bottle. Once or twice, Aerith had heard him snoring in the alley behind the house.
Tseng was always fun to watch. He often stretched or practiced something that might have been tai chi while there was still enough light to avoid hitting anything, and he had a habit of braiding and rebraiding his hair when he was standing still. He spent a lot of time that way, playing with his hair and apparently thinking. He usually brought the most adorable grey bento box with him, stashed it somewhere, and spent a leisurely half hour eating in the dark.
Fall in Midgar tended to be wet, gloomy, and unpleasant. Aerith hated to think about her guards out there in the weather, and she didn't visit her windows very often for most of October.
She happened to look out one frigid evening a week before the end of October. The skies were partially clear –or as clear as they got in Midgar- leaving the city icy cold and deserted as soon as the sun had gone down. Tseng was down there, leaning up against a wall across the street. He had his hands shoved deep in his pockets and didn't look particularly interested in his job tonight. Aerith decided to watch him anyway. It wasn't like there was anything better to do.
Across the street, Tseng huddled in his coat, shivering. He was on his second day of a hellish flu, but had been unable to get out of guard duty tonight; Rude was on bodyguard duty for the President, Reno had had the day off and was probably dead drunk by now, and Elena had picked the wrong curry cart for lunch and was still suffering the consequences. That left only him on the roster that week, with no one to trade with.
Under other circumstances, he would have just suffered through it like he did everything else. Other circumstances didn't usually involve a cold, damp October night spent watching a quiet house that was occupied by an even quieter woman. They didn't involve a deep, throbbing, full-body ache that made moving at all a trial, nor did they have anything to do with the uncomfortable tickling in the back of his miserably sore throat.
Tseng wanted to go home. He checked his watch. Ten after eight. He had another nine hours and twenty minutes until his shift was over and he could crawl into bed.
Aerith moved around the upper story of her home, bustling around doing small chores, and occasionally peeking out to see what Tseng was up to. He hadn't moved since she'd first noticed him, more than an hour before, and she was starting to wonder if something was wrong.
Another quick peek out gave her the answer. Tseng was hunched over, coughing. While Aerith watched, he straightened, rubbing his throat, and made his way down to the end of the block and back, moving stiffly. She waited to see if he was going to stay put- he did- then scurried downstairs to find her shoes.
Aerith all but appeared at Tseng's side, providing further evidence that he had no business being out and about in his condition. Tseng flinched in surprise and took a step back. Aerith followed him, peering up into his face.
"You look terrible," she said at last. "How long have you been sick?"
Tseng ignored her.
"Tseng, answer me. How long have you had this?"
"Just a day or two."
"The worst part of the flu. Here, hold still." She pressed the inside of her wrist to his forehead and frowned. "Your fever is awfully high, you know."
"I know. Please return to your home."
"Are you coming with me?"
Tseng blinked, trying to process that. Typically, when that question was directed at him by a woman, it was an invitation into the woman's bed. From what he knew, Aerith wasn't the kind of girl who did those kinds of things.
"No."
"You shouldn't be out here in this cold, especially not as sick as you are."
"I have a job to do. I will remain out here."
"Isn't your job to watch me?"
He opened his mouth to answer, but coughed instead. Aerith winced. Dry, hacking coughs like the one Tseng had were always painful.
"If you're supposed to be watching me, couldn't you watch me from inside the house just as easily as outside?"
"Yes, but-"
"And you don't have to worry about if I've gone and slipped out the back door-"
"You don't have a back door."
"-or climbed out a window or something."
"You? Climb out a window?"
Aerith smiled cheerily and took hold of Tseng's arm, pulling him towards her front door.
"Come on, I can't just sit inside and think about you suffering out here. Please?"
Tseng hesitated, torn between the beaten-in need to do his job to the letter and the desire to be somewhere warm and dry for a little while. Well…she had a point about it being easier to watch her when they were in the same room…it couldn't hurt, since she's already known he was there and he hadn't done anything to reveal his presence…why not?
"Only for a short while," he murmured.
"Of course. Just long enough for you to warm up and me to make you a hot cup of tea."
Ooh, that sounded good. Encouraged by the prospect of a steaming mug of tea, Tseng let Aerith drag him across the street and into her house.
Aerith waited while Tseng removed his shoes- they took longer to get off than the slip-on shoes Aerith was wearing- and then she took his jacket away.
"No scarf?" she asked, hanging the jacket from a hook on the wall to the left of the door.
"Not part of the uniform."
"So? You'll catch your death out there. Come here, sit down."
She dragged him across the small living room and pushed him into a chair at her kitchen table. It also served as her dining room table, but that hardly mattered. It was a chair, a blessed gift from above as far as Tseng was concerned. He slumped into it with a ragged sigh. Aerith gave him a critical look, nodded, and started bustling around her little kitchen, putting a kettle on and rattling a bunch of little glass jars.
During a lull in the rattling, she heard Tseng sniffling. At least part of him was thawing out.
"Here," she said, plonking a box of tissues down on the table in front of him.
Tseng muttered his thanks but didn't look up at her.
More rattling around, and a whistle from the kettle that made Tseng's ears ring. He winced.
"Do you take milk in your tea?"
He looked up at that, eager to get his hands on the offered drink.
"No."
"Alright, then, drink up."
The mug she handed him was not what he was expecting. It smelled distinctly strange for one. It was an odd color, for another.
"What is this?"
"Tea."
He lifted the cup and sipped cautiously at it, then pulled a face and put the cup down in a hurry.
"If that is tea, then I am a moogle," he said flatly.
Aerith planted her hands on her hips and gave him a look that could have sent half a dozen slum rats running for their lives. Tseng blinked tiredly at her, then pointedly pushed the cup towards her.
"It's to help you feel better," Aerith murmured.
"I'm still not drinking it."
"It's not going to kill you."
Tseng raised one eyebrow. Aerith made a frustrated noise.
"Look, I'll drink from it first." She snatched up the mug, marched over to where Tseng could see she was actually drinking, and took a long, careful sip. "See? I'm fine. Now drink up."
"What did you put in it?"
Aerith sighed and handed the mug back to Tseng.
"Elderberry, for your fever; skullcap, for your headache; wild cherry bark, for your cough; and honey, for your throat. Now, drink."
Tseng only recognized half the things she'd listed, but he drank anyway, trying to ignore the taste. This tea was not meant to taste good. Aerith stood over him and waited until he'd gotten half of it down before she made a satisfied noise and turned back to the kitchen counter.
Once you got around the taste, the tea wasn't bad. The lingering taste of the honey was nice, and the heat of the drink was more than welcome. Tseng relaxed just a little.
"It's warmer in the living room," Aerith offered some ten minutes later.
"I'm sure it is, but I need to get back to my post." Tseng stood and pushed his chair back under the table. "Thank you for the tea, and for the offer."
Aerith rolled her eyes and took Tseng's arm.
"That was more of a politely veiled order than an offer, Tseng. Come on."
Tseng resisted Aerith's gentle tugging. She pulled harder. He dug his heels in. Finally, Aerith's hand slid along the underside of Tseng's arm. He paid it no mind, and so got a nasty surprise when her thumbnail pressed into the soft, tender space between the bones of his arm right before his wrist. Tseng made a small, pained noise.
"Care to join me in the living room, Tseng?"
"Of course," he growled, making a mental note to add 'manipulative and stubborn' to Aerith's file.
Tseng wound up perched on the edge of Aerith's battered purple couch, arms crossed, waiting for a chance to get up and get out. Aerith smiled sweetly at him and left the room. Tseng was halfway to the door when she returned and calmly grabbed him by the ear.
"Couch, darling."
"And if I say no?"
"You won't make it out the door before I get you on the floor."
"Is that a challenge?"
"It's a fact. I've met baby chocobo that are steadier than you are. Back to the couch, please."
Tseng went and sat, rubbing his abused ear. Aerith smiled sweetly and followed him. He expected another herbal remedy and closed his eyes, willing her away. Thus, he was pleasantly surprised when something warm and soft was wrapped around him. He opened one eye and found a thick patchwork quilt draped over his shoulders.
"There. Why don't you lie down for a bit?"
"I can't,I-"
"I'm not going anywhere."
"But-"
"I swear to the Planet, Tseng. I won't leave, I won't let anyone know you're here, and I won't try to kill you. Just lie down before I lose my patience and knock you out with a frying pan."
Tseng lay down. Aerith tucked the quilt around him.
"There you go. Better?"
He nodded, trying to minimize his shivering.
"Good. Be right back. Stay put this time, hmm?"
Tseng made a noncommittal noise, but he didn't try to get up when Aerith padded away. Instead, he sighed quietly and shifted onto his side so he could curl up a bit, and clutched the quilt around himself.
Apparently, he'd dozed off, because the next thing Tseng knew, there was a hand on his shoulder and he was blinking sleepily.
"Open up," Aerith murmured, waving a thermometer in his face.
"No," he grumbled, burrowing further into the quilt.
"Come on, don't start this again."
"No."
"Tseng, be reasonable!"
"No."
"You know I can force you."
"No."
She sighed and clambered onto the couch with him, straddling his hips. With her free hand, she grabbed his hair and tugged gently.
"I'll pull," she murmured.
Tseng opened his mouth, giving Aerith an irritated look around the thermometer when she tucked it under his tongue and tapped his jaw. He closed his mouth. Aerith smiled and stroked his hair while she waited. It felt nice, even she was the woman he was supposed to be keeping an eye on, and he began to relax again.
"Alright, open up."
He did, letting her take the thermometer before closing his mouth again. Might as well just put up with her, after all.
"Mmmm….102 even. You should really be at home, Tseng."
"I have a job to do."
"You don't work alone. Why not ask one of the others to cover for you?"
"That wasn't an option."
"Why not?"
"Rude is on bodyguard duty, Reno had the day off, and Elena has food poisoning. I'm the only one left tonight."
"Do you submit a report about your guard duty out here?"
"No," he admitted.
"No one would know if you went home, then."
"That isn't the point. I would know. I don't shirk my duties."
"Tseng, you're practically dead on your feet. That's not a good thing." She buried her fingers in his hair and scratched gently. "Is Turk policy to run operatives into the ground?"
"No, but-"
"Exactly. You can't do your job properly running a fever like this one. If you must watch me all the time, then I want to be watched by Turks who can actually do their jobs. What if something had happened? Could you have come and helped me if someone had broken into the house? Run after them, maybe?"
"No, but-"
"Then you couldn't have done your job, and you shouldn't be here."
Tseng grunted.
"Just get some sleep," Aerith sighed. "I don't know how you do what you do, Tseng."
She got up and began to walk away.
"It's my life," he mumbled, not looking at her. "What else do I have?"
"I can't answer that. It's not my life to live. Get some sleep."
Aerith waited until she was sure Tseng was well and truly asleep, then tiptoed over to his jacket and rummaged in the pockets until she found his phone. Taking it with her, she slipped upstairs and sat on her bed, then flipped it open and scrolled through the contacts until she found what she wanted.
"What's the deal, boss? 's my day off, yo."
"I'm afraid this isn't Tseng."
Aerith bit back a giggle when she heard Reno inhale whatever he'd been eating and choke. He coughed and hacked for a minute, then recovered.
"Is this…Aerith?"
"Mmmhm."
"How did you get Tseng's phone?"
"Would you be a dear and take his place tonight?"
"Nuh-uh, I'm not covering for him if he's gonna go and sleep with our charge."
"I'm not sleeping with him."
"Then why do you have his phone?"
"Because he's asleep downstairs."
"Tseng doesn't sleep on the job."
"He does now. Are you drunk?"
"Nah, didn't wanna go to work with a hangover tomorrow. But I'm not coming. It's my night off."
"Just get over here."
"What's in it for me?"
Aerith smiled. All she had to do was bribe him, huh?
"Hot meals for your next four shifts."
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
"I'll be there in ten minutes."
"Wonderful. Would you mind coming inside when you get here, just so I know?"
"Yeah, sure. See ya!"
Aerith smiled and ended the call, then returned the phone to Tseng's jacket pocket. She peeked into the living room to check up on him and was relieved to see that he was soundly asleep.
It was raining again when Reno showed up, quiet and steady in that penetrating way it often did in the fall. Reno was bundled up in his coat, with a hat pulled down low over his ears and thin wool gloves on.
"You picked a helluva night, yo," he grumbled, shaking water off his umbrella before actually coming in. He knocked mud off his boots. "Okay, what's the emergency?"
"No emergency, I just need someone to take Tseng's place tonight."
"Then you don't know Tseng," Reno snorted. "If it takes him off duty, it's an emergency. Where is he?"
Aerith pointed at the couch. Reno looked, did a double-take, and hurried over to Tseng. He bent over the quilt-wrapped body, reaching out hesitantly to check for a pulse. Satisfied that Tseng was still alive, he turned to Aerith.
"What happened, yo?"
"He has flu," Aerith murmured. "It's not good for him to be out in this weather when he's already sick."
"Yeah, no kidding," Reno breathed. "He's had to have had this a day or two…he shoulda called me."
"He was under the impression that calling you on your night off was a bad idea."
"It is a bad idea. But I've got him covered when he needs it. Idiot."
"Thank you."
"Yeah, sure, any time." Reno turned back towards the door. "I'll just go be decorative for awhile."
"Why?"
"I'm supposed to watch you."
"Can't you do that in here?"
Reno didn't miss a beat.
"Do you want me to do it in here?"
"I'd rather not feel guilty for leaving you out in the rain."
"Works for me, yo." He bent to unlace his boots. "You're not gonna let me smoke in here, are you?"
"No."
"Damn."
When Tseng woke up, he was in bed. At first, he assumed he'd gone home when Aerith had let him, but he soon realized that this was certainly not his bed. He slept in a king-size sleigh bed made with fine cotton sheets that complimented his décor, not a full on an iron bedstead under a net canopy, and he wouldn't bother with flannel sheets until November. And when he did get them out, they would certainly not be lavender.
"Hey, boss. Feelin' any better?"
Tseng blinked groggily, trying to focus on the splotch of red near the far wall. When he could see straight, he frowned.
"Reno?"
"Yep?"
"What are you doing here?"
"Waiting on chocolate chip pancakes."
"Whose bed am I in?"
"Aerith's. She had me carry you up here around eleven. Said she didn't see the point in leaving you downstairs."
Tseng made a distressed noise and started to scramble out of bed. He got to his feet, made it a few steps towards the door, and nearly collapsed. Reno caught him, pushing him gently back towards the bed until it hit the back of his legs and he sat down.
"Easy, bossman, easy. You're real sick."
"Be that as it may, I can't stay in our target's bed."
"You're off the clock. She's just Aerith Gainsborough now."
Tseng gave Reno a very odd look.
"I beg your pardon?"
Reno grinned.
"Gotta keep your professional and personal lives separate, yo. On the clock, yeah, she's the chick we're watching. Off the clock, though…she makes the best hot chocolate I've ever had, and a mean grilled cheese sandwich."
Tseng scowled. Clearly, Aerith had already gotten into Reno's head and convinced him that she was not something best left alone. Damn.
"Anyway, she says you're staying here until your fever goes down."
"I most certainly am not."
"Oh, I think you are," Aerith purred, stepping through the doorway. She was wearing a cheery flowered apron and brandishing a metal spatula in a way that could either be threatening or endearing, depending on who it was being brandished at. Tseng felt threatened, as he was supposed to. "You are staying right where you are, or I'll make sure you can't get up."
"I have work to do," Tseng began.
Aerith marched over and whacked the back of his hand with the spatula. He yanked his hand back with a hiss.
"Work can wait while you get better. What kind of a senior staff member goes and gets everyone in the office sick, hmm?"
"That isn't-"
Whap.
"Ow!"
"I'm going to keep hitting you until you quit arguing with me."
"But-"
Smack.
"Ow!"
Reno snickered. He had moved out of the way and watched, delighted, as Aerith smacked Tseng every time he tried to argue.
Eventually, Tseng gave in, retreating to the other side of the bed and lowering his head, looking up at Aerith through his hair. To his credit, it was a calculated move that was still as endearing as it had been when he was much younger, and it worked. Aerith lowered her spatula and smiled at him.
"That's better. Are you going to behave now?"
Tseng nodded. What choice did he have?
"Good." Aerith leaned across the bed and kissed his forehead. "Back to bed. Reno, make sure he goes, hmm? I need to get back into the kitchen."
Reno saluted playfully.
"Yes, ma'am."
As soon as Aerith had gone, Tseng gave Reno a disgusted look.
"Traitor," he muttered.
"You bet. Now get back under those blankets."