Addicted

Epilogue

You could tell when it was 'Substance Abuse' week at ShinRa. The Executive Board were more edgy than ever and the Turks…well, the Turks. Rude looked about ready to shoot someone, his trigger finger twitching a bit every so often, Elena just tried to hide in a corner away from everyone, Tseng was more irritable than ever and Reno was paler than usual and kept diving into the bathroom every five minutes. They had to stay clean, you see, or run the risk of losing their jobs and most importantly the drugs money.

In the Turk Lounge, Rude was holding a glass of water so tight it shattered everywhere, bloody fragments of glass embedding themselves into his palm. He boomed a few curses and stormed off to get patched up. This shouting was no good for Elena, no good at all. She tried to curl up in a chair and block out all the noise around her, but she couldn't get comfortable. Pacing around like Tseng wasn't going to help either. He was walking around looking tired and gaunt, snapping at anyone who happened to cross his path and looking over his shoulder every so often. Reno, meanwhile, was almost crying from the pain. His eyes were shut tight and he was clutching his stomach, huddled up away from everyone in a corner of the room. Shaking hands lit a cigarette that did nothing to quell the shakes wracking his body and eventually the pain got so intense he thought he'd have to be sick, disappearing into the bathroom for the fiftieth time that day and just throwing his guts up. Reno had a wrap of costly heroin in his pocket, and he'd never been so tempted to use it. See, the stupid drug testing people didn't bother to check whether you were carrying the drug, only whether you'd taken it or not. He hadn't had anything for three days and it was killing him. But hell, he knew this pain so well it could almost be called a friend. I'm still alive…

Tseng snapped at a guard for the umpteenth time that morning. He hadn't had any sleep for days and his past was slowly seeping back into his consciousness and haunting him in the dark hours of the morning. And of course, there was always that paranoia. What if they found out what he was? No, used to be. Used to be. He kept telling himself that, but the anxiety was slowly catching up with him because he had nothing to stop it. Finally, he'd had enough. He went off to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water, firmly telling himself to stop being stupid, that it would all be over soon and he could go back to being the real Tseng. But what he was now wasn't the real Tseng, was it? Of course not. It was the fake Tseng, the image the cocaine had conjured up for him. He splashed his face again, until the sacrilegious thoughts were dispelled. When he looked up to the mirror, however, he scarce expected to see a younger version of himself, all dressed up in God-knows-what with a face full of makeup that exaggerated his lips and eyes. It took the tattered remains of his strength not to scream and smash the mirror. He hated mirrors.

When he opened his eyes again, he was there. Just the 'normal' Tseng, perhaps looking a little rough around the edges owning to lack of sleep and coke, but in essence there he was. Presently, Reno emerged from one of the stalls, looking like death. He looked at Tseng through his sea-green eyes, which were now veiled with agony and distress and said plainly, "It hurts like fuck."

Tseng smiled tightly. "I know, Reno. I know. How much junk are you taking a day?"

"Enough to make me feel like complete shit when I don't take it." He said bitterly.

Tseng pointed at Reno's arms, where the track marks were clearly visible. "Shit, Reno."

Reno mocked his action, pointing to the deep cuts on Tseng's arms. "Shit, Tseng."

Tseng forced a laugh. "Well, we're both fucked up."

"Yeah," snarled Reno. "I wish I was fucked up on smack right now, not life."

This time Tseng couldn't help a laugh. "I'd better be getting back, Reno. They'll be calling me in soon."

"Fine," snapped Reno. "I'll think of you when I get out of my head tonight."

Meanwhile, Rude had just come out of the office that was being used for the tests. He sighed in relief, poured himself a glass of whiskey and sat down, at peace for the first time in those three agonising days. "Tseng," he said. "They're waiting for you. Good luck."

Tseng nodded, businesslike. "Drag Reno out of the bathroom, would you? He's dying."

Rude nodded curtly and Tseng entered the room, ignoring Elena's incessant whining about her head.

"Ow ow ow ow." Elena moaned from her chair. "My head."

"Elena," Rude said in disbelief. "There's nothing wrong with your head. It's just those damn painkillers you insist on taking."

"You're one to talk, Rude," Elena hissed. "You're an alcoholic. Reno's a junkie. Tseng's hooked on coke."

"Yeah," came Reno's scornful voice. "It's part of the job description. Addiction comes with the duty. If you weren't addicted to somethin' then you wouldn't last through the day."

Addiction.

Relying on something to the utmost until it is part of yourself, part of your soul. Addicts and their fixes are inseparable, and quite often lying to themselves, cheating others, letting nothing get in the way of what they want.

What they so desperately need.

Addictive personalities are much more common than one would think, as addicts often hide what they so desperately desire from the real world. They present a face of normality to the people around them. To show their weakness would be suicide, people would try and cure them. If cured, what would these addicts be? Nothing but shadows, until they succumbed to their inner demons once again.

You didn't believe this? You read on. Beyond lay a tale of corruption of the innocent, bribery, lies, illegal substance use, and more.

Take centre stage – The Turks.

And with this, the curtain closes.

Fin

A/N: Props to beautiful Tini for the Tsenginess. You all go see her fics now. ^__^