Not Alone

AN: I own nothing in this story. This is dedicated to fire mystic so enjoy! Please R&R.

Elena heard the somewhat hesitant knock at her door and quickly checked herself over in her hallway mirror. She had decided on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved black shirt. Satisfied that her appearance was okay, she answered the door and smiled at Tseng.

Her boss looked a little flustered as he stood there dressed in a pair of slacks with his suit jacket over a white shirt.

"Are you ready?" he asked after some time.

"Yeah...you never said where we're going," Elena pointed out.

Now Tseng looked even more flustered.

"Well...I...you see...it's just...I wantedyoutochoose," he finally managed to say. Elena held back her laughter at the sight of the normally stoic leader of the Turks acting like a teen on his first date.

"Alright, how about we go get some dinner?" Tseng nodded at this and seemed relieved.

So they started walking to a nearby diner Elena had always wanted to go to, reaching out to take Tseng's arm. Tseng took it and he remembered just how he had arrived where he was this night.

Tseng took another shot of liquor and rested his head against the wooden counter of Seventh Heaven, Reno and Tifa too busy making doe eyes at each other to notice much else. Rude was nursing a malt beer while Elena was content with her gin and tonic.

"Aerith..." Tseng muttered, his eyes half opened. Elena leaned over then and patted him on the back, causing Tseng to look at her. "Elena...am I going to end up alone?" Elena smiled at him and rubbed his back.

"No one is ever alone Tseng," she said softly. His eyes widened a little at that and he gave her a goofy grin, a result of the amount of alcohol he had consumed.

"Is that right?" Elena nodded and Tseng found himself feeling happy for the first time in a long while.

Half an hour later Elena and Rude had left, Reno staying behind because he lived in the apartment above the bar with Tifa. The brunette set down another shot of liquor and Tseng thanked her as best he could.

"You know Elena would be good for you," Tifa pointed out.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, from the way she looked at you tonight it's obvious she cares a lot about you." Reno decided to speak up then.

"Yeah, ask her out. Then let me know all the dirty details and- but the red head was cut off by his girlfriend glaring at him. "I mean just ask her out and see where things go."

Tseng decided to take them up on their advice and as he sat across from Elena at one of the booths in the diner, he found himself glad that he did, at least until he started to worry again.

Did he have bad breath? Was he talking enough? Was he boring her? These thoughts and a million others whirled in his head, reminding the Turk just how long it had actually been since he'd been on a date. But as he looked at her, all the thoughts went away, replaced by a euphoric feeling of calm.

"So what are you going to get?" Elena asked. Tseng looked down at his menu then and decided to pick the first thing he saw.

"Chef's Surprise," Tseng answered. Elena nodded at his choice and decided on a cheeseburger with a chocolate milkshake.

They made small talk, well as close as Tseng could get to small talk which mainly revolved around things not relating to the Turks but still took place within Shinra. But Elena wasn't bored and laughed at the Wutain's impression of Reeve.

That brightened up Tseng's estimation about the evening.

Maybe he wouldn't ruin this.

Maybe this would be a fresh start.

His dinner arrived twenty minutes later along with Elena's and he poked the white soup experimentally before taking a bite.

It was delicious.

He continued to talk with Elena, the blonde telling him all about the pranks Reno continued to subject her to.

"And I- but Elena stopped talking when she noticed something was off. "Um Tseng...your face is..."

"Mwhy faze isch- but the Turk stopped talking when he felt his now swollen cheeks.

Then he felt the burning in the back of his throat.

Giving a shriek that would make Aerith proud, the normally aloof head of the Turks rushed towards the restroom.

The reflection that stared back at him was like something Yuffie Kisaragi would draw.

His cheeks were swollen to three times their normal size, his nose was similarly effected and his throat was red.

His previous hopes were now dashed.

A knocking came on the door to the restroom and he heard Elena's voice.

"Tseng, are you alright?"

"No...sowwy," he replied, wincing at the way his damaged throat caused his words to sound. He walked out after looking once more at his reflection and didn't look at Elena as he headed for the exit. However his body suddenly stiffened and he started to fall, his vision going dim as he felt a pair of arms encircle him.

The chirping of birds was the first thing Tseng became aware of. He opened his eyes a little and looked around. He was in a living room, most likely on the couch, covered in a blanket. It was then that he smelt some bacon frying and sat up.

"Oh you're awake," Elena's voice called out and he saw her a few moments later, the blonde approaching him wearing a pink nightgown.

"Elena...you took care of me," Tseng said, relieved to have his voice back. She blushed a little but nodded.

"You were in no shape to get home by yourself and I know it's not exactly normal but I- however Tseng silenced her by placing a finger on her lips. Smiling, he stared into her brown eyes.

"Thank you Elena. And I should be apologizing for ruining our evening."

"No, you didn't ruin it. I got to spend time with you and that's all I really wanted."

Tseng stared at her a moment longer before he moved closer, his lips making contact with her own.

She didn't turn away in annoyance at the kiss.

She didn't flinch.

And he hadn't screwed up.

It was a beginning.

And it was worth all the swollen faces in the world, Tseng decided.