Don't own any of the Final Fantasy VII characters or anything else. Thanks for reading, hope you liked, yada yada.

9:00AM

"Good morning, Reno. Morning, Rude," Elena greeted the two men, cheerfully.

Reno somewhat dismissively waved his acknowledgment, and Rude nodded.

"Morning, Rude. Reno," Tseng said, brushing past the duo.

Opting, once again, for a silent greeting, Rude nodded, and headed for his desk.

"Yeah yeah," Reno sort of grumbled.

"I see you've survived yesterday. Much to your surprise, I'm sure," Tseng quipped.

"Har har. All right, it wasn't so bad. I admit it," Reno grudgingly confessed.

"Glad to hear it," Tseng said, a satisfied smile upon his lips.

"Say what?" Reno asked, cautiously.

"It seems they're very understaffed upstairs. Several of the secretaries called in sick."

"They what?" Reno asked, incredulous. How could they do that do him? After all the drinks and girl talk they'd shared at lunch yesterday? So much talking, so much drinking. Yeah, it was a lot of drinking for them. Drinking, and plotting. Though most of the plotting had been on Reno's part.

"Apparently they all called in late last night, complaining of nausea, vomiting and a splitting headache," Tseng explained. "So what did you do? Get them all drunk, organize a rebellion, or impregnate them?"

"Yes," was the redhead's arrogant reply.

"Nonetheless."

Resigned to his fate, Reno sighed and made his way to the door, headed for the elevator.

Once Reno was no longer within earshot, Rude decided he'd fulfill his verbal quota for the day early, remarking, "Am I the only one picturing Reno living at the polygamist colony out east, raising chocobos with his five wives and twenty little redhead brats?"