Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Connected ❯ Driven to drink ( Chapter 2 )

The profitable ones belong to Square Enix.

Driven to Drink

I don't want to spend the rest of my days
Keeping out of trouble like the soldiers say…

Invisible Sun - Sting and Aswad

When her coworkers invited her to a birthday party/excuse to get drunk en masse at a local bar, Jacinta Guerin, known as Jace, should have given her usual response and turned down the invite with a smile and a shrug. To tell the truth, part of her did, namely the boring part of her brain that kept her sober and decently dressed and away from impromptu parties. But that bastion of reasonable behavior was, in this instance, effectively overruled by a horrible month spent trying to put Midgar back together as a mid-level flunky in the W.R.O.

 

Normally, Jace loved her job helping put the world back on an even keel. Most of the time she relished the challenge of finding the information people needed and helping her coworkers create and implement ideas that made other's lives better. She felt doubly lucky that she had the chance to attend department meetings and watch the head of the W.R.O., Reeve Tuesti, in action. His energy, dedication and good humor were inspiring. Her job and her belief in the work that the organization was doing as a whole gave Jace focus. She'd tried aimless wandering before and found it to be boring at best, and painful at its worst. She needed a place to be and a cause to invest herself in.

 

Jace arrived at work early and left late, determined to make a good impression. Besides, she didn't have many friends outside the office, no pets and her only living relative was in Cosmo Canyon. She would have never thought it before Meteor, but she was good at paperwork and the little intricacies that went into rebuilding and expanding infrastructure. Her particular talents lay in organization and information retrieval, and she was recognized as a valuable member of the records department. Jace took her work home with her, turned up the music and labored late into the night. Reeve was fond of reminding people that the Planet couldn't be fixed in an hour, but that each hour counted. Jace took that to heart and pushed herself to meet or exceed expectations.

 

This past month however, had made her wish she had stayed in Cosmo Canyon with her crazy hippie aunt. Everything that could go wrong had, from lost paperwork to crooked contractors to an indelible coffee stain on her favorite shirt… she didn't even drink coffee! Jace was ready to commit violence against the office equipment, set fire to her cubicle mate's music collection, break down crying, or all three simultaneously. She practically leapt at the chance to go out before she was found drinking toner. Jace hurried home, changed into jeans, comfortable shoes and a white tank top over which she threw a men's dress shirt to ward off the unseasonable chill.

 

Twenty minutes later she was in a bar, watching warily as Ivy from Accounting knocked back five shots of tequila in less then a minute, then burped her name. Riiiiight. Jace was seriously reconsidering the entire affair. The entire bar was filled to bursting with W.R.O. employees, and apparently everyone had had the same sort of crappy month. Do I really want to get drunk with people I know? Then she shrugged. She was here to release some steam right? Everyone else was having a good time and no one else seemed worried about later embarrassment. Jace leaned toward Rourke, a supervisor from her department and inquired as to what he was drinking because she wanted to order the same. His eyes widened.

 

“By the Gods people!” he crowed, grabbing the attention of everyone within hearing distance. “Jacinta Guerin is going to drink!” There was a moment of what Jace could only surmise was stunned silence, and then a cheer sounded that was taken up by the rest of the bar. Jace had to fight the impulse to slide underneath the table. Apparently, she needed to loosen up more. She used to party in Cosmo Canyon, but she'd avoided it here. New place, new start and all that. But she was a big girl now and it was time to act like it. With the raucous encouragement of Rourke, Ivy and the rest ringing in her ears, she knocked back two shots, one right after the other. More cocktails and shots quickly arrived as her delighted colleagues took turns buying her drinks.

 

Not much later, Jace was more then a little happy. She sat in a booth with Rourke and Ivy, smiling benevolently at the room and at the drinks that continued to arrive. She turned back to her companions in time to watch Ivy throw back yet another shot and then list sharply to the left. Jace frowned and leaned forward to inquire about the other woman's condition, nearly knocking over three drinks as she did so. Oops, not solid there Jace thought and then giggled. With exaggerated care she leaned forward again, and asked Rourke if Ivy was going to be all right. Rourke assured her that Ivy always drank too much early on. Just then Ivy's head hit the table with a bang and Rourke sighed.

“I was going to just put her in a cab, but I don't think she'd be able to open her front door at this point. I don't want to leave you though…” Rourke slid out of the booth and gently tugged on Ivy until she was standing swaying next to him. Jace didn't miss the flash of tenderness in his face as he looked at the blonde in his arms.

 

“I'm fine…really,” Jace said, making every effort to sound completely lucid. Rourke obviously bought it, because he shot her a grateful smile, said goodbye and began leading Ivy toward the door. Jace smiled and settled back, quietly pleased with life in general. Rourke was a nice guy and she really was feeling more or less fine. Plus it was nice to have the booth to herself for a bit. All in all tonight was going well. There was still a small army of drinks waiting for her attention but since she hadn't paid for any of them let the little darlings sit for a while.

 

A slim body slid smoothly into the booth next to her and Jace blinked. She found herself being studied by a pair of too-bright green eyes. Studying them right back, she felt her lips curving into a goofy little smile. Do I know this man from somewhere? A name sprang to mind and Jace leaned back a bit to take in the man's entire face, which confirmed her suspicion.

 

“Reno…”

 

 

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