raspberryturk | Room 429, Monday, Early Evening

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Room 429, Monday, Early Evening

After checking on Romeo this morning, Reno had headed back down to his own room. It wasn't that there was anything of particular interest in there, really. His laptop was still useless and he still didn't have any desire to start on his report back to the boss. It was more that, by and large, he didn't feel up to going anywhere else.

He'd spent a short while looking over the texts on his phone that he'd been ignoring all week.

There had been a lot of them.

Dumbass. You owe me. Laptop in mail. -- Thanks, Rude.
Report incomplete. Send update as soon as possible. -- Tseng.
Do not do anything that will jeopardize your assignment. -- Tseng again. Most likely after a couple of days sitting on Reno's failure of a last report.
Get yourself killed, I kick your ass. -- Rude again.
Report still not received. Is this a cause for concern? -- Tseng. Good old Tseng.
Is there a particular reason you haven't been checking your texts and e-mails? -- More Tseng. Reno would thank Rude later for not telling Tseng that his laptop was toast.
Do not get involved with the statues, Reno. We can't afford to lose another Turk. -- Tseng.

There had been more like those, but Reno had stopped there, closed his phone, and set it to the side.

He still didn't feel like answering them. Tseng could wait.

Right now, he'd just crack open his window a little, light himself a smoke, and look outside over the island for the rest of the afternoon, and then on into the evening, while the sky grew progressive shades of dark.

[The door is shut, the post is open. Ooooh. :o]

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"Tell me about it," she smiled. "And you're sucking pretty hard right now, too."

"I guess sayin' that it's no big deal, I'm just bein' stupid, would just make me into a hypocrite after the talk we had on the roof, huh?" The smile was gone again.

"Not necessarily," she shrugged. "But it might make you a liar."

"Wouldn't be the first time I made a liar out of myself," he sighed, and then turned around, finally, to actually face her.

He took a deep breath. Right. Talking. He could do that.

"Been that kinda week, sure. I mean, we did it, and it ain't like I'm lookin' for freakin' accolades or whatever. Go out, blink a few times, no big freakin' deal. It's what I do- stupid shit. I do lots of stupid shit, and this shouldn't fuckin' bug me." He was smiling again, sticking out his tongue and everything like he was trying to make it all seem like one big joke. Funny, right? Good to laugh at, or something.

But he wasn't really amused. "Everyone's back and they're all doin' good and they're still managin' to all be fuckin' upset about it like oh, shit, bad week, and maybe it could'a been the other way and maybe nobody could'a come back, and just for a moment I gotta be stupid about this and go, 'shit, guys, good to see that still bein' alive is so fuckin' terrible.'" He grit his teeth, there. A little. Shook his head. The grin was gone. "And I can't even tell anyone why, and I got a fuckin' report to write and if the boss knows I had some kinda stupid personal investment in this and that's why I ignored direct fuckin' orders not to get involved all week, he'll pull me, okay? And this place grows on you, and the people here grow on you, and I'm a fucking idiot for lettin' it all creep up and make me care, yo."

Rikku shook her head. "So ... you're mad that there wasn't an afterparty? It's rough as hell. Just because people are alive doesn't mean everything's okay, just like that. I'm sorry we didn't all bounce back as quickly as you did. It takes time, zoto."

Deal with that, first, and then the bit at the end, with his boss. And him worrying about it all. At least he was talking, finally.

"Yeah. I bounced back real great." He sighed and shook his head. "Still waitin' for the rest of the shitstorm. Not, like, sitting here feelin' sorry for myself or whatever, just, maybe this time around, there are enough people still standin' to warrant bein' happy it's over. Romeo's back, I talked to Mel last night, you saw Deadpool. It's all good, yo."

"I think people are happy," she said softly. "Fandom ... isn't like Spira. We get through most of our tragedies without a body count. It took me forever to adjust to that. I kept waiting for it, you know?"

"World didn't end," Reno offered. "That's... somethin'? World does a whole lot of not endin', yo. Here, there, all over. Does a whole lot of coming close, too, though."

"Never gets any easier," she shrugged. "The ... dealing with it not ending. I dunno. I guess 'cause any time, it might be."

She chewed on her lip. "Your ... boss is mad?"

"Yeah... might be." He shrugged back. "It's probably nothin'. Tseng's got a stick shoved up his ass about the length of the Midgar Zolom. Had it there since--" He shrugged again. Tseng was pretty down-to-business since Reno had met him, but even Tseng hadn't been the same since a bunch of other Turks vanished without a trace. "Since whatever. Guess it doesn't help I was ignoring his texts for a week."

Since whatever. Yeah. She bought that.

Rikku stood up, suddenly thoughtful, and wandered over to his desk. "Did you at least tell Rude? 'Had to save the world, cover for me?'" She picked up his phone, toying with it lightly before walking back over to the bed and sitting down.

"Nah. Even Rude's got no clue. Texted me to tell me he'd kick my ass if I got myself killed." Reno smiled faintly at that, watching her take his phone. "Good ol' Rude. He's already coverin' for me with the laptop thing. Doesn't need more shit to try to hide from Tseng anyhow."

"So ... he doesn't even know you're okay?" Rikku asked, raising an eyebrow. But not looking up.

She knew Rude's number, and besides, it was helpfully marked "RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE."

reno ok. crisis over. all alive & accounted for. needs day or 2 for report - can cover?

"I was gonna let him know. Not like I'm plannin' on droppin' off the planet's face or whatever on them, yo. Just... needed a bit." He shrugged. "Figure out some kinda creative way of tellin' Tseng I couldn't do the report, but it wasn't a... crisis or whatever. That kinda thing. Rude's used to it by now, yo."

"He knows now," she said, tossing his phone onto the bed again. "Might've been worried. They ... really would have pulled you back, for helping?"

"Not for helping. For putting myself into that kinda danger, or whatever, maybe." Reno gave his shoulders another shrug and eyed the phone for a moment. "Tseng's not a real huge fan of putting his Turks at needless risk, yo. And, you know." He smiled faintly. "I'm stubborn, yo."

The phone on the bed played a short percussive tune involving snaps and cymbals. If one were to investigate, they might see that Rude had replied to Rikku's text message.

Hello Rikku. Will cover. Tell Reno he owes me.

A few moments later, the phone made the same little tune. Rude had an addition to his previous message.

Again.

Edited 2008-03-18 05:39 (UTC)

"I like your ringtone," Rikku said, pulling her knee up onto his bed and hugging it. "And you owe Rude and it's okay, you know, to just go, hey, my headspace is messed up. I mean. Tseng might not like it, but you know Rude's good for it."

She bit her lip. "Should we have ... kept you out of it? The whole ... statues and all that."

"You couldn't have kept me away from this if you'd tried, Rikku. I would'a dove in headfirst the moment I found out about Romeo anyhow." Reno shook his head and reached for his phone. "Don't got the luxury of havin' messed up headspace, either. Rude'll be good for it, sure. But... whatever. I got things to do while I'm here. So there were angels or whatever. People vanished without a trace. That kind of shit happens. It's over, it's good, any anything past that mindset is just me snivelin' for the sake of gettin' snot on things anyhow."

Instead of handing him his phone, she reached out and slipped her hand into his. "I wouldn't think that, you know."

He fell quiet, looking at her hand. It was so small, in his. Small and clean, and it was weird how someone with such small hands could make him feel so...

Safe?

Something like it.

"You know, if I ever have to go, I might not have a way to make up for it with hugs and ice cream..."

"I know that," she said gently.

"It's just... If I do? Then maybe I can't tell you why I had to go, or maybe I'll just not be there someday and that'll be that, and it won't be..." He sighed. "I'd try. But if I couldn't, it wouldn't be because I don't... care. Or whatever. You know?"

"Reno," she said suddenly. "I ... didn't think he didn't care because he left. Or because he died and didn't leave me a pretty note in an envelope. He wasn't really dead, and I thought he didn't care what thinking he was dead would do to me."

She brought his fingers up to her lips. "And even at that, maybe he had his reasons. Maybe it was the only way. Maybe after a hundred years, everything fades out a little, maybe you forget."

She let go of his fingers, softly. "If you ... tell me now, that you care, no matter what. I'll believe you. No matter what happens. Is that what's ... bothering you?"

His hand stayed there for a moment, at her lips, idly tracing over them once she was finished speaking, remembering them, trying to pull the words she'd just said and hold onto them and maybe never let go of her lips or her words again. But once the moment had passed, and words proved to be nothing tangible, nothing that could be gripped and held and pocketed, his hand slipped away, lowered to rest on the bed between them.

"I don't want to do that to you, Rikku."

"Which part?" she said softly, not looking up. "Leave without a note? I know. That might happen. Leave a-and ... not come back? I ... I know that, too. Just because it happens won't mean ... that I'll think you wanted it to."

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