Room 429, Sunday Afternoon

[raspberryturk]

Okay. Sunday afternoons were officially boring. The days of the week had classes and radio and reports to write for his job, and mornings and evenings meant that the ferret was awake and totally willing to be harassed, but Sunday afternoons?

Reno would like to vote that boring, lazy Sunday afternoons be stricken from the record.

He was in his room, sitting by the window and playing with his lighter. Fire go on. Fire blow out. Ooh. Exciting.

The door was open slightly in case something interesting happened to wander through the hallway, at least.

[Open, like the door~]

Comments

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"All of the above. As a Hunter at the STN-J, I'd be required to wear and use the Orbo on the Hunt," Yurika replied, twirling the roll of tape. "I've also got to be sneaky, and try and dig up the dirt on both Orbo and the factory."

[raspberryturk]

"Heeeey. Sneaky. I'm good at sneaky," Reno mused, passing the bottle from hand to hand before taking another swig. "Turk thing. We're good with dirt. Kinda gotta be."

Once again, making certain that it was clear that she had someone willing to dive into this. Wasn't that what friends were for? Sure it was.

Tseng would pitch a fit. Tseng never had to find out.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Reno? Thanks." Yurika gave him a tired smile and raised the bottle in a toast.

"So, any suggestions on how to grovel appropriately?"

[raspberryturk]

Reno raised his own bottle, and down went another swig.

"S'what I do," he replied. And really, it was. "As for grovelling... Like I said. Give it a little time. Breathing room helps, right? Maybe when he cools down some, he'll give you another chance to at least explain. S'the best I got, I'm afraid. I ain't too good with this romantic shit either, yoto."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"I live across the hall from him, and we have Monday class together," Yurika sighed. "It's going to be hard to avoid him."

"I wasn't going to get involved with him, I really wasn't," she said, scowling at her bottle. "I tried not to. He was just so dammed persistent!"

[raspberryturk]

"Rikku was like that, too. Kinda right there and you don't even know what the hell it is, except it's probably a bad idea and you can't say no anyhow?" Seemed like it, anyhow. Perfect and wrong. Bad, wrong, terrible, stupid, beautiful and irresistible. Right under the skin. "Don't avoid class or anything. I mean, givin' space don't mean you have to stop livin' your own life, zoto. Just keep to the other side of the room or whatever. If that doesn't work, put some duct-tape over his mouth and make him listen."

A pause.

"Because, you know, duct tape fixes everything."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Keeping him from talking isn't the same as making him listen, zoto," she teased. "But yeah. Every time you turn around, there they are, and it's the eyes and grin that just gets under your skin until you forget why it was a bad idea in the first place."

[raspberryturk]

"So tape him to a wall and use a megaphone or somethin'," Reno joked, and then gave a shake of his head and a shrug. "Weren't we supposed to be, like, the ones that didn't settle down or whatever? Daaaamn, they went and got the better of us. See, somethin' else that duct tape's good for. Coverin' up pretty eyes and smiles, yo."

Issues? Them? Nope!

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Mmm...kinky," Yurika mused, sticking her tongue out at him. "I blame the damn island. First with the romantic trip to Mexico, then the evil singing and the stupid angels abducting him and making me think about my feelings..." She looked up at the ceiling and shook her fist. "I blame Fandom."

[raspberryturk]

"Blame Fandom," Reno practically crowed, looking at the ceiling and mirroring the motion.

It had seemed like the thing to do at the time. Knowing his luck, Fandom was going to get him back good for that by turning him into a sardine later, or something.

"You know, I think the island knows this kinda shit is gonna happen. And sets us up for it or somethin'."

Reno was not a fan of conspiracy theories, but once you've been turned into a little red bird, it's hard not to be a little suspicious.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

Fandom had made him a doll action figure and a red chicken. It had turned her into a bunny. If they wanted to press charges, they would have been well-within their rights.

"I don't like thinking about my feelings," she whined, flopping back onto the other bed as the tequila started to work its magic. "They're all fluffy and sticky and don't stay where they're supposed to."

"I think the island is trying to make us into better people or something, and I was perfectly happy being bitter and amoral little me, thank you very much."

[raspberryturk]

"I was good and content to be a cranky drunk," Reno decided. He was lying. "But I don't doubt for a moment the island's tryin' to make us into upstandin' citizens or whatever. I actually get along with my boss sometimes now. What the hell, huh?"

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"I never, ever, want to get along with mine," Yurika declared, shutting her eyes tightly. "Father Juliano is just frightening."

[raspberryturk]

"Tseng ain't really a pleasant guy, either," he conceded, "but for all our jobs are the same, somethin' tells me there's plenty different about 'em, too."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"I think he knows," Yurika admitted slowly. "Father Juliano, I mean. He knows I've been leaving things out, like Romeo, and he did this to call me out and see what I'd do."

[raspberryturk]

"And now he knows, too." Reno had to take a long moment to think that one over. "All seems to fall out into the open at the same time, doesn't it? Like, so long as all this is comin' out, might as well throw that out there, too. Shove it all out to deal with at once."

There was a pause. And then another thoughtful mouthful of rum.

"If there's anything else you need, Doji, let me know. S'the least I can do after you hit me in the face with a book, yo."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Get it all out now, before they find every last dark little corner and shove it in your face for not coming clean with that, too," Yurika replied, trying for flippant. It wasn't working too well. "See? I do pay attention."

"Yeah, well, that's what friends are for, right? Book throwing?"

"Still. Thanks." She sat up slowly, one hand still clutching the tequila. "Can I take this home with me? I promise to be a good girl and not get too shitfaced." Lying, but hey. Like Reno was one to talk.

[raspberryturk]

"Don't drink yourself into a coma," Reno decided. "You gonna be in your room or whatever? I'll check in on you to be sure, if you want. I'll bring ramen."

Ramen seemed like the all-purpose make-better meal.

Reno wasn't one to talk. Which was why he wasn't going to chastise her for wanting to get shitfaced in the first place.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Can't. Jen will make sad-faces at me if I try that in the room." Which meant she'd drink it on the roof, or save some for the next day. "Don't think I'll be anywhere else, really, not until I have to go to Ethics on Tuesday."

She paused for a moment before quirking a half-grin at him. "Uh, make sure I get my ass out of bed for class Tuesday morning? Pretty please? As enjoyable as skipping Skywalker's class might be, I don't want to give Romeo another excuse to doubt me."

[raspberryturk]

"Consider me your hot redheaded alarm clock," he promised with a sort of mock-solemnity that meant that he was trying too damn hard not to actually be too serious.

It made sense, to Reno.

"If ever there was a teacher whose class you didn't wanna sleep through, Skywalker would be the guy, yo."

No. Really. Reno was pretty sure that Skywalker had a body count bigger than his own, judging on the conversation they'd had the last day Reno was in his class.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

Yurika mock-saluted him. "Diiiiiiiiiiiirty," she intoned, weaving slightly. "I'd say I was looking forward to it, but, well, I'm sure you're going to do something mean and evil, like wave coffee at me and refuse to hand it over."

[raspberryturk]

"Oh, I'll give you the coffee, no problem," Reno decided. "It's the Advil I'll hold hostage, yo."

He grinned a little, at that. "Better not hit the booze too much on Monday night. I'm a lotta things, but a knight in shinin' armor, I ain't."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Robin-sensei said both coffee and aspirin are bad for your hangover, but I don't caaaaaaaaaare. Coffee is too beautiful."

"You're a lotta things," Yurika agreed easily, walking over to muss his hair. "But just because your armor is a bit rumbled doesn't make you any less of a knight, Reno."

[raspberryturk]

"You figure?" Reno weaseled downward, trying to spare his hair the ruffling.

No dice.

He'd tolerate it today, if only because Doji was having a rough time of it. "You're just tryin' to get the coffee outta me, aren't you? I can see through your flattery, zoto. Like a... guy who sees through flattery."

It was entirely possible that the rum was getting to him.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

Shush. She was mildly tipsy from her five (six? something?) long shots from his tequila stash, and desperately needing human contact. She'd probably deny being so affectionate once she was slightly more sober.

She grinned down at him unrepentantly. "If I was trying to flatter you, Red, you wouldn't realize it until it was too late. I'm damn good at my job." It was said with a perverse sort of pride, because dammit, she was. Father Juliano never would have recruited her if she wasn't.