Room 429, Tuesday Afternoon

[raspberryturk]

Getting out and appreciating being back on Fandom? Reno wasn't up for getting out and appreciating being back on Fandom.

Reno was up for sitting in his room, really. Sitting was good. He'd gotten sleep and he'd handwavily done his morning training with Ghanima, and sitting by his window smoking seemed to be the order of the remainder of the day, at least until radio.

Sitting at the window, reminding himself why it was he always figured Turks don't date.

He was going to go through a few packs, today.

[Door's closed, and post is open, but with an "I leave for work in half an hour and then have Radio tonight so expect super, super slowplay" warning.]

Comments

[raspberryturk]

"It is." Reno sighed and looked up at the ceiling, next. Hey. Ceiling. Who put that there? "I wasn't thinkin' straight when I was talkin' to him. Tired, hadn't eaten, the rest of it. If I could have a do-over, I'd just tell him I quit and walk out, I think. Maybe. Might not have the guts."

And then he was grinning, again, and looking back at her.

"Why's it always the easy stuff that's the hardest to do? 'No' is just a word, ain't it? If you threw another thesaurus at me, I could even find other words for it. Say the same thing a dozen times."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"I could just hand it to you," she offered. "We can make a study of it. A thousand ways to say 'no', in as many languages as we can remember."

[raspberryturk]

"Just write the whole damn thing up, and then mail it off to him and never look at Gaia again?" Reno tilted his head, pretending to actually consider it. "Now there's a thought, yoto."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"We can write down some of the more colorful phrases, too," she nodded, mind going over the possibilities. "We'll just have to leave out Japanese, unless you don't mind your friend knowing what sort of foul language I know how to use."

[raspberryturk]

"Who, Tseng?" Reno paused a moment and mulled that one over for a moment. Or, at least, he pretended to. "You know, after workin' with me for however many years, I don't think a little cursin' in Wutai is gonna shock him too much, yo."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"No, but your butchering of the accent might make him hate me for teaching you the words," Yurika said cheerfully. "I liked him, he's funny."

Sometimes, Yurika had a very odd sense of humor.

[raspberryturk]

"Someone's gotta like Tseng, I guess. I mean, ain't like anyone else is gonna. Except Elena. Think he'll ever notice that she's got her eyes on him?"

Reno leaned forward, conspiratorially.

"Rude and I got a bettin' pool open on that one, zoto."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Notice before or after she sticks her tongue down his throat?" she asked, tilting her head as she considered it. "What's the ante?"

[raspberryturk]

"S'in Gil. Think you can handle the exchange rate on a bunch'a gold coins?" Reno smirked and crossed his arms, leaning back against his dresser. "Rude and I each got five-hundred in the pot. We toss in another fifty every month. If he notices before she tackles him, Rude gets the pay. If Tseng continues to have a stick up his ass and Elena gets fed up with it and does somethin' first, which you know is gonna happen, then I get the Gil."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"And what's my cut to stay out of it and not help either of them along?" Yurika smirked in return. "Let's face it, they both need help."

[raspberryturk]

Reno considered that, carefully.

This was the sort of thing that required careful consideration.

"I'll give you a quarter of my winnings, converted to whatever freaky Earth currency you want it in, yo."

This was a betting pool. This was sacred. Reno would make the sacrifice in order to keep the results clean.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

Yurika twirled her hair as she thought about it. "If either of them calls me and asks for help, does that count as interfering?" she asked. It was important to get all your facts right. "And Rude's got to agree too."

Besides, Rude was going to win. Tseng wasn't stupid. Yurika would be willing to place money that he already knew, or at least suspected.

[raspberryturk]

"Well, yeah, Rude's gotta agree. I, uh... Kinda can't see either of them callin' and askin' for romantic advice or whatever, though." Reno blinked and scratched his head. "Unless they do? I dunno. Maybe askin' about it counts as tryin' to make a move? We're gettin' into gray areas here that we're gonna have to talk over with my partner in crime, zoto."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Elena is a girl," she said slowly, using small words so even a sleep-deprived Reno could understand. "Girls gossip."

[raspberryturk]

"So do guys," Reno replied, almost indignantly, even. "I mean, I gossip. Not with Elena, yo. I mean, Rude and I do. S'how I found out Elena liked Tseng. Uh."

...

"I mean. You know."

...

"I need more ramen, I think."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

Yurika laughed and stood up, holding out her hand. "Busted, Red. So busted. Tell you what? Let's go get some real food at one of those new places in town. Maybe then your brain might start functioning again."

"Then you can call Rude while we wait for our food, and we'll figure out the rules."

[raspberryturk]

"Food. Rules. Two concepts I think I can manage to keep pretty straight in my head for the time bein', yoto."

He smiled a sheepish, tired, somewhat lopsided smile, and he nodded, and he made his way for his door.

Food. And then rules.

This is why girls existed, Reno figured. They got all the brains in this operation, or something.