raspberryturk | Room 308, Monday Afternoon

"I don't think Tseng will. Rufus wanted power. So did his old man. Tseng just wants to get through the day alive," Reno explained, then closed his other hand around the one he was holding and heaved a sigh.

"So, what if, instead of just pretendin' that this job ain't there, like I was doin' before and like I'm.... kinda scared we're gonna do now? What if instead of that, I just... tell you what's goin' on? Tseng calls with a job, and if I don't shoot it down right offa the bat, then... I talk to you? Before takin' it."

Edited 2008-10-21 02:48 (UTC)

"Would ... that be weird?" Rikku asked. Hesitantly. "I mean. You don't have to ... report in, like I'm your mom, or like you're ... asking permission. I would kinda like to know ..."

She bit her lip. "Stealing from people, blowing things up, I mean, whatever, but if you're just going out and shooting people for no good reason ... that might ... upset me. You might not want to tell me stuff, zoto."

Property was fluid. Life, not so much.

"There are probably gonna be hits," Reno said, looking down at their hands and swallowing the lump that was making its way into his throat again. "I mean, there'll be hits. It's just another thing we do and do good, you know? But I get to pick 'em. I get to say no."

He shrugged.

"Wouldn't be weird, talkin' to you about 'em first. Wanna know what's weirder?"

"But ... you might not," she said carefully. "Say no, I mean. To the hits. Are they usually people who ... I mean, are they bad people? I'm not sure I'm okay with ... you just skipping off to kill people who ... didn't do anything. That's ..."

She sighed, brushing her thumb against the back of his hand. Looking down at their hands. "What's weirder?"

"Weirder is us bein' weird at each other," Reno answered. Because that had to come first, right then. "The way Tseng put it, it sounds like we'd be workin' for anyone. Merc work, you know? So, maybe sometimes it's people who deserve to die, and maybe sometimes it's not. And if it's not, I can say no, you know?"

"You won't know," she said. Again. "If they're a bad person or not. And ... you might not care. I would. But I'm ... different than you. You know?"

Completely different ethical centers. That kinda thing.

She stepped forward. Only a little. Only pushing off the wall.

"I hate us being weird at each other."

"You're different than me. Which is why I talk to you first. Maybe it means I end up just doin' property damage. Maybe I don't take the hits, no more."

He kind of hated the thought of not taking the hits anymore.

"But there are still monsters out there. And there's probably mech hidin' around Gaia, too. Not like I'll be starved for excitement or anything."

He shrugged, and then tentatively moved forward to loop his arms around her waist.

Edited 2008-10-21 03:24 (UTC)

Rikku sighed, pressing her face into his shirt. "Would you miss the hits?" she asked. "Ow, that's such a strange question. I hate ..."

She shuddered. "This isn't gonna be easy. Is it?"

He shrugged and shut his eyes, shaking his head a little.

"Haven't had an actual hit in over a year, now. Not for the Turks. Ain't like I'm missin' out on anything I haven't been missin' already. This... probably won't be easy. But it's better'n what it was. I think. I hope."

Could it be? Please?

"Are you gonna have to ... leave?" she asked. "If you're doing work for them, you ... I mean. They don't need you ... here, any more. Do they?"

He couldn't leave. He wasn't allowed. She would steal his luggage.

"I'm not goin' anywhere. Might jog off on weekends for a job now and then. Isn't like I'm gettin' paid to be here anymore, gonna have to start earnin' a wage." He sighed and leaned forward to press his face into her hair. "But I was here for ShinRa. And now I'm not anywhere for ShinRa, yo. So now I'm here for me."

For... them?

"Like, in town?" she asked. "Do you need money? I kinda figured you probably had a lot, saved up from ... y'know. Being a Turk for so long."

She settled in, wrapping her arms around his waist uncertainly. "So you're ... staying here because ... you want to be here?"

"I spend. Stupidly. I mean, got enough to keep me goin' for a month or two, sure. If I bite down and stop bein' an idiot about it. Kick the gamblin' habit. And the smokin' habit. And... habits." Way to be stupid with your money, Reno. "But yeah, the only reason I'm here is 'cause I wanna be. I wanna maybe see this high school thing through. Get an idea what's out there. Appreciate what's here. Graduate."

Moon the crowd at graduation. That kind of thing.

"Strippers and porn?" she teased, leaning up to press a very faint kiss on his chin. "I can't believe Tseng didn't ..."

She trailed off. Right. Tseng wouldn't have convinced Reno to invest his money, because the Turks didn't exactly need cushy retirement funds.

Better topic. "At least you have the Midgar girls tape?"

Random change in topic? That meant Reno probably didn't want to press at whatever it was she was trying to say.

Given that they were talking about his monetary situation, and then Tseng had been brought up, Reno could hazard a guess, anyhow.

"Used to have the whole series," Reno said, straightening a little to grin down at her. The change of topic was just fine. "Kinda lost most of it a couple years back. Last dorms I was livin' in kinda aren't there anymore."

"Did they do different cities?" she asked. "World Tour of girls just ... doing things to each other? You're not allowed to release the ... uh. Fandom version."

Okay, she was blushing.

... okay, she was blushing a lot.

She was blushing, and he was sticking out his tongue.

"The hottest lesbian porn that Fandom has ever seen is sittin' in a place of prestige where there ain't nobody but me and you who are gonna get to see it," he promised. "Slum Girl Sluts was a totally local company, though. Rovin' about from sector to sector, but it ain't like people from under the plates had loads of money to travel on. Not even the kickass makers of fine local porno, yoto."

Could not believe she'd let him tape it.

"The tape might've gotten all chewed up," she suggested. What? It might have. She hadn't seen it yet. He probably hadn't, either, right? "Were the girls hotter in different sectors? Like, 'oh, wow, sector three, man, that's where the best ones are'?"

"Sector Eight," Reno said, and he didn't even have to stop to think about that answer before shooting off at the mouth with it. "Five was too weird 'cause it was more homey, and Three wasn't bad, sure, but they're a little harder lookin' in Three. Farther from the market, farther from the money, you know?"

He shrugged a shoulder, grinned, and winked.

"But Sector Eight, daaaamn. Up top, it was all class and showin' off. Down below, it was a real treat, zoto."

A pause. A shit-eating smirk.

"Trust me, the Fandom versaion ain't chewed up. Not unless it happened after the last time I watched." And he had watched it often.

There was a look that was attempting to be a grouchy sort of look, directed at him. "You had these memorized, didn't you? You could see like a four-second clip and go 'Oh, that's sector six, man, this part is good.'"

Pervert.

She exhaled. Loudly. "I thought I got to decide if you were gonna destroy the tape or not?"

"I thought I was gonna do some quality-control before lettin' you take a look at the video," Reno replied easily, not phased by her grouchiness in the least. "You wouldn't wanna destroy it, Rikku. It's hot."

Perverted and damn proud of it.

"It's sick and wrong and I probably look stupid and you had bigger boobs than me," Rikku said haughtily. "And you promised that you'd delete it if I said to, and I bet you sent it to Rude already."

Maybe she'd missed mock-pouting at him, okay?

"Aw, damn, should I text Rude and tell him to delete it?"

He was joking, really. He'd offered photos, but Rude didn't want to see Reno's boobs. His reply to the offer had been something along the lines of 'scarred for life,' and 'no,' and an awful generous use of the ellipsis.

"You got nice tits. Whose boobs did you think I was watchin' when I played the tape, anyhow?"

"You didn't, really," she gaped, pulling back to stare at him. He didn't. Right?

... she was mostly sure he didn't.

Then again, it was Rude.

"But your boobs would be ... I mean. They were ... that kinda gets weird, huh? Since they were ... yours?"

Fandom. Good for making the brain hurt.

"Yes. They were my boobs. I'm lookin' at yours," Reno assurred her. "Anything but would be like masturbatin' to a mirror."

Just saying.

"Rude didn't wanna see my tits. I'm hurt by that. Cut to the core, yo."

Room 308, Monday Afternoon

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