Rude's Apartment, Edge, Thursday Evening

[raspberryturk]

Rude's couch was lumpy and hard to sleep on.

Rude's couch was lumpy and hard to sleep on, Rude's booze was running low, and the lighting in Rude's living room sucked.

All that, and Reno had more reading material than he could have ever hoped for. And a bean sprout in a plastic cup sitting in some wet paper towel. And a pair of cacti that he hadn't managed to kill yet. And an anxious ferret, attempting to help him either with the booze, or with the reading, whichever Mako happened to be able to reach more easily at the time.

As such things went, after a week and a half back in Edge with no outlet to the real world, it was time for Reno to take a break. He'd written a letter earlier in the week in reply to one that he'd gotten last week Thursday, which was all well and good... but dammit, he needed to hear a voice that didn't belong to a Turk, a member of the WRO, or some random person living on the street corners in Edge.

Spare Gil for the homeless, they'd beg, and he'd toss them a few, just because he had a few to spare. But not without a mumble and a frown.

Yeah. You an' everyone else, yo.

He needed to make some freaking phone calls, or he was going to go out of his mind, damn it.

[NFB for distance, open to anyone who thinks that Reno would have a reason to call them! Or, heck, open to anyone. He's bored, he'll probably just hit buttons until he hears familiar voices, at this point.]

Comments

[bitchprince]

"It's Leto," Arthur said, slowly. "I merely pointed out to him some of the flaws in his own arguments."

Which is to say Arthur told him he talked too much. "I haven't heard a word from him since."

He was fully intending to tell Leto to his face about how much of a girl he was being. This was a strategy, mind, Arthur had come up with while on his third-or-fourth beer last night.

[raspberryturk]

"See, now you got me wonderin' what kinda arguments he was makin," Reno sighed, rolling onto his back to squint up at the ceiling again. "It'll be interestin' to see how you two run Fandom's defenses if you can't get along, man."

[bitchprince]

"I'm the one who has to work with him," Arthur pointed out, rather sensibly. "If I don't hear a word from him before Sunday, I'll have to sit him down."

Because they got on well enough, generally. The odd ink-stain-related incident notwithstanding.

[raspberryturk]

"Lemmie know how that goes? If that don't work, I'll try to get in touch with him to talk some reason with him, yo."

And possibly to get the whole story. It wasn't that he didn't trust Arthur, but he wasn't exactly getting any details, either.

[bitchprince]

Well, some people - unlike certain other people, and it was probably better for the peace that Arthur didn't know about it - didn't like to do the other's reputation too much harm, even if Arthur's involvement with Reno had included Leto enough that he'd managed some level of freedom.

Calling Leto a girl was, apparently, not impunging on his reputation.

"We'll see if it's needed," he said. "So how are your efforts coming along?"

[raspberryturk]

Reno called plenty of guys girls. It was all in good fun, coming from him. It was probably different, that way.

"I ain't been able to get too far yet, yo. Donated some money that Sam an' Max passed to me as a parting gift to the rebuildin' project. That road that my partner Rude an' I had to blow up last fall is gonna be rebuilt with that."

Reno was just thankful that there was a guy in charge who actually believed in repairing the things that Reno blew up.

"Plus, I managed to get a bean to sprout. Uh, take my word for it that a bean sproutin' around here is a much bigger deal'n it sounds, man."

[bitchprince]

Arthur would argue his were meant in good fun, or at least in statement as a fact (example: Merlin weeps over unicorns. Merlin is ergo a girl. Although that might be a bad example).

"It takes time," Arthur said, matter-of-factly. For his standards, Reno's world was probably working positively fast. "You've been suffering famine. Of course it's a 'big deal'."

Bean sprouts and all that.

[raspberryturk]

If Reno knew that Merlin cried over unicorns, Reno would probably have wound up laughing until he broke something.

It would have been kind of epic.

"It takes time," he agreed. "Lots came fallin' down, there's a lot to come buildin' up again, too."

Lots and lots and lots and...

"Someone's gotta do it, yo."

[bitchprince]

"Someone's got to do it."

After everything that had happened, Arthur wouldn't be able to join him in that. Stupid curses. Taking the fun out of everything.

"And your hands are capable," he pointed out. "And you're dedicated. People will be proud to stand beside you; that effort means everything."

Apparently, Arthur had found time on his busy schedule of bitching about things to try and be inspiring.

[raspberryturk]

"Hey, Arthur?" Reno was on his feet and pacing, now, running his hand through his hair. "You ever had anything to atone for, man?"

Sometimes, inspiring could lead to introspective. It was a thing.

[bitchprince]

Well, that brought him back to the unicorn.

"...Yes," he said, after a moment. "I suppose."

[raspberryturk]

"And did you?"

It was probably one of those personal sorts of questions. Reno never was the sort to care about things like, oh, tact. Or personal space. Or anything of the sort, really.

[bitchprince]

"I... tried," he said. It really was a personal question. It was a personal question he could also have easily avoided, so the fact that he didn't-- well, Arthur wasn't too sure about that. "I gave my life," he started again. "In the end, that had its own reward. You could call that atonement."

[raspberryturk]

"Sounds like it to me," Reno agreed, frowning and leaning forward against the window frame, looking outside at what was left of Midgar. "You figure there's such a thing as somethin' that can't be atoned for?"

[bitchprince]

"I think," he said, after a moment, and sounding thoughtful-- maybe even reaching. "That just... making things right is a more worthwhile thing to strive for than personal atonement. Showing mercy and self-sacrifice right now, where it matters."

That had been what the unicorn thing had been about; taking responsibility for his own mistakes, and fixing them.

[raspberryturk]

Reno nodded, staring out at the husk of a city for a moment more before pulling the curtain shut and turning his gaze toward the ceiling.

"No better time than the present, huh? Damn, man. I got a load of work to do."

[bitchprince]

"Set right what you can, Reno," he said, studiously peering at the tree in the preserve he was, in fact, currently standing by.

After a beat, he added, "No man can ask any more of you." That was his father's mistake, after all.

[raspberryturk]

"I'm askin' it of myself, yo. Startin' with beans." That almost came out as a laugh, there. Beans. And potatoes, if he could get his shit together well enough for that. "Ah well. It'll be worth it, yo. Kinda sorry I can't be there on Fandom helpin' with the reserves, though. But at the same time, not really. Not lookin' at this."

[bitchprince]

"Well, beans are just about enough to match your abilities," Arthur said, seriously, because he could only do Serious Conversation for so long without throwing in a well-meant insult. "Your place is with your people."

[raspberryturk]

Reno's response to that one was a throaty chuckle and a grin.

"You know, I ain't really thought of them as my people for years, yo. Good time to start, huh?"

[bitchprince]

"Sounds it," Arthur returned. He was having some trouble keeping the device to his ear now. "May God be with you, Reno," he said, "And your people. And your beans, because they'll need it."

[raspberryturk]

"And all power to you an' Leto, there on Fandom, man." Reno was grinning a little. "Somethin' tells me, with the way Fandom can be, you're gonna need it, too."

Reno's beans were probably less likely to survive the week.

[bitchprince]

"No doubt," Arthur said, easily. "You'll be using this 'phone' to call me drunkenly and inform me of your deeds, right?" Because Arthur did need a spot of joy in his life, and killing all the wildlife in the preserve didn't always work.

[raspberryturk]

"The drunker, the better," Reno promised, shooting off a salute to... well. To the wall. But nobody needed to know that, right? "Just so long as you learn how to dial yours out to get in touch with me an' keep me in the know about the reserves. I'm gonna go nuts not knowin', yo know. Those are my rookies, dammit."

He was a wee bit possessive of rookies.

"Take care, Arthur. Of you, and of Fandom."

[bitchprince]

"You have my word," he said, simply, and that was that.