raspberryturk | Rude's Apartment, Edge, Thursday Afternoon

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Rude's Apartment, Edge, Thursday Afternoon

Reno had a bit of a dilemma, and he had today off by some miracle. And so, on his day off, he was going to attempt to fix it.

His living space since he'd moved in to Rude's apartment had become a little on the cramped side. Sure, it was more space than he'd had while he was living in the dorms on Fandom Island. But while he was in school, he hadn't been trying to cultivate greens, either. Unless one counted the green fuzz that sometimes grew on whatever he'd left sitting around, but that was a different thing entirely. As it stood, Reno was staring in bewilderment at the contents of Rude's living room.

Rude had set off for work today with a clearly stated mission for Reno to handle before he got back. He didn't care how he did it, just so long as it was done.

The clutter... would have to go.

So much easier said than done, when you were used to stockpiling whatever you could get your hands on, and you had people sending you care packages from all over creation. Nevermind the assorted bits he'd managed to gather with full intent to toss together a makeshift greenhouse in he future.

"Mako," Reno sighed, plucking the ferret out of his beans for the umpteeth time this afternoon, "I think this couch-surfin' shit ain't all it's made out to be, yo."

[NFB for distance, naturally, but open for the usual riffraff to give their phone calls and what-have-you!]

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"You know," Elena said. "When I first took off, I ... wasn't entirely sure that I wasn't going to give up and come home within a couple of weeks. And I didn't want to lose my place, if I did."

Even if it was a shitty hole-in-the-wall. It was hers, and she liked this landlord. She'd had a place for a week or two before that, but quickly found out that the rent was cheaper for young, female renters, and that coincidentally, the landlord needed to enter the apartment at all hours for maintenance work. No, thank you.

"So I paid up through August, just in case."

"That soooo?"

Reno liiiked where this conversation was headed, yes.

"You need someone to step in an' maybe take over the rent for, say, September?"

"Beat the shit out of any squatters?" she grinned. "You've seen the place. Not much, but it sure beats the hell out of Rude's couch."

"I'll fix that door that Rude so nicely busted in," Reno laughed. "An' then I'll put up a sign darin' the squatters to come by, just so I can beat the shit outta them."

A guy had to have his hobbies, after all.

"You should talk to the landlord," Elena said. "We kinda had an arrangement, on that. I played enforcer for the deadbeats who hadn't coughed up in a few months, and he gave me a deal on rent if they came through."

It had started when she stomped up to one of the upstairs apartments to threaten the assholes who were throwing a wild party at 3 am on one of the rare occasions that she was trying to sleep at 3 am. They'd given her shit, so she'd smacked them around a little (okay, a lot), which had done wonders for her mood. She'd only tossed out "And pay your rent, you fucking parasites," as a parting shot.

The next morning, they'd paid up, in full, with fancy apologies, and she had become the landlord's favorite tenant. It amused him, that his enforcer was five-foot-nothing and blonde. And to be honest, she would have done it for free.

"... I do that, he'll be lettin' me stay for free," Reno teased. And only because he'd go around looking for excuses to do the job. When he wasn't doing the other job. The one that had him pulling double shifts. "Shit, I get in good with your landlord, he might have a place for me by the time you come back, zoto."

Now that? That was an even nicer thought. Because wow, a place of his own would be niiiiice.

"He's a good guy," she said calmly. "He might watch for openings, save you a spot. Especially if you're beating up the slackers."

To be honest, Elena had a slight twinge at that. She was the underestimated blonde, and that had been her turf, pulling bouncer-duty for the landlord. Turk by day, enforcer by night. She hadn't even told any of the others about it. Reno would probably be better at it, so she'd lose the gig if she came back.

That was silly and selfish, so she swallowed it down. Reno having a place to live: more important. Besides, they could always pull good cop/bad cop duties, if he didn't mind a partner. (One that wasn't Rude.)

"Back up," she said, switching to a more vital piece of information she'd zipped past a moment ago. "Double shifts? Still? I told Tseng to lay off."

Elena was hit rookie too now, dammit. Of course Reno wouldn't mind a partner that didn't happen to be Rude, now and then.

"Tseng can't afford to lay off," Reno sighed. "An' anyhow, the double-shifts are passin' the time. Tseng hands me a job, I do it. Ain't no time for bitchin' and moanin' and gettin' bored. It ain't like I don't owe it to Edge anyhow, right?"

"To burn out?" she said. "I don't think anyone owes Edge that."

She nearly commented that it wasn't like Tseng was pulling double shifts, but ... he probably was. Not because they had to, but because he was Tseng.

"I ... talked to him," she added, carefully.

"We helped burn Edge out. Fair trade."

And that was all Reno was going to say on that.

"You talked to him, huh? Did you call him, or the other way around?"

"He called," she said idly. "Couple weeks ago. Just probably wanted to see if he could talk me into coming home already."

That wasn't what he'd said, no. Not even close. Elena's radar was seriously off-base, on the subject of Tseng.

Edited 2009-07-23 22:43 (UTC)

"I got this feeling that if Tseng was callin' to convince you to come home, I wouldn't be pullin' double shifts no more," Reno mused.

This wasn't intended as a slight on Elena in any way. It simply meant that what Tseng wanted, Tseng got.

"If it gets to be too much, say the word," she said. Meaning it. He'd asked her to enjoy the sky, and she was soaking it in with every bit of herself, but if and when they needed her back, she'd pack within the hour.

"We ... talked. Just like we were old friends, catching up. He made jokes with me."

"If he was makin' jokes and makin' peace, Elena, then he was probably callin' to make jokes and make peace."

As for the rest of it? No, Reno wasn't going to call her back. Partly because he wasn't taking away her sky, and partly because he was a stubborn bastard, and he could handle this, damn it.

"That's so weird," she said. "Does that mean -- like, he doesn't think I'm coming back, so we might as well be ... I don't know, friends?"

Reno wasn't going to laugh. He wasn't.

"I think by now, he understands that whoever Fandom takes, ain't gonna give the place up so easy." A beat. "I threatened to make him come to the island himself an' drag me back dead."

You know. Just because he felt like sharing.

Elena almost asked Why. She considered for a few moments, instead.

"Because of the sky?" she asked. "Rufus? Your girl? All of it?"

"All of it," Reno agreed. "And Fandom's where I learned that the world ain't gonna end if I let myself pretend I'm a person, too."

Pretending he was one. That was all it had been for the longest time. Until he learned who the hell he was. Now, Reno didn't pretend anymore.

"I ... feel guilty, being here," she admitted. "Not like Edge is gonna go to hell without me, but ... I should be there, working."

She laughed, without much humor to it. "What do you think it'd take for Tseng to learn that?"

"Shy of Fandom?"

Reno shrugged, though he knew she couldn't see it, and reached for the ferret. There was weasel-snuggling to be done.

"Maybe someone else who learned how to be a person, too."

Something in that tugged at her heart. So she had to clear her throat and make light of it.

"Do you want the honors, or were you gonna leave that for me?"

"I ain't really Tseng's type," Reno replied, grinning faintly. Aww, Rookie. "Guess you're gonna have to handle that one, yoto."

"Should've guessed," she teased. "I flake off to go on vacation, and I get stuck with the job no one else wants."

"Hate to dump it on you like that," Reno noted, "but I just ain't equipped to handle his needs. I gotta start wearin' a clearly marked sign, yo. Exit to the rear. No entry."

"I wouldn't have pegged Rude as the bottom," she grinned.

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