Edge, Thursday Evening

[raspberryturk]

"I'm friggin' bored," Reno announced, possibly to nobody in particular, possibly to the bowl of beans that he'd picked. "Bored bored bored."

The beans said nothing.

"You know how bored I am?"

The beans waited patiently for a reply.

"I'm so friggin' bored, I'm talkin' to string beans."

This was what happened when Reno got himself suspended from duty for two weeks.

Fear.

[NFB for distance, as usual, but totally open for phone calls!]

Comments

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

*ring*

The hard part was, Dinah really wanted to talk to Reno, but also felt like he'd never want to talk to her again. And maybe she deserved it.

[raspberryturk]

"Yo! Rookie!"

Weren't custom ringtones awesome?

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Totally awesome. Dinah smiled even knowing what she had to tell him.

"Hey, Reno. How're the beans and vegetables and stuff?"

[raspberryturk]

"The radishes got little green leaves happenin', and the beans... I got a bowl of beans," Reno shared, with no small amount of pride. "I'm gonna go outside in a bit and find some hungry kid or somethin' to give 'em to, I think. I don't need 'em. I got ramen."

Because his friends from Fandom loved him. Awww.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Yaay, ramen." Dinah was fond of it herself.

Okay, time to confess.

"I screwed up. I don't know how bad. Elena's ... she said I could've screwed up a time-loop." She swallowed. "I'm sorry."

[raspberryturk]

Reno had that sense of pride for all of three seconds. And then he froze, and his eyes went wide.

... Oh. Shit.

"What happened?"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"I don't know. Elena wouldn't tell me." Dinah started pacing. "And you shouldn't tell me, 'cause I guess I said too much, and Zack's still here and alive, but she was really mad." She closed her eyes. "I told him what you said, about being loyal to his friends, and being a hero, and then I said the disaster wasn't his fault. But I guess that was too much. We were guessing on years. You told me no details and I guess I told too many details." She swallowed. "I didn't think."

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

[intraspective]

Ino was taking a break from studying, still up on the roof, and figuring that... she probably ought to tell him she was still in, like, one piece.

Or something.

Funny how near-complete avoidance of everyone ever let her get around that little talking about things issue.

Ring ring, as you do.

[raspberryturk]

"Rookie! Yo!"

Once again, Reno loved him some custom ringtones.

He was also hoping and praying that this particular Rookie was calling with better news than the last. A lot.

[intraspective]

She didn't have any news about the end of the world, at least?

"Yo," she said in a drawling imitation of him. "Should I remind you I've got a name, maybe?"

[raspberryturk]

"I dunno," Reno mused. "Might still be real hard to remember, zoto. Ino. Ino rhymes with..."

With Reno, Reno.

"Beano. That's gotta be it. I'll remember your name 'cause you rhyme with my beans."

Could she tell he'd been going absolutely stir-crazy all week?

[intraspective]

Just a bit.

"I do not rhyme with beans," she said, sniffing. "And I seriously can't believe you can't think of the obvious one for a rhyme."

No, really!

[raspberryturk]

"Clean-o?"

See? That was totally obvious!

"Mean-o? Ooh, Vino! Like wine!"

That had to be it!

[findingelena.livejournal.com]

Elena didn't ever expect to have to make this particular phone call.

But she did the job.

So she answered his "yo" with "Reno. You've sprung a leak."

[raspberryturk]

"Yeah, I heard. Already talked to her about it," Reno replied. Frowning. Deeply. "You know, it's weird, gettin' this call from you, Elena. Usually we're havin' this conversation the other way around."

This was, weirdly, Reno's roundabout way of admitting that he'd fucked up. And that Elena had grown out of it.

Very, very roundabout.

[findingelena.livejournal.com]

Elena had to grin a little at that. "Is this where I lecture you on how a professional, a Turk, would act?" she teased.

"I'm not sure how much damage there is," she admitted. She needed a cigarette, right now. "I played the heavy, if you want the sympathy role. Tried to scare the shit out of her. I didn't want to have to escalate and lose my cover."

Speaking in code. She wasn't playing a cover role. But she'd hate to leave the island over a mysterious death, anyway.

[raspberryturk]

"It's handled," Reno noted. "She ain't to talk about anything after the minute she's livin' in with the kid. Scarin' the shit outta her was good. Got her to come to me an' sort out the rest. She can keep breathin' tomorrow, Elena. Just keep an eye on her, alright? She's part of that kid's support system, too, from the sound of it."

It felt weird, analyzing one of his rookies to another one. Picking her apart as a liability. Trying to figure out what was safe, and what might end the world.

[findingelena.livejournal.com]

"I'll be watching," Elena said. She didn't need to add that she didn't trust this girl, and didn't like a third party throwing a wrench into the mix. "I backed off. But if it comes out that I need to take further action, I will."

This girl was a friend of his, apparently. So she'd only threatened. But she wouldn't let that friendship keep her from doing her job, if it came to that. Too much was at stake.

[raspberryturk]

"You do the job," Reno agreed.

Turk creed, right there. And all he figured he needed to say, on the matter.

"How've other things been goin', out there?"

[the_merriest]

Ring! Ring! Even her ringtone was chipper. It was a super power.

(Okay, it was the fact that he'd set her ringtone to Cuban Pete. Details.)

[raspberryturk]

It was still a super power, damn it!

"Yo! Babe! I miss you!"

It was right up there with Reno's ability to leap completely to the point before the conversation ever started, yes.

[the_merriest]

"I miss you, too," Rikku grinned. Trying to hug her phone. "How are you? How's Edge? How are your beans? I got Yunie to send those letters! Lulu helped me clean them up so they sounded all smart and professional and they were kinda mean so I told Yunie that we had to be mean, because otherwise people were gonna suck. And they're sent and I think it's really gonna happen. The conference. In the Calm Lands. Can you believe it!?!?"

Oh, hey, air would be helpful right now.

[raspberryturk]

"Breathe!" Reno was laughing, yes. Damn, it was good to hear someone who was happy, damn it. "There are gonna be peace talks, then? That's friggin' awesome news!"

He'd talk about the beans in a minute. They were just beans.

[the_merriest]

Rikku gasped for breath, but it came out in giggles. "I don't know if it'll work," she admitted. "I mean, I don't -- we can't fix everything just with, hey, let's sit down and talk, but the letter said that Yunie was gonna get pissed at anyone who didn't come, and not even bother with their demands, and the same goes for anyone who shows up and starts calling names or being rude. So ... so I think they're coming. I think we're actually gonna have everyone sit down for a couple of days and pretend they're grown-ups and not little kids throwing a tantrum."

Which was not going to solve everything -- hell, it may not solve anything, not for good. But it was a hell of a place to start.

[raspberryturk]

"Daaaaamn. You gotta keep in touch, tell me how that's goin' as it's goin' down, okay? Sounds like somethin' huge, zoto."

It really, really did. Reno was damn proud of Rikku, right then.