Junon, Gaia, Thursday Afternoon

[raspberryturk]

Junon, Reno supposed, wasn't half bad. Sure as hell better than Edge, which he couldn't wait to get the hell out of, especially after that weird-assed argument in Tseng's kitchen.

Tseng's ex-kitchen, Reno supposed.

He was sitting in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant on one of the city's lower levels, the world's crappiest coffee slowly dissolving a coffee mug in one hand, waiting for somebody in particular. He'd left Edge a little early, dragged a few of the boxes of paperwork along with him so that Rude wouldn't have to haul it all here, and then he'd started to poke around.

Yeah, Junon had suffered a bit since WEAPON's attack. But then, where the hell hadn't?

... Besides Kalm. Lucky, lucky-assed Kalm.

[Open for anyone who might want to call, or who has reason to be in Junon!]

Comments

[intraspective]

"What if I don't know where I'm going come the end of it all?" Ino asked, frowning at him. "That ain't a good place to be at all."

[raspberryturk]

"You ask around," Reno suggested, rummaging for his lighter, "ask the rest of your graduatin' class if they got plans for after the semester or not. See how many of 'em are in the same state of affairs you are, yo."

Really, if her graduating class was anything like his was, they'd all be entirely freaking clueless.

Or, at least, most of them would be.

[intraspective]

"Is it stupid to admit that I don't really know who all is graduating with me?" she wondered.

Of course, part of that was that she was dead exhausted and in no condition to be making serious plans or even thinking, but.

"It all just--blends. It don't matter what grade you're in 'til suddenly you're graduating."

[raspberryturk]

"Yeah," Reno sighed. "I know how that feels, too."

Really, Ino had been just another fellow student, while he was one. And then senior year had happened, and everything started to shimmy about while he'd prepared himself to leave, and then after graduation, it was like taking a weird step away from it all, alongside a handful of fellow crazies all selected at random.

And now, he was teaching some of the leftover crazies, and a bunch of people that he would never have met, if he hadn't come back.

School was friggin' weird, that way.

"Your puppy grads at the same time as you, though, right?"

[intraspective]

"Yes," she admitted, "and that--that worries me too. 'Cause he'll be goin' back to work and I don't have nothing planned and..."

And it was a great empty gap, right there.

[raspberryturk]

Dilly dally, shilly shally, Ino.

Reno would never say that, because he thought it was kinda friggin' ridiculous when Tifa had used it on chocobo-hair. But, really now.

"You got better things to do than worry," Reno replied, sighing. "Spend too much time thinkin' about it, you'll end up not spendin' any time actin' on it."

[intraspective]

"What should I act on now, then?" she asked, just sounding tired.

[raspberryturk]

Reno didn't even have to stop to think about that one.

"Makin' it to see tomorrow."

Everything else would come when it would come.

And some of it would come when he really, really wished it wouldn't.

[intraspective]

"Right," she said, with a sigh. "I guess--I don't know. This is totally ridiculous."

Ino was tired and cranky and not best helpful.

... Sorry Reno.

[raspberryturk]

Reno shrugged.

"So, I'm ridiculous," he replied, easily. "Ain't like I never did this before, right?"

He had. 'End of the world' was kind of getting to be old hat, and he'd even graduated once in there for good measure.

"C'mon, Rookie. I'll walk you back to the hotel. Your boyfriend's company'd probably do you good, right about now."

[intraspective]

"What's the point?" she sighed, standing up anyway. "I'm not going to sleep anyway."

She would, for a few hours.

[raspberryturk]

"Humor me."

He left a few Gil on the table, along with a healthy tip and a helpful note on a napkin about using it to buy some actual coffee instead of trying to fake it with malboro crap, and then nodded toward the door.

"Your body needs it even if you figure your brain don't. I know a place we can pick up some Dream Powder cheap, if it comes to that."

[intraspective]

"No drugs," she said flatly. "I won't take them."

Especially not drugs that left her utterly unaware of her situation. Could you blame her for being paranoid?

[raspberryturk]

No, not at all. Reno had kind of suspected that would be her response, anyhow, but the offer had to be made. He was half-terrified of letting her burn herself out, at this point.

She looked most of the way there already.

"No drugs," he replied, easily enough. "Some quiet time, then, somewhere safe. That's just about as good, anyhow."

Well. He'd say that it was, and then maybe it would almost be true.

[intraspective]

She nodded, still unsettled by the suggestion and wrapped her arms around herself as she walked with him. "Are you going to stay around? Or--?"

He was busy, they were taking up his time.

[raspberryturk]

"Whichever," Reno replied, shrugging a little. "I can stick around if you want, but I can find somethin' do to in Junon if you ain't comfortable with my bein' there, too."

Really, it wasn't like there was a shortage of preparing to be done while he waited for the other three to get here. Even if it all boiled down to 'break into the office and draw dirty graffiti on Tseng's wall in permanent pen.'

[intraspective]

"Stay?" she asked, feeling small and pathetic and hating it. But asking it anyway. Some part of her wondered when she'd learnt to ignore her pride enough to ask for what she wanted even if it wasn't--strong.

[raspberryturk]

Reno offered her the smallest hint of a smile, around his smoking cigarette.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Yeah, I can do that, yo."

If Zack was playing the role of puppy in this situation, Reno would be more than happy to take up the part of 'rabid junkyard watchdog.' It's just what he did.