love
What does the word 'love' mean to you?
Depends on what kind've love you're talkin' about. If you mean like family love, loyalty, an' shit like that, then it means everything. It's the only constant I've got, the only thing that's really important. It means my ma back when she had six mouths to feed, workin' hard makin' shoes in a dangerous factory during the day an' doin' unspeakable things for work at night. It means watchin' my nieces and nephew scream an' run an' play.
Reno had had a best friend once; one who he laughed with, talked to, fought alongside, killed with, stole with, done stupid adolescent shit with, for seven years. They had watched each other's backs; saved each other's lives countless times. He had been like a fourth brother. He had been a constant fixture in the crowded Alastare apartment; had even lived there for a time. Reno had trusted him with everything. And he had gotten burned for it, both figuratively and literally. After that, it had taken him a long time to put value on that kind of brotherly love again. It had been really difficult to trust anyone other than family; it had taken years to really trust Rude, and even now, once in a long while, he finds himself looking at the bigger man and feeling a momentary pang of doubt. He and his onetime fourth brother had spent nearly every moment of every day together for seven years and the Wutain had still been able to betray him in such a way that he's not sure that it could have been much worse. He has a hard time opening up to people, looking at them and feeling something besides suspicion.
The shrink would probably tell Reno that he has trust issues.
He might be willing to admit that one.
If you're talkin' romantic love, then it doesn't mean shit to me. I haven't been "in love" 'cause I honestly don't want it.
All he really wants, most of the time, is a quick fuck. He likes sex a whole lot, to put it mildly, and he's gotten incredibly good at picking up women. Usually it's the "wrong" kind of women; the ones that boys' mothers cluck their tongues and shake their heads at when their sons bring them home for dinner. Sometimes it's some young innocent who he can't resist. Rarely, he does come across a woman interesting enough that they "date" for some length of time. It's never a serious relationship, and the longest stretch of time that one of these girlfriends lasted was two months. Reno tends to get very bored very quickly, and the interesting women tend to be very strong and impatient with him. Somebody'd have to be damn fascinating for him to settle down a little bit, and even then, he can't deal with monogomous relationships; he needs space to run if he wants to. Maybe that's the whole problem; he can't stand to feel tied down. Maybe it's that he's afraid to let anybody get really close. He won't admit that he's afraid of anything, though, not to himself.
Whatever it is, the concept of love love has always been foreign to him, and always made him laugh a little bit. Things like Valentine's Day, romance movies, guys bringing flowers and chocolate hearts ... That's always both cracked him up and brought out the cynic in him. A romantic, he is not.
Depends on what kind've love you're talkin' about. If you mean like family love, loyalty, an' shit like that, then it means everything. It's the only constant I've got, the only thing that's really important. It means my ma back when she had six mouths to feed, workin' hard makin' shoes in a dangerous factory during the day an' doin' unspeakable things for work at night. It means watchin' my nieces and nephew scream an' run an' play.
Reno had had a best friend once; one who he laughed with, talked to, fought alongside, killed with, stole with, done stupid adolescent shit with, for seven years. They had watched each other's backs; saved each other's lives countless times. He had been like a fourth brother. He had been a constant fixture in the crowded Alastare apartment; had even lived there for a time. Reno had trusted him with everything. And he had gotten burned for it, both figuratively and literally. After that, it had taken him a long time to put value on that kind of brotherly love again. It had been really difficult to trust anyone other than family; it had taken years to really trust Rude, and even now, once in a long while, he finds himself looking at the bigger man and feeling a momentary pang of doubt. He and his onetime fourth brother had spent nearly every moment of every day together for seven years and the Wutain had still been able to betray him in such a way that he's not sure that it could have been much worse. He has a hard time opening up to people, looking at them and feeling something besides suspicion.
The shrink would probably tell Reno that he has trust issues.
He might be willing to admit that one.
If you're talkin' romantic love, then it doesn't mean shit to me. I haven't been "in love" 'cause I honestly don't want it.
All he really wants, most of the time, is a quick fuck. He likes sex a whole lot, to put it mildly, and he's gotten incredibly good at picking up women. Usually it's the "wrong" kind of women; the ones that boys' mothers cluck their tongues and shake their heads at when their sons bring them home for dinner. Sometimes it's some young innocent who he can't resist. Rarely, he does come across a woman interesting enough that they "date" for some length of time. It's never a serious relationship, and the longest stretch of time that one of these girlfriends lasted was two months. Reno tends to get very bored very quickly, and the interesting women tend to be very strong and impatient with him. Somebody'd have to be damn fascinating for him to settle down a little bit, and even then, he can't deal with monogomous relationships; he needs space to run if he wants to. Maybe that's the whole problem; he can't stand to feel tied down. Maybe it's that he's afraid to let anybody get really close. He won't admit that he's afraid of anything, though, not to himself.
Whatever it is, the concept of love love has always been foreign to him, and always made him laugh a little bit. Things like Valentine's Day, romance movies, guys bringing flowers and chocolate hearts ... That's always both cracked him up and brought out the cynic in him. A romantic, he is not.