Room 501, Wednesday Evening

[raspberryturk]

Why yes, yes Reno does, in fact, check his e-mail.

Junk, junk, junk, junk with spam filling, ten messages from the boss informing him that his second report is half a week late, junk, invite to the Girls with Guns club, spam, spam, junk, jun-- Ooooh

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[palestshadow]

Naminé was on her way back to the second floor, having destroyed poor Sokka's mind with the suggestion that perhaps, Valentine's advances were not completely unwanted - and it would be cruel to laugh at that, so she would try very hard not to - when she noticed the door to 501 open.

She was only going to glance in and continue on her way, except the boy sitting and checking his e-mail had flame-red hair, sticking out somewhat uncontrollably, and she had to stop for a moment, reminding herself that red hair wasn't that uncommon and some people had very little in common with the person they had switched into. There was no reason to think he was the person she'd been meaning to look up. And yet --

"Excuse me?" Naminé said, leaning against the doorway uncertainly. "Are you ... Reno?"

[raspberryturk]

"Yo!" Reno turned around and grinned. Girl in doorway? Who knew his name? How could be possibly not be smiling?

Oh, hey. She was kinda cute.

[palestshadow]

It almost sounded like Axel, the voice familiar-yet-different, and Naminé couldn't help smiling back. Maybe they all had oddities tying themselves to the strange others they had become. Interesting to think about.

She flushed, lightly. "I ... was hoping I could come in for a moment, and speak with you. If it isn't an imposition. It's ..." She bit her lip. "It's about this weekend."

[raspberryturk]

The cute ones always came with complications, didn't they?

Reno shrugged his shoulders and closed his laptop, being about as nonchalant as he could manage, given the reminder of the weekend that had threatened to break his brain.

"Door's wide open," he replied, leaning back into his chair. "I'm not gonna say no, yoto."

[palestshadow]

"But you aren't saying yes?" Naminé hesitated. "I have no right to intrude on you. I don't wish to be rude. You may not know any of what I would ask, anyway. If you'd rather I leave, I will."

[raspberryturk]

"You always so willing to kill a conversation before it's started?" He raised an eyebrow and stood, rolling his chair in her direction before taking a seat on the edge of his bed. "You got somethin' to talk about, come in and talk, yo."

[palestshadow]

She flashed him a quick smile before seating herself in the chair he'd abandoned, smoothing her skirt and folding her hands in her lap. "It's ... an odd request. If I'm understanding radio correctly, then you ... were someone named Axel this weekend." She looked up, still uncertain.

[raspberryturk]

Huh. He didn't remember seeing her this weekend, so she probably had some sort of passing knowledge about this Axel guy to begin with, he could assume.

"And what if I was?"

Reno's little wall of wariness was being erected, here. He was ever so calm and casual on the outside, but that didn't mean he wasn't suspicious or anything.

[palestshadow]

She should have expected that, really.

"I know him." She wavered, at that. "Knew him, I suppose is more accurate. I may never see him again, and I don't expect to."

[raspberryturk]

"Okay?" Reno leaned forward into a deep slouch, resting his arms across his knees. "You wouldn't be the first one around here to know the guy. Little late if you were hopin' to shoot the shit with him, yo."

By 'shoot the shit,' it was entirely possible that Reno meant 'break his freaking brain with the rest of them.'

He hadn't had a good weekend, here.

[palestshadow]

"I wasn't myself this weekend, either," she said, lifting a shoulder. "So I couldn't speak with him, or I didn't know to, I suppose is a better way of saying it. And I don't know what I would say to him, if he were here."

Naminé shook her head. "I'm sorry, I think I'm wasting your time."

[raspberryturk]

"I waste my time well enough without any help," Reno assured her with a shake of his head. "Don't gotta worry about that, zoto."

He threw his chin upward, as though making to point at her with it before he spoke again. "So. I ain't him, but you stopped by anyhow. What for?"

[palestshadow]

"The truth is, I'm curious," she admitted. "I don't know how much you remember, so I may have to go on being curious. But ... he did something for me once and I still don't understand why."

[raspberryturk]

"Probably won't know the specifics myself." There was a pause as Reno mulled over the events of the weekend before lifting his shoulders in a shrug. "But I think I understand the guy enough to at least give a crack at helpin' you out, here."

Why not, right?

[palestshadow]

"That's all I can ask," she said, with a grateful smile. "I ... can give some of the specifics, for what it might help. He was ..."

She stopped, suddenly. Amber's behavior had been haunting her for days, and the girl had only been petty. She had no right to tell him about the Organization, or Axel's part in anything they had done.

She shook her head quickly. "Forgive me. This is a bad idea, and I hadn't realized it until now. I wouldn't want to ... you have my apologies."

[raspberryturk]

Eyebrow raised, Reno gave her another shake of his head.

"Whatever you have to tell me, can't be half as bad as the crap that other people were layin' on him this weekend. I'm a big boy, yo. I can take it with a grain of salt."