Edge, Friday Evening

[raspberryturk]

It was one of those rare nights that Reno had managed to score all to himself, off-duty, with not a single reason to worry about Tseng calling him in out of the blue to do some urgent mission or another. Why? Because Rude had the night off, too, and Tseng knew better than to try to call Reno in when Rude would do the job just as well, and without

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[the_merriest]

"Ed femm pa lumt cuuh," she agreed, eyes dancing. She liked it when he spoke Al Bhed, dammit.

She joined him on the couch, leaning over to bink his nose before growing more serious. "I probably ... should get going, sooner or later."

The WRO was actually starting to act like an actual peacekeeping force. And, well, Spira's peace wouldn't hold forever.

[raspberryturk]

Peace never did, did it? And Reno hadn't even really made a scratch on the surface of all of the issues around Edge, let alone problems around The Planet that he'd had a hand in.

That didn't work out nicely at all, did it?

He sighed faintly, reaching for the hand that had done the binking, and nodding faintly.

"Cuuhan un mydan," he agreed. "I don't think I can go just yet. I mean, to visit, sure. But... The place is still a mess, yo. The WRO ain't put me outta work just yet."

[the_merriest]

"I know," she said quickly, twining her fingers through his. "I didn't mean -- oui ghuf ruf silr E fuimt fyhd vun oui du lusa. But I wasn't asking. You're doing important stuff here, yoto."

She leaned over to kiss his forehead. This was cozy. That was one of the many reasons it was so damn hard to leave.

"I'm sorry I can't just ... give up everything and move in, yeah?"

[raspberryturk]

Reno nodded, and then shifted his weight a little, before giving up on the couch springs completely and kind of flopping his head back into Rikku's lap.

Mmmm, cozy. That was one of the reasons it was so damn hard to let her leave.

"It'd be nice if you could," he noted, pursing his lips and giving a shoulder a shrug, "but that ain't the way the universe works, is it?" Which, for the record, sucked. A lot. "We got our phones. I'll write some more, an' when you write back you can tell me how long it took you to figure out what the hell I was tryin' to write."

Reno was not world-renowned for his legible penmanship.

"Spira haatc ymm dra ramb ed lyh kad, duu. Nekrd?"

[the_merriest]

"Nekrd," she nodded. "Edge is worse, I think. We're starting over, but ... we didn't have as much destroyed as you did."

A moment later, she added, "Uhmo dra tayt fa ryja mucd ymuhk dra fyo."

She felt like being maudlin tonight, apparently.

"Maybe next time I come, I bring people. Or at least more food."

[raspberryturk]

"People," Reno agreed. "Food's good, too. But what we really need is some kinda sustainable food source, zoto. Somethin' we can grow here in Edge, even with the dirt the way it is. The Al Bhed use hydroponics, right? Think there'd be any way to get people out here to help Edge set somethin' like that up?"

A pause, and then a wry smile.

"It'd make work for the locals, yo."

[the_merriest]

"They do," she nodded. "I'll get Buddy on it. I think he was one of the people that tended to the plants. If not, Gippal would know. See what blueprints they can send, and details about the set-up, yeah?"

Which reminded her.

"E ryja y cinbneca vun oui."

[raspberryturk]

"A surprise?" Reno's eyebrows quirked up a little as he shifted his weight some in order to meet her eyes. "Now you got me all curious, yoto."

Reno was totally a fan of surprises. When they came from Rikku, who was not likely to surprise him with a bullet to the head, or something of the sort.

... And if she did, then wow, that really would be a surprise.

[the_merriest]

"I was gooooing to wait until it was finished," she admitted, squirming in her seat. "But I kinda want to show you now. Ed'c y kuut cinbneca, E bnuseca."

A very good surprise. If it worked. She was pretty sure it would. Everything seemed okay so far, anyway.

[raspberryturk]

"That's the way I like 'em, yo," Reno decided, smiling a little at that. "So, where is this real good surprise of yours?"

Because in an apartment like this one, where they were shoulder-to-shoulder-to-bean-to-tail, it would be difficult to bring in anything even remotely surprising without somebody noticing, was all.

[the_merriest]

"At the office," she said. "Well, not in my office. It wouldn't fit. And it's not just for you, like, a just-for-Reno surprise? But ... you know what I mean, yeah?"

A just-for-Reno surprise would probably involve lingerie, handcuffs, or Rikku making out with another girl.

[raspberryturk]

And anyhow, just-for-Reno surprises were so much better when Rikku didn't announce that they existed in advance. They were the sorts of surprises that Reno liked to walk in on, unsuspecting!

"I know what you mean, yeah," Reno agreed. "So it's somethin' big, an' the WRO's got their paws on it, zoto."

[the_merriest]

She would really have to work in another one of those surprises before she left.

"They're helping," she said. "It's big, yeah. I mean, the size of it is. And the idea's big, too, if everything goes right."

Abruptly, Rikku shook her head. "I'm giving too much away. No more hints. You wanna come see it, or not?"

[raspberryturk]

Reno considered that question for all of... Oh, ten seconds.

"Does comin' to see it mean I gotta get up?"

... It was his day off.

... Fine! Fine, he was getting up, and grinning.

[the_merriest]

"You don't haaaaave to get up," Rikku laughed, pulling her very best pouty-face. "I mean, heck, maybe you don't even want it. I can take it back with me. No big. E fuimth'd pa rind."

[raspberryturk]

"E ruba oui fuimth'd pa," Reno laughed, shaking his head. "Ouin... pouty-face vyla ec cdnuhk."

Look, this wasn't his first-language, here.

"It's gettin' late. Figure we can handle a walk in the dark through Edge without someone holdin' our hands?"

There was a laugh.