Like a trail of bread crumbs... -Closed/In Progress-

[suits_me]

WHO: The Turks - you know who you are!
WHAT: Elena lures company with the promise of snacks and beer.
WHERE: Elena's apartment.
WHEN: Early evening.

Comments

[black_honor]

He had initially refused the invitation. Especially when he heard that Reno and Rude were coming over. But Tseng had been surprised when he received word that Reno had demanded he show up if he didn't have a good reason. And he didn't have one. He'd just assumed that with the friction still between him and the SiC the little gathering would be better off without him. Now that he's at Elena's door he wonders if she didn't lie to him in some little attempt to play Turk matchmaker. It wouldn't be beyond her talents

[expert_stoic]

Rude arrived a short while after Tseng and, surprisingly, alone. He was hardly the type to be particularly interested in a get together, but these people were supposed to be his co-workers and even he knew that it was important to be able to function as a cohesive team, which was easier if you were actually familiar with the other people. Not that this meant he dressed down. He was still wearing a suit and his usual sunglasses.

Besides that, there was no way Reno would have let him miss the party.

Rude had never been to Elena's house, but he was very familiar with the city and had no problems getting there. He paused in front of her door for a moment, confirming that he had the right number before he knocked. When the door swung open, he nodded as a greeting.

"...Reno will be late," he said as if he needed to explain why he showed up here by himself.

[stray_redbird]

Surprisingly enough, Reno wasn't as terribly late as he could have been. It was ten minutes or so after Rude arrived at the redhead showed up to Elena's apartment, though he hesitated at the end of the hallway and peered down it to see if Signora Double D's or anyone similar was waiting to ambush him before approaching to knock. But, although late, he was never one to miss a party. Especially not one with the Turks

[suits_me]

Elena bounced up from the couch like she was spring-loaded at the first knock to the door. She didn't know which would arrive first, and didn't care. The fact remained that at least one of them had shown up to make her boring apartment a little less boring

[black_honor]

Tseng's attention immediately went to the fresh stain in the carpet. There was nothing he would've liked more than to crouch down and whip out a stain stick and go to work. Likely while telling Elena that white carpet was a poor choice, especially for tomato based snacks. But that would be impolite and she would probably resent him for trying to control her too much again. So he refrained. Rude was given a nod when he came in since he'd had little contact with the bald man as well. There was a glimmer of interest when Elena asked her impulsive question. He too would like to know the kinds of damage Rude was capable of

[expert_stoic]

Rude returned Tseng's nod then let his gaze wander from Tseng back to Elena, then back once again as an awkward silence came over the trio. Rude wasn't bothered at all by the silence and his expression was unfathomable as per usual. He took advantage of the silence to get a quick impression of Elena's apartment, which seemed nice and clean except for an oddly intentional looking scatter of magazine and a carpet stain. Rude, obviously, refrained from commenting and Elena's question soon distracted him from his observations. However, her question initially earned only a pause of silence and a shrug. It took a few minutes before he realized that likely wasn't a sufficient answer

[stray_redbird]

Of course, the idea of Tseng bringing porn to the party was probably the funniest thing that had struck Reno all week. Admittedly, it wasn't that far out there-- the guy had three content wives, after all-- but still, Tseng unwittingly carrying porn around? Priceless. Reno had to see this video for himself, reaching over and promptly plucking it from Tseng's grasp to take a look at it.

"Wow, hey, 'Lena," the redhead remarked curiously, reading the cover with mild interest as he flopped onto the couch, "Doesn't this actor kind of remind you of that guy we were gonna do that double act for?"

He peered a little closer at the cover, tilting his head. Was that fellow redhead Shagojyo, pimp-slash-porn-actor extraordinaire? Admittedly, he and Elena had only been half-serious about working for the guy together, back when there'd been debt because of the helicopter. But the incident had been memorable, considering it had earned Reno his nickname: Cherry.

[suits_me]

"It was a joke Sir." Elena laughed when Tseng seemed concerned about how well she knew the guy on the box. Come on, does she look like the type of girl who knows porn stars? ...Cancel that.

"Seriously?" Her eyes widened a little before she went over to take the box from Reno again. "Wow, he kinda does." The box was lowered with a thoughtful frown on her lips. "We woulda made a fortune..." Wait, did Tseng know about that? Doesn't matter now. And Elena's happy with how things turned out instead.

"Hey Cherry, there's ice in the freezer." Elena pointed out as she flopped down on the other end of the couch and looked up at Rude and Tseng again. "There's plenty of pizza rolls." She pointed out, glancing around almost expectantly. Someone better eat some. She sacrificed her fingertips for those. "So Rude, could you teach me?" Elena smiled at the bald man, returning to an earlier subject. "You might not know this, but being able to break a man in half is the dream of most red-blooded women." At one point or another anyway

[black_honor]

"Double act?" Tseng repeated Reno's words before holding his hand up. "Nevermind." Something told him he's better off not knowing.

A thin brow arched when Elena pointed out the pizza rolls. It's not his custom to eat anything with the word "roll" in it. No, not even egg rolls. He reached a hand down to unbutton his jacket. For Tseng that's the equivalent of making himself right at home. "I suppose I'll bite the bullet." Provided no one takes Elena up on the offer first. He wouldn't want her to be disappointed. He reached for a pizza roll and observed it from a couple of different angles before he popped it into his mouth. Tseng chewed once before he reached for a beer and twisted the lid off. He wasn't a big beer drinker really. But something about sour tomato sauce and burning hot mozzarella made it welcome.

He went over to a chair and settled in it. Tseng actually didn't think Elena's suggestion to be a bad one. "Perhaps you could show her a thing or two. So that she doesn't have to rely on guns quite so much."