Outside Room 429, Late Tuesday Night (After Radio)

[the_merriest]

Rikku was sitting cross-legged in the hallway outside room 429, waiting for Reno to get back from his radio broadcast. Feeling unsettled and nervous and jumpy.

Which was why she'd brought her insane and very dim kitten along. Probably a bad idea, since he didn't seem to think this "let's sit in the hallway and fidget" plan was nearly as much fun as attacking Reno's door.

(for the occupant, whose room was modded with permission)

Comments

[raspberryturk]

Reno was trying to keep the frown off his face as he headed back to his room. There was just something weird about the notes for the broadcast tonight. Too much of... something, that had him at least slightly unsettled. Unsettled enough that he hadn't even bothered to get himself drunk off his chair tonight. Never was a good idea to get drunk when something was going down. Not that there was something going down. Things just didn't go down in a place like this. Right. He'd tell himself that a few times, but he wasn't going to dwell on it. He wasn't here to dwell on it. He was here to get what he needed, write up the reports, and find--

--Rikku. Find Rikku, sitting in front of his door, with her cat.

"Good time as any to take the cat for a walk, yoto?"

[the_merriest]

"Hey," she said. "I, uh. I wanted to talk to you."

Petey mrowled and headbutted the door again.

"And I brought Petey."

Look, she was worried about people, vaguely unsettled and jittery. Therefore, she dragged the very dim kitten along. Made perfect sense to her.

[raspberryturk]

"Yo, Petey." Reno stooped down and gave the cat a quick pat on the head. Mostly so that he could be on eye-level with Rikku. "Something up?"

Well, Deadpool was missing. That was a good start to the 'something,' anyhow.

[the_merriest]

Petey sniffed Reno's fingers, and then head-butted them. It was an affection thing.

"I don't know," she said. "I hope not. I'm just being stupid. Right? I ..." She waved a little vaguely.

[raspberryturk]

There was a cat trying to ... Reno wasn't sure. Reno didn't know a damn thing about cats. So he kind of set his hand on Petey's head and left it there.

"I dunno. There was somethin'... weird about the news tonight. Could be nothin." He hoped it was nothing. "You know, he's real tough. Probably just off doin'... tough-guy stuff, zoto."

And he'd brought Turtle, Aly, Jeff, Lana, and Robin along with him, which was why the notes said they weren't at work or wherever when they were supposed to be. Right.

[the_merriest]

That was an open invitation for Petey to chew on his fingers. Hooray, fingers!

"Y-yeah," she said, shaking her head and not quite meeting his eyes. "That's what I figured. Just ... it's nothing." She shrugged. "Thought I'd take Petey for a walk, yoto."

[raspberryturk]

And... now the cat was trying to eat him. Good. Good. He'd just let Petey gnaw on his hand some, because shoving the girlfriend's cat was probably not the best of ideas.

"You and Petey can come in, you know. Talk or whatever. Probably got a leftover sandwich we can pick apart if the cat wants some lunch meat?"

[the_merriest]

Petey had merrily flipped onto his back, chewing on Reno's thumb and pushing lightly against the rest of his fingers with his paws. Fingers ruled.

"I-I'm okay," she said, tucking a stray lock of hair back. "Probably not very good company right now. Kinda ... weird night, you know? I should ... we should go."

She sighed and attempted to scoop up her cat. Who mrowled at her sadly and batted at Reno's fingers again.

[raspberryturk]

"Weird night," Reno agreed, grabbing the paw that was batting at his fingers and holding it for a moment. Strange things, cats. "Come on inside, yoto."

He wasn't going to wait for a 'no,' here. He was going to let go of the cat, stand up, and start unlocking his door.

[the_merriest]

"Sorry to be all, uh. Camped out in your hallway?" she said awkwardly. She bounced up to her feet and rocked onto her toes and back. "Figured it was kinda rude to pick the lock."

Reno fighting back meant he wanted to be best friends. This was why Cuban Pete (King of the Rumba Beat) was now making a figure-eight around his ankles, mrrring happily.

"Petey," Rikku said, leaning over to scoop him up. "Why are you so bad?"

[raspberryturk]

"It's a dumb cat thing," Reno decided, opening his door and stepping aside to let Rikku in first. "Probably some kinda cat law makes 'em all gotta chew on hands and shed on pant legs, or else they get denied tuna, yoto."

He paused a moment, then raised an eyebrow.

"You can pick locks?"

[the_merriest]

"I'd be a pretty crappy thief if I couldn't," she grinned, stepping around him with Petey in her arms. "Why, can't you?"

[raspberryturk]

Reno smirked and gave a shrug of his shoulders.

"I get in when I gotta get in, however I gotta get in," he replied, stepping in after her and shutting the door behind them. "Even if it means I gotta get Rude to shoulder the door down, yoto."

It was more fun watching Rude shouldering down a door than just picking it himself. Reno suspected that Rude enjoyed shouldering the door down more than he liked waiting for Reno to pick a lock, too.

"You ever gotta get in for whatever, go ahead and pick the lock, yo. Must be pretty boring, sittin' in the hall."

[the_merriest]

"Seemed kinda presumptuous," she said, shrugging. "See, those are famous last words. You'll end up with me breaking in to leave Post-It notes stuck on your stuff. Or ... me, waiting for you to show up."

Her eyes were dancing at that last bit.

[raspberryturk]

"Somehow, the possibility of sticky notes on my things seems totally okay when grouped in with, you know." Smirk. "You."

Were his eyes dancing, too? Maybe. Maaaybe.

[the_merriest]

"Sure you wanna see that? I mean. Last time I hid in someone's room, I totally freaked him out," she said in a low voice, leaning in an---

And that's when Petey squirmed and insisted on being set down. "Okay, okay, calm down already."

[raspberryturk]

"Ain't so easy to freak me out," Reno stated, smirking and heading over to his bed to take a seat on the edge of it. "Figure you're gonna have to try real hard, if that's what you're aimin' for."

Now he was hoping that she would try. Go figure.

[the_merriest]

She took a seat next to him, fidgeting a little. "I, uh. I'll have to see what I can do."

She bit her lip.

"So, uh. You .... how was ... radio?"

[raspberryturk]

Right. Right, there had been radio. And. She was very distracting. And it had been a welcome distraction.

"Radio was, you know. Radio. Squirrels. Booze." He hadn't actually had more than a mouthful of the booze. "Notes. Was kinda..."

He shrugged.

"Lots of stuff goin' on."

[the_merriest]

"Do you think something's going on?" she said quickly. "I know. Everyone says I shouldn't worry about Deadpool. He can take care of himself. I'm being stupid. I get it. I just ..."

[raspberryturk]

"Shouldn't be so many people not showin' up for work," Reno said, frowning. "Tuesdays is always, you know. 'Jeff was a chickenshit at the hotel, Robin that isn't green opens up somethin' or other while Lana does other crap,' zoto."

He gave his shoulders a shrug.

"Might be everyone got the flu at once. I dunno. Doesn't hurt to be careful, I don't think."

[the_merriest]

"Deadpool doesn't get the flu," she said, shaking her head. "It's that healing thing. And if people were just home sick, there'd be roommates calling in for them. O-or something. Right?"

She folded her arms. "I don't know why I came here, even, I just ... wanted to talk to you."

If Reno was paying attention, he might notice the slight shift of the mattress to accomodate four little paws wandering along the bed. If not, he might not even realize Petey was up there with them until he felt the light tug on the end of his ponytail.

[raspberryturk]

"Talkin's good. Doesn't even have to be about- hey."

Reno was making a face, here. It was a sort of "wtf" crossed with an "omfg" with a liberal dose of "o rly" tossed in for good measure.

"Your cat's eatin' my hair," he noted.

[the_merriest]

"Petey," Rikku said again, breaking out in a grin and scooping up the (seriously, very) dim kitty.

She sprawled back onto Reno's bed, holding Petey up in the air over her face. He didn't seem to mind; he just pressed his paws onto her face and wriggled.

"Stop eating things," she said in a mock-serious tone. "You're not allowed to eat things any more. Nope. Not ever again. No food for you."

This was punctuated with bouncing him for emphasis. He seemed terribly upset about the ordeal.

[raspberryturk]

"Until the next time he sticks out his tongue at you, right?" Reno smirked and turned around to get a better look at the cute girl and her retarded cat.

He wasn't melting a little inside. Shut up.

[the_merriest]

"He's sticking his tongue out now," she noted. "Just a weeeeeeeee little bit. And be nice to the girl who saved you from his devious attacks. He was going to eat your face in a minute. Hair's just how he starts."

[raspberryturk]

"See how terrified I am," he replied, almost in a dry tone, except the grin and the stuck-out tongue was seriously impeding the sentiment, there. "I don't think my face could take it, yo."

Rikku was totally his hero. Totally.

[the_merriest]

"You heard him, Petey," Rikku said, eyeing the kitty. Who was wondering why the bouncing had stopped. "He doubted your powers. You know what this means." She set Petey down. "Attack!"

This was, of course, Petey's cue to scamper off the bed and out of sight.

"He meant to do that," she said airily.

[raspberryturk]

"So that out of the darkness, without any warnin' at all, he can strike without mercy," Reno agreed. "He's a little orange retard-ninja, zoto."

[the_merriest]

"Totally is," she said, tugging lightly on his jacket to pull him down next to her. "Nefarious. Evil. Always plotting something. It usually involves shiny objects."

[raspberryturk]

"Things that roll or dangle," he added. "And anything that'll fit in his mouth." Laying down next to her was good. Excellent placement for draping one arm over her, like so.

[the_merriest]

"I think he's kinda slow," she giggled. "Which is funny to say 'cause he's so fast. Hyper little thing."

He wasn't listening, was he? Good, because neither was she. She was just leaning in a little closer.

[raspberryturk]

"Fast things can be slow now an' then," Reno decided. Which was... an interesting choice of words for the fastest Turk to be using. Of course, it was entirely possible that he wasn't referring to mental prowess, here, as the kiss that he gave to Rikku, there, wasn't fast by any stretch of the imagination.

[the_merriest]

Her lips were moving under his, and her arms pulling him closer, and the knot in her stomach was slowly untwisting itself. Here, warm, safe. She nuzzled in, her tongue playing lightly against his.

It would have been a perfect slow lingering sort of kiss, if not for the orange ninja suddenly jumping onto Reno's head and pawing frantically at his goggles.

[raspberryturk]

If it was possible to deadpan into a kiss, Reno would be doing so. Right along with gritting his teeth, if not for the fact that he wasn't keen on severing Rikku's tongue right there.

"There's a retard-ninja on my head," he so very calmly informed Rikku. Because perhaps she would be interested in knowing.

[the_merriest]

She was, in fact, aware of it. And far too accustomed to the kitty ninja waking her up in a similar fashion. Hence the facepalming. "Maybe we should ... go, yoto?"

Petey was now attempting to chew on the goggles. Interspersed with some licks. Hey! Lots of hair! He should groom it. Hi! Hi! Hi!

[raspberryturk]

"He's messing with the hair," Reno said. Still very calm. Still very patient. "He realizes that this means war, I hope."

[the_merriest]

"Of course he doesn't," she said, sitting up and attempting to pry Cuban Pete off Reno's head. "He's not that bright."

Petey did not want to come off Reno's head. Hence the mrowling and the velcro-cat effect and please let him be sticking those claws in the goggles and not Reno's head? Was that so much to ask?

"We, uh, we're gonna go now," she said.

[raspberryturk]

It was, indeed, too much to ask.

"He's stuck."

Very. Very. Very. Calm. Very.

"To my scalp, zoto."

Never more calm in his life, really.

Kalm had less calm than Reno.

Reno would not be more calm if he was dead.

Very. Calm. With claws in his head.

[the_merriest]

"Okay, okay, just a second," Rikku said, trying to sound calm. And failing. And trying to tug lightly on his paws and ... wait. Better idea.

She let go and set him back down on Reno's head. Petey - a little sick of being messed with, thank you very much - mrowled grumpily and scampered off to the floor, for the very important task of flopping down and giving himself a bath.

"Yeah. I think the mood is dead," she announced, standing up. "C'mere, Petey, we're going home now."

[raspberryturk]

Reno was going to sit up now before another retard-ninja incident could occur. And run his hand through his hair, and try not to make a face at the cat spit that dampened his fingers.

Reno loved cats. Maybe he'd even believe that if he told himself that enough.

"Maybe I'll catch you tomorrow or whatever," Reno offered. The 'without the cat' subtext didn't have to be said aloud, did it?

[the_merriest]

No. No, it didn't.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm around, you know. Doing ... whatever." She nodded. "It's good."

Petey, safely snuggled in Rikku's arms, mrowled happily at Reno. You could pretend it was an apology, but really, that would require him being smart enough to know he'd done something wrong.

[raspberryturk]

Reno stuck out his tongue at Petey.

It had to be done.

"I'll see you both around, then," he decided. "Maybe grab you tomorrow for something or whatever after I'm done doing my report up for the week, yoto."

[the_merriest]

"Sounds good," she grinned. "You know where to find me, zoto."

Petey happily stuck his tongue right back out. He liked Renos. They tasted good!