The Way Back to 429, Post-Vortex

[the_merriest]

Two daughters, very different, both gone. One wee Turk, not hers in any sense, gone as well.

Rikku was walking back to the dorms, very, very slowly. And trying not to sniffle quite so much. And failing.

She reached over, almost instinctively, for Reno's hand.

(for the modded one)

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[raspberryturk]

Stupid phone. Stupid phone calling in the middle of Rikku talking and Reno wanted to throw it, except that meant not finding out about Rede. But he wasn't sure he wanted to know about Rede, because finding out if Rede was out there somewhere meant that he'd have to take off right the fuck now, and finding out that he wasn't meant that he'd have to ... something. He wasn't sure what. But the thought made his guts do somersaults either way.

He curled one arm around Rikku again, took a deep breath, and flipped open his phone.

"Yo, boss."

[the_merriest]

Her stomach was full of lead and she didn't even know what to wish for. If Rede was here, then Reno had to go be his father, and if he wasn't, they'd never know for sure, and either answer was going to ...

No. Rede was more important than any of that, all of that.

Please let Tseng be calling back to say they found him, Rude was in that chopper right now to pick him up and she'd help Reno pack and maybe take off for some of the summer to help him get settled in if Reno wanted her to and they'd know he was okay, and that Hojo bastard was dead. Please?

[raspberryturk]

You could have heard a pin drop over how shallow Reno was breathing, how quietly he was grunting his affirmatives to Tseng. He'd nod now and then, toss in an 'mm' for good measure, and close his eyes and listen.

It wasn't a long phone call, really. And Reno forgot to thank Tseng before he hung up. And he was very quiet after the call ended, too.

"Tseng looked. Rude looked. There ain't no way those DNA samples were ever in Hojo's hands. Rede can't be out there. Kid don't exist, in this reality."

It all came out pretty numbly. He'd barely been aware that his lips were moving. And now he would like to maybe just close his eyes and go totally blank for a while.

[the_merriest]

Just quiet enough that you could hear his heart break.

She sat up, turning so she could wrap her arms around him completely and squeeze and bury her face in the side of his neck and hold on for dear life and wish there was something more she could do, or say, or something.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

[raspberryturk]

"Me too," he decided, letting the phone fall to the bed so that he could wrap his other arm around her and bury his face in her hair and breathe her in and try for the life of him to figure out why it felt like he had to choke up his guts just so that he'd be able to inhale again. Make room, or whatever. "Kid deserves... deserved..."

He shrugged. There wasn't a thought there, beyond maybe that Reno could have somehow done more, or shouldn't have send Rede back, or any one of a million things that he'd said already anyhow.

"S' for the best."

And maybe it even was.

[the_merriest]

"Somewhere, out there, another Reno is finding him," she said, hoping her voice didn't shake. "He's yours. You're taking him home. I believe that."

Because she couldn't imagine a universe where Reno wasn't flying the chopper like a crazy man to hunt down Rede and get him home safely.

... Maybe he should let Rude fly. Still.

[raspberryturk]

So long as Tseng wasn't flying, everything would be alright. Tseng liked to crash choppers into things like mountains.

"Somewhere out there, just not here," Reno agreed. "If that other Reno doesn't take care of him, I'm gonna break space and time just to smash in his smug fuckin' face."

It'd be a shame to mess up such a handsome face, really. But it would have to be done.

[the_merriest]

"He's yours," she said softly. "Any Reno out there would. You know he would. You're just gonna have to trust ... you, here."

Alternate timelines were so weird.

[raspberryturk]

"Guess I am." He gave a bit of a nod, and then pulled Rikku about as close as a Rikku could possibly be.

"Trusting me's about all I got to work with, with Rede."

[the_merriest]

Rikku could nuzzle and try for even closer. Rikkus were flexible like that.

"I believe in you," she said softly. "Any you. Every you, zoto."

[raspberryturk]

Reno nodded. Closer was appreciated.

And his eyes drifted up to the ceiling, and his lips pulled into a frown, and a sigh was his only answer.

If he believed in himself half as much as she said she believed in him, he'd be damn near invincible.