Then I&#39;ll just have to be the merriest!

Tseng, of course, had a touch of unfinished business to settle. Unfinished business that had been temporarily tabled by a very small version of the woman that he'd taken out to dinner quite recently, and yes, he was still working on getting his head around that, but at least now he was finally on track.

On track, and rapping his knuckles against the door of Reno's apartment.

Work to do. There was always work to do.

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Oooh! A knock meant maybe Rude had beat Reno here! Rikku swung the door open with a cheery smile, one that changed as her jaw dropped and she took in the face of her visitor.

"Tseng," she breathed. He was coming, too?! Nobody told her anything!

And a moment later, she was totally grinning again, except this time she was reaching out to hug him. "I'm so glad you came!"

The last she'd heard, they weren't even talking! Okay, she and Tseng had had their differences -- a lot of them -- but he was important to Reno. Very important. And he was here.

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... Tseng hadn't been anticipating two things. First, he hadn't been expecting Rikku. Leviathan only knew why he hadn't been. This Island and Rikku were Reno's two... things.

And, naturally, he hadn't been expecting the hug. What in the world was he supposed to do with a hug?

Stand there somewhat stiffly. That would do.

"Hello, Rikku." Yep. Still standing there. "Reno wouldn't happen to be in, would he?"

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When he knocked, Rude had a small overnight bag and a bottle of whiskey with a bow on it. He set the bag down and waited stoically for Reno to answer the door.

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"Nope," Rikku said, releasing him without much fuss. He wasn't a huggy kind of guy. She got that. "He'll be back soon, though. I thought you might be him, until you knocked. Please, come in."

Come in, Tseng! Marvel at the apartment! Because it sure didn't look like Reno's quarters used to.

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It wasn't Reno who answered the door, and her response was far from stoic.

"Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuude!"

Tackleglomp: INCOMING!

Oh, like Rude minded being hugged by a cute blonde.

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If Rude was surprised to see her there, he didn't show it. At least, not so you could tell while his shades were on. He stood there and took the hug, and patted her back gently.

"It's... good to see you, too."

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Well, no. There were future unclassified life-forms evolving in the corners, for a start.

Tseng quirked an eyebrow slightly as he made his way into the apartment, looking around.

A duck stared back at him from across the room.

He decided that he would rather not know.

"You've been cleaning," he observed.

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"I have," Rikku said, closing the door behind him.

Behold, the faintly citrus tang of whatever cleaning supplies Rikku had been using in the kitchen! Something that was usually not within 50 feet of Reno's home sweet hovel.

"I'm still settling in," she explained. "I only got here a week ago, did he tell you that? I bought the repair shop in town. I guess I just missed the place too much, you know?"

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"Of course it is," Rikku beamed. "And it'll be even better to see Reno, when he gets here. He'll be back soon. He miiiiisses you. You know, I can sleep on the couch if you guys need to snuggle."

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"No thanks," Rude told her, straightening his shades. "I'm good." He'd done plenty enough snuggling of Reno the several times they'd almost frozen to death on missions, and didn't need to do any more.

"Besides, I was thinking... RENO could sleep on the couch."

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"I can imagine," Tseng replied, his tone dry.

Everybody missed this place. And the damnedest thing about it was, the more he visited for Parents Weekends or Graduation ceremonies, the more he could almost begin to see the island's charms, if he squinted.

"He hadn't mentioned, no. But he and I haven't... been in touch."

He was still angry. He was being civil because Elena had thumped some sense into him. But yes, still angry.

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"Oh, Rude," Rikku swooned, one hand to her forehead. "If Reno ever found out, I would never forgive myself! So we'll have to sneak in a quickie before he shows up."

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"I heard," she said gently. "Because --"

It was none of her business. She was going to cram it, therefore.

When had that ever worked.

"Because he left," she said, finally. "I think he needed to. Even more than how badly he needs your approval."

Which, considering Reno's devotion to the Turks, was saying something.

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It really was. And Tseng was well aware of that, on a level that he attempted, and failed, to ignore on a regular basis.

"I've been informed in no uncertain terms that remaining in Edge is..." He frowned. "... Not the wisest path that the Turks could be following, at present."

By more than just Reno, now. When two thirds of your subordinates informed you that they were out of there, that probably meant that it was time to pay attention. Grudgingly.

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Rude looked at his watch. "A quickie? Really? You don't think he'll come back... for an hour?"

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give-areason.livejournal.com

Rosalind was... equal parts sure that this was a disastrous idea and would turn out to be a profitable, in some sense of the word, evening. If nothing else, it made Elena pleased to be included.

If if it was, in the words of the small girl holding her hand 'just stupid Turks stuff and would probably be boooooring'.

She supposed she ought to be glad enough that Elena hadn't kicked Tseng in the shins when she'd found him and informed him of the informal meet up of--all Turks on the island, plus little sister.

All of which brought her around to: knocking on the door, boss and sibling in tow, and feeling utterly awkward and vaguely wishing she could go and... read.

Yes. Read.

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findingelena.livejournal.com

Apparently there was some kind of Turk party going down. Hey, this might be awkward, but it would still be interesting, right?

So Elena was here. She wasn't expecting Reno's hyper, bouncy girlfriend to open the door, but she should have. Naturally she'd be here.

Elena settled in, reminding herself not to swear in front of her younger self. Or talk about her sex life.

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raspberryturk

Okay, so, there were some people that Reno had been expecting, easy. Rikku, for a start. Rikku lived there. And Rude, on account of his being Rude.

But when Reno walked through the door of his apartment to see seven people all chilling out in his living room, there were two thoughts that crossed his mind.

First: Hide the porn.

... What? He was a grown man. He was allowed to buy a few magazines now and again.

And second?

"What the shit?"

He was seeing double, here.

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ponytailedturk

Tseng, of course, wasn't about to have any of it. He'd insisted, after all, that he should meet this alternate Reno, and he was still holding out some vague hope that the other 'Tseng' who had made arrangements with the hotel was not him.

And it had seemed that the most effective way to deal with both at least one of those goals was to accompany Rosalind to this 'Reno's apartment this evening.

He idly straightened out his tie as he waited for the door to be answered. And he was not at all anxious about this meeting in the least, thank you.

... Informal though it might be.

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"I really don't think it is," she said, mulling something over. She bit her lip, then lowered her voice. "Can I show you something?"

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"If he does, he can just join us," Rikku said innocently.

Oh, come on. Of course she had thought about it.

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"I don't see why not," Tseng replied, raising an eyebrow slightly. He had time to kill, after all. And, as much as he hated it, any insight that Rikku could hand him that pertained to the inner workings of Reno's... unique mind, would be far more insight than he seemed to have at the best of times, lately.

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