A/N: Sorry for the wait, here's the next chapter :)
The sun crept through the curtains as he continued to stare at the ceiling; he had been awake for the past hour, refusing to get up until his alarm sounded. He was going back to work today, Tseng had given him the rest of last week off, after he'd returned from Costa del Sol. The last few days had been as much as a rush as the last two weeks had been; Elena had gone between work and giving what she'd deemed as helpful tips; Yuffie had taken both Aiveen and Arleen shopping yesterday, while Tifa and Rayna had given him a hand to sort things out at the apartment ... including a lecture about the state of his kitchen and the lack of food in his fridge.
He complained about how the women had all been picking on him, since Wednesday night, but he did appreciate their input and their help. He hadn't been impressed with their overbearing opinions at first, but he'd quickly realised they were the experts in raising kids; he was flying solo and Kelly was somewhere in the wings, just waiting for him to fall flat on his face ... he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of watching him screw up.
Reno rolled his eyes and sighed as his alarm clock went off; he might have been awake, but that didn't mean he wanted to go to work. By now, the entire Turk floor would know about his trip to Costa del Sol and Arleen. He'd ensured that by telling Rod, it was easier to tell the red-head than explaining individually. The Turk tossed the duvet off him and stood, accidentally knocking his alarm clock to the floor as he tried to stop it.
He wasn't making Arleen start school until next week, that mean he could either bring her to the ShinRa building, or leave her in the apartment by herself. He knew Tseng wouldn't care if he brought Arleen with him; the teenagers seemed to spent most their days off or lunch hours there as matters stood.
Reno yawned as he wiped sleep from his eyes; walking down the hall towards, what was now, his daughter's bedroom. He was bringing her with him; ShinRa would be more fun than sitting in an empty apartment all day, she could get to know some of the Turks too. However, he wasn't sure if he wanted her to get to know Rod and Chase too well, the red-head and blonde were skilled and certainly deserved to be Turks, but they wrecked his head at the same time.
"Hey, Arly – time to get up!"
"I'm already up."
Arleen laughed as her Dad jumped; she'd been awake with the last half an hour, flicking through the television channels and wandering around the apartment, trying to get familiar with every inch of her new home. She'd already gotten used to the temperamental front door; twist, kick, and push. It had taken a painful collision with her forehead for her to remember that.
She'd only been living with her Dad for five days, but it already felt more like a home than her Mom's house had; she'd spent most of her time in her room, or at Toni or Ryan's homes. She hadn't been able to just sit down and watch television at her Mom's, or hang out with her friends there; her Mom and Chris had always managed to make other people feel uncomfortable to the point where they'd made excuses to leave.
Her Dad didn't. He had gone out of his way to make sure everything was okay for her. He'd even asked Tifa and Rayna to help him sort out the apartment and spare room, while she'd been out shopping with Aiveen and her Mom. There had been nothing wrong with the place to start with. As for Aiveen and the gang, they were proving themselves to be nothing but welcoming, especially Aiveen and Matt.
"Heart attack?"
"I ain't that old."
"Yet ..."
Reno did a double take as he picked up on Arleen's lowly-spoken comment; she was coming back around to her usual self again. Though, he wasn't sure having her hang out with Ross and Robbie was such a good idea, especially where school was concerned. He had only been in Costa del Sol at the weekends, but he had always tried to be there on Friday nights, or Saturday mornings at the latest. Sometimes he got held up in work, or with the gang at 7th Heaven, but he had always tried to be there to collect Arleen from school on those Saturdays.
It wasn't that she ever went out of her way to cause trouble in school, Arleen just tended to speak before thinking. He was the last person to lecture her about getting detention or for getting into trouble. He had delighted in causing trouble whenever he'd bothered to go in school when he'd been a kid. Reno shook his head and leaned back against the kitchen counter, pulling on his socks as he spoke.
"Kay, two options. One, stay here all by your lonesome. Two, come to ShinRa and kill time there ... just so you know, one is not really an option."
Arleen frowned as she leaned her head back over the arm of the sofa, watching her father from her upside down perspective; basically, he wasn't giving her an option, but was trying to make her think she did. Her Mom would have just told her what to do, leading to an argument. The seventeen-year-old rolled over on the sofa and gave her father a confused look as she eyed his shirt.
"Ever hear of an iron?"
Weren't irons those magical items, that made creases disappear? Of course he'd heard of an iron, he also owned one. He mightn't know exactly where it was in the apartment, but he definitely had one ... somewhere. Reno thought back as he buttoned his shirt, suddenly curious as to where the iron now was, not that he wanted to use it; wearing a uniform was enough of an effort for work, everyone at ShinRa were used to his treatment of the dress-code at this stage, if he showed up with an pressed shirt and tie, they'd probably send him home on sick-leave.
"Arly, remember Rod's face when I said you were my daughter? If I show up at work, with an ironed shirt, he'll faint ... actually, there's an idea."
"You're evil."
Reno shrugged, a smirk on his face as he accepted his daughter's words. He wasn't entirely evil; he just enjoyed tormenting some people. Rodd, Kelly and Yuffie were his usual targets, but he generally focused on anyone who was easy to wind up. He and Rod had an ongoing rivalry; each trying to trick or out-wit the other. Kelly was just easy to annoy, she always had been. Even when he tried to be civil with her; saying hello seemed capable of setting the blonde on a bitch fit. As for Yuffie, she was just fun to argue with.
"Nay, I just lack concern ... gonna get dressed, or d'you want me to drag you to ShinRa in your pyjamas?"
"You wouldn't dare!"
"That's what Cait Sith said, remember what I did to him?"
Arleen held her hands up in submission as she stood from the sofa, fighting a giggle at the recollection of her Dad's treatment of the cat, as she walked towards her room. She didn't put it past him to deliver on that threat, even just for his own entertainment.
It probably would be more fun to spend the day at ShinRa than watching re-runs on the television. From what she'd seen of the building so far, it looked like dull days were far and few between. She'd made an attempt to learn as many of the Turks' names as possible in the last few days. A task that was proving easier said than done, especially when the whole floor wore the same black suits.
"Does Rod always try to trip or kick you?"
Reno nodded as he pushed through the door of the Turks' lounge; that was how Rod was, no big deal. He was still one of the younger Turks, people tended to forget that. From the outside, it looked like he was slacking off the whole time and just annoyed the older members, but Rod wasn't that black and white; he'd lived on the Plate and had come from a well-off family. They hadn't been exactly happy when he'd become a gang leader at eighteen, his subsequent decision to join the Turks hadn't sat well with his family either; they hadn't spoken to him since he'd joined ShinRa. All the Turks had stories and lives, very few people outside of the department knew what those stories were, however.
Reno glanced back over his shoulder, holding the door open as Arleen ducked beneath his arm, walking into the empty room ahead of him. The lounge was empty, he'd expected that considering the early time. The Turk glanced to his watch, he was really going to give people a shock this week; showing up with Arleen, and now he was going to be early for work. He leaned back against the wall as he pointed out the main features of the lounge.
"Food in the fridge; don't touch the stuff in foil, it's probably gone off. Showers and bathrooms are through the door nearest the kitchen area. Extra clothes, blankets and stuff are in the closet. And knock yourself out with the television – see you later, Arly."
Arleen nodded quickly and smiled as her Dad disappeared out the door. She looked from the kitchen area to where her Dad had pointed towards a closet on the opposite side of the room. The seventeen-year-old wasted no time in exploring the large room; several couches and armchairs lay around the lounge, a large television was wall-mounted opposite the door, and a fully equipped kitchen lay to the left of the entrance. Arleen spent a full ten minutes slowly walking around the lounge, randomly opening cupboards and presses to see what was inside, before eventually coming to rest at the sofa in front of the television.
Arleen lay down as she flicked through some of the channels. All the times she'd wished that she could live with her Dad, instead of her Mom, and now she was. This was where he worked; ShinRa, the company that had risen again after Deepground; the company that was run by the supposedly heartless Rufus ShinRa ... the same man she'd had a casual conversation with yesterday; the same company her mother hated with a vengeance.
In the last few days, Arleen had learned just how misinformed, about people, she'd been. In Costa del Sol, ShinRa was the company that frequented the city during its peak seasons, for staff vacations and minor supplies. The older residents of Costa del Sol had told takes about the Turks working for ShinRa; though many had tried to keep their stories to themselves, knowing her father was a senior Turk. Her mother hadn't had any qualms about speaking ill of the Turks though, especially not of her father.
She didn't know why her parents butted heads so much; they always had, she couldn't remember them ever sitting down and having a civil conversation together. Her Mom wouldn't even entertain the idea of being nice to her Dad. Not that her Dad helped matters, he loved annoying her mother. They were a match made in hell, how they'd ever managed to sustain a relationship, long enough for her mother to fall pregnant, was beyond Arleen. However, she, of all people, knew a relationship wasn't necessary for someone to get pregnant, but she liked to believe that her parents had cared about each other, at some stage in the past.
Arleen had never dared to ask her mother what had happened between her and her Dad; it would have started another fight, then Chris would have got involved. If she wanted a truthful answer, she had to ask her Dad; he wouldn't lie to her. He would try to joke about it and get out of answering, but he wouldn't lie to her.
All of the other teenagers in Edge had normal families and parents that didn't try to push each other to their limits. Elena, Yuffie, Tifa, Rayna, Shera and Shalua had all been more concerned about her, than her own mother. She hadn't expected so many people to care about her, especially when she hadn't known any of them. She hadn't expected for the Turks to be so normal; Rod was the prankster, Cissnei was the mother figure, Chase was the baby, Adel was the big sister ... Tseng kept them all in line, and though she'd only known the man a short space of time, Arleen knew he would do all in his power to protect his Turks.
Arleen smiled as she looked to her arm; the white cast now covered with numerous names, scribbles and random words; Ross had managed to find several coloured markers in 7th Heaven yesterday. She still felt sad that two names where on it, however. Ryan and Tone would have loved to see this place ... even if she had still moved away, they could have come to visit, her Dad would have left them, without any questions.
Toni would have made friends with Aiveen in no time; they both had a tendency to speak fast, along with a shared hyperactive nature. Ryan would have been joining in with Robbie and Ross in their wrestling matches, either that or he would have been placing bets with Matt.
Arleen stood and grabbed a blanket from the closet her Dad had pointed out, a shiver suddenly chilling her. She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, then lay back down on the couch, choosing to face her back towards the television ... she could have told Ryan and Toni anything; she had in the past. They'd made her promise to do something about Chris, but she'd missed her change to tell them her biggest secret. Arleen silently wondered if people on the other side of the lifestream could know the secrets a person still hadn't told; could they know what she hadn't admitted to anyone yet? What if they were angry with her for not trusting them?
A/N: Thanks for reading! ;)
Last Revision - 05/05/11
