Reno leaned back in his chair, and put his feet up on the table, blowing out a breath and grinning halfheartedly

Reno leaned back in his chair, and put his feet up on the table, blowing out a breath and grinning halfheartedly. "Morning all," he said, watching a drowsy Elena coming down from her room, and collapsing into a chair across from him. "Unhhh," she muttered, and promptly fell asleep on the table. Reno shook his head. "Shame on you, young lady, you shouldn't have stayed up drinking last night with two rowdy men." Elena raised her head to glare balefully at him. "Hate…you," she muttered, before falling onto the table again. But Reno already had his attention on other things. Namely, the fact that Rude was wearing…an apron.

            "Uh, Rude? What-?" Rude turned around. "…Making breakfast," he said, and then lapsed into one of his usual silences. Reno shook his head. "Rude's got aspirations to become a housewife, and Elena has a hangover. What am I going to do with you all?" Elena turned her head to look at him. "You're…in a good mood this morning," she muttered. "Damn straight," agreed Reno amiably, knocking aside a broom resting against the door and opening it to let in the sunlight. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

            Elena turned towards Rude. "He's preparing us for one of his extremely depressing announcements, now, isn't he? Trying to lighten the mood?" She asked tiredly. Rude looked at the ground. "…Probably." "We," said Reno, "have entirely run out of gil."

            There was a long silence, and then Elena sat up, sighing. "I figured it was going to be something like that," she said. "…Gotta move?" Asked Rude. Reno scratched the back of his head, his air of confident playfulness gone. "Yeah…well, we're kind of supposed to be gone already. We don't own the house anymore…and their gonna come to kick us out in about an hour." Rude blinked, and Elena groaned. "Again?"

            She sighed. "Can't believe we've survived this long on our own anyway. After Shinra collapsed, wasn't sure where we'd go. Can't believe it's been three whole years." "…3 and ½," contradicted Rude. Elena waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah, 3 ½, whatever." Reno paced back and forth across the room. Then he turned suddenly and looked at Elena. "Can't believe I'm hearing you say that. We're the Turks!" "Ex-Turks," mumbled Elena. Reno ignored her. "We're survivors. We're fighters. We're the elite! We're-!" "…Broke," finished Rude, seating himself next to Elena.

            Reno collapsed into a sitting position by the door, and bit his lip. "Yeah," he said quietly. "We're broke." He stood up again. "And we'd better get out of here before we're both broke, and in trouble with the law. Go pack up." Rude turned, and walked upstairs. Elena lingered by the table a bit longer, staring into the scratched wooden surface, looking thoughtful. Then she followed Rude upstairs.

            Reno stood and stared out the doorway. The mighty Turks, he thought, reduced to a trio of shabby downhearted people, being kicked out of their own home for lack of means to pay for it. How Rufus Shinra would laugh if he saw us now. He shook his head to clear it, and turned to watch Rude and Elena coming down with a small suitcase each. Pretty lacking in belongings, too, he thought, and then, Yes, he would laugh if he saw us now. And it was a bitter thought, of a past thrown away when put in the hands of the wrong man.

            Elena put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey," she said, "Let's go." He nodded, and followed them out of the tiny two-floored house, in which they'd lived for about a year. It was the second time they'd been kicked out of their house, but the first time it had been for monetary reasons. That time, they'd still been fighting for a living.

           

            They sat on the lawn outside their modest home and ate the eggs that apron-clad Rude had cooked for them. They weren't good, but they weren't bad either, and they'd all gotten used to Rude's home cooking. They'd sampled Elena's once, but didn't care to try it again, and Reno didn't volunteer his own. No one asked. This was the best they were going to get.

            They'd all gotten used to settling for worse. Lord, Reno thought, it's been so long. Elena broke into his thoughts with the question they'd all been avoiding. "So," she said, staring at the ground, "Where now?" No one spoke, and Rude eventually remarked, "…Nowhere else to go." Reno shook his head, hearing the finality in Rude's few words. "No…there's that chocobo ranch near Kalm…we could try to get employment there, fighting off monsters or something…" He trailed off, and shook his head.

            "We…could do that," Elena said, not wanting to admit that that was their only option. Rude nodded. "…Yeah." "Alright then," Reno said, expelling a breath. "When we finish breakfast, we'll catch a helitaxi, and-." "…No gil," Rude reminded him. Reno sighed. "Aight, then we'll walk out." Elena nodded slowly, then suddenly threw down her eggs into the grass, surged up. "Damn, she exclaimed, and wandered off into the woods nearby. Rude rose to follow, but Reno pulled him back. "Let her go. She needs some time alone. She'll come back in a minute."

            He was right. Elena returned, slouching down on the grass again. "Sorry," she muttered. Reno waved the apology away, and didn't say anything. Neither did Rude. In fact, no one said anything for a long time, they just sat on their property, which wasn't theirs, and thought their own private, and entirely dismal, thoughts. Then Reno stood up, and jerked his head at the others. "Let's go," He said.