"And miss this? Are you kidding me?" Rude laughed. "And for the record; she's an 8.5 on a bad day" he smirked
Reno jokingly rolled his eyes "One track mind eh buddy?"
"Don't act like you aren't thinking the exact same thing".
"You know I can't resist brunettes; especially with legs like those…"
'Thena came out of the kitchen a minute later. "Sis has to finish up some stuff in the back, she'll be right out. We really appreciate this by the way." She winked
"Anything for my favorite gals" Reno could be so cheesy some times. "So I take it you guys had a busy day today?"
"Yea, there's this art festival-y thingie one block over; we had pretty much a steady stream all day; prolly will tomorrow too." She laughed a little "of course it doesn't help that I was up packing 'til like one last night… or rather this morning if you wanna be technical."
"Going on a vacation?" Rude asked.
"Nope; moving next week…" she looked a little depressed.
"Oh fun fun" Reno joked.
"Ya know! I never realized how much stuff I owned 'til I started putting it all into boxes"
"So are you moving far…?" Reno questioned.
"Nope, just a couple miles away; you know Aurora, right? The blonde girl who works here? Well her room-mate turned out to be this nut case who ditched out on her; she's moving out this weekend and next I'm movin' in."
"ALMOST DONE GUYS; I'VE JUST GOTTA LOCK THE BACK!" Celestia shouted from the kitchen; shouted loudly for the little thing that she was.
"Yeesh; that girl can yell" 'Thena joked "now I know where I get it from"
"Hey nothing wrong with a set of pipes…" Rude joked.
Celestia came out from the kitchen "Ok; I think we're all set…" she glanced around quickly to make sure she didn't miss anything.
"Sis where's your jacket?" 'Thena enquired. Rude had to laugh; she sounded like a nanny.
"What're you my old lady? I forgot it this morning I was in a hurry." Celestia laughed.
"Ya know I'm actually kinda warm; you want mine?" Reno offered his jacket; Rude's eyes met 'Thena's and they both shared a secret giggle.
"Oh no; I'll be fine if I'm walking…" She said as they all filed outside and she locked the door. 'Thena zipped ahead a few feet; Rude followed.
"So where's the new place?" he asked trying to make polite conversation; he had a feeling 'Thena was trying to get the other two alone.
"Over on Beatrix avenue, building…" she trailed off like she had to think about it for a minute "724… yea, that's it; apartment number seventeen."
"Really? That's like two buildings down from me… small world"
"No way! We'll be like zany neighbors; how cool!" she grinned at him.
"It'll be just like a sitcom…" he laughed.
"Yep; we could call it 'Bea Street'; sis and Red could be guest stars" she laughed a little. "I think Aurora and I would have to be the crazy neighbors; you'd have to be the uptight accountant."
"Wow; I really look like an accountant? That's cold" he joked; she giggled, looking slightly over her shoulder as she did. They were a good twenty paces ahead of the other two; looks like Reno won the jacket battle, at least for the moment.
"So I take it you don't like your sister's boyfriend…" He ventured now that they were out of ear shot. She blushed a little; apparently her diversionary tactic was supposed to be a top secret mission.
She wrinkled her nose as she answered "I hate to call him that; it sounds so… permanent. Sis deserves better than that clown… I just don't get it." She frowned.
"Eh, relationships are weird kid; unfortunately you don't understand them any better as you get older. But I guess you can't help who you fall for…"
"Yea but sis doesn't even like Trent; let alone love him" she blushed a little more; she must've let her tongue slip.
He laughed a little "Did they maybe purchase a really nice stereo together?"
"Huh?" she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
He laughed "A friend of mine was dating this girl a few years back; they're still together actually, but they can't stand each other. They're one of those couples that you hate to go out with because they get into a fight over everything; drives you nuts… but I digress. They bought this really nice surround sound system for the living room together; so we all joke that that's the reason why they stay together. Neither of them is willing to part with the system; so they put up with each other for the sake of a couple speakers…"
'Thena laughed. "I wish it was that simple; I'd just buy sis a new stereo and be done with it. Sadly it's a bit more complex…" she looked at the ground.
"I think I know what you mean. My sister was dating a guy like that back in college. I took a different approach thought; I took matters into my own hands and beat the shit out of him one day. Sandra; that's my sister by the way, didn't talk to me for a couple months but in the long run she forgave me." He cleared his throat; he wasn't used to talking this much. "But yea; I understand what you mean and what you're trying to do" he lowered his glasses "you're tactics are a little less than subtle though" he winked.
She giggled a little "Aw man; I thought I had some serious ninja moves going on…"
"Well Reno's oblivious to the obvious most of the time so I think you're in the clear." He joked.
"Well that's good I suppose…"
"AACK!" He turned to see Reno catching Celestia mid flight to the ground. 'Thena giggled.
"I swear she's so clumsy; you'd think she wouldn't be since she's a waitress and all, but it's almost embarrassing sometimes."
"Well sometimes we all do clumsy stuff when we're nervous." He began.
"Come again?" she seemed intrigued.
"Well back when I was in the training academy there was this girl; Simone Maxwell, she was the prettiest girl in the class. Now normally I'm Mr. Rico Suave himself" he jokingly brushed his shoulders off "but I'd turn into Kevin the Klutzy Clown whenever I saw her."
"Aww; that's cute" 'Thena joked "I never thought of it that way"
"Yea, I was never real sure why but she agreed to go out with me this one night. Well I put my shirt on inside out; didn't even realize that I did that 'til I got home that night, Reno still laughs at me about it sometimes. I tripped over my own two feet about 87 times, and spilled an entire movie sized soda; you know the ones that are big enough to bathe a baby in, as I tripped up the stairs. That was just the first twenty minutes; you don't even wanna know what happened when I tried to kiss her good night."
'Thena laughed "Well now you've gotta tell me…"
"Let's just say I trashed her father's prize rose bush and nearly impaled us both on a hose guide… she didn't talk to me too much after that…" he laughed thinking about it. "I'm lucky I don't have any scars now that I think about it".
"Something like that happened to my big brother once" she began "except it involved one of those… shoot what are they called…" she pondered for a moment. "It's not quite a gazebo but the little arch way things…"
"Oh damn; I know what you mean…" He couldn't think of the name either… it was right on the tip of his tongue.
"Well anywho; this girl he liked was with him in the back yard this one night. I think her name was Cynthia Greir; anyway she was leaning against one of those things in our garden" she chuckled "Cela and I had a perfect view from our room. He went to make a move and stumbled a bit. He knocked over the… ARBOR! That's it; it's called an arbor I think" that sounded about right "he knocked over the arbor, which bashed into this ceramic angel that sis had made, which crushed one of mom's tomato plants and set the dog barking. I think he woke up all the neighbors in a three house radius." She smiled in a kind of sad way.
He glanced over his shoulder as she started to talk to him about this project she had to do for her science class; something was definitely up back there. 'Kid knows her business' he thought to himself. They walked another three or four blocks shooting the breeze about this and that. "Well here we are; I had a lovely time" she giggled. "YO SIS! Get the lead out!" She and Reno caught up; she looked a little flushed… curious.
"Well thank you guys; I really appreciate it" she caught Rude of guard when she gave him a little hug "and it was very nice meeting you" she smiled as she punched him on the arm. She turned to Reno and hugged him, a little harder and longer than the one he got. He was pretty sure she whispered something in his ear before she pulled out and silently turned towards the building; "Oh! I almost forgot" she took Reno's jacket off and gave him a little peck on the cheek as she returned it and slid silently into the building.
"Well, um, we won't be working next weekend cause of the move and all but maybe we'll see ya the weekend after that?" she ventured; Reno was unusually dazed and silent; Rude gave him a little kick on the back of the leg to bring him back to reality.
"Huh? I'm sorry what was that again?" he started.
"Oh; I was just wondering if we'd be seeing ya' weekend after next. I know sis just loves it when you stop buy" 'Thena teased.
"Oh sure kid, wouldn't miss it for the world…" he smiled. "You better get going it's cold out here" he winked.
"Sure thing Red…" she raised an eyebrow as she turned towards the building. "See you guys then!"
15.Reno
"And miss this? Are you kidding me? And for the record; she's an 8.5 on a bad day" Rude laughed as he spoke; Reno got the feeling that he was gonna end up owing him for this one. Oh well, everyone has to take a dive now and then.
"One track mind eh buddy?" He laughed a little; Rude did make a good point. They sat around shooting the breeze until; 'Thena came out and joined them a couple minutes later.
"ALMOST DONE GUYS; I'VE JUST GOTTA LOCK THE BACK!" Celestia shouted from somewhere in the dark depths of the kitchen.
"Yeesh; that girl can yell; now I know where I get it from" 'Thena joked.
"Hey nothing wrong with a set of pipes…" Rude added.
Celestia emerged from the swinging doors. She had her hair down; he had never seen her with her hair down, it was a good look for her. "Ok; I think we're all set…" she glanced around sleepily.
"Sis where's your jacket?" 'Thena asked.
"What're you my old lady?" Celestia fired back; Reno laughed, he'd never heard that statement come out of a woman's mouth before. "I forgot it this morning I was in a hurry."
"Ya know I'm actually kinda warm; you want mine?" He started to take his own jacket off.
"Oh no; I'll be fine if I'm walking…" she smiled as they filed out the door and into brisk night air. It was fairly cold outside; she started shivering within a few steps; shivering enough to make him feel bad.
"Oh lord, you need this more than I do…" he took his jacket off and threw it over her shoulders. Her hair smelled surprisingly nice; kind of like a tropical breeze, or at least a tropical breeze candle… 'why do I know what tropical breeze candles smell like?' he mused to himself. He expected it to smell like fried everything after a whole day in the diner.
She smiled "you're taking it back in five minutes…" she raised an eyebrow. "Now there's a sight I thought I'd never see" she indicated Rude and 'Thena, who were a good fifteen paces ahead and chatting like old buddies.
"She really is a sweet kid; you should be proud" it was really cold out here…
"She's been more like her old self the last few weeks; I think I have you to thank for that" she punched his arm "so thank you"
"What makes you say that?" he asked
"Well she hasn't been the same since the accident; she's was a lot more withdrawn." She smiled appreciatively at him "But ever since she started hanging out with you she's been like little 'Thena of Nibelhiem again; the social butterfly."
"I didn't know you guys were Nibelhiemian"
"Yep, born and raised. We lived there 'til I was seventeen; I'm surprised I haven't mentioned it before. Skylar's from Nibelhiem too; his family moved out here right before ours did." She chuckled a little "We had this joke out there when I was younger that Nibelhiemian girls are good at four things; cooking, fighting, fucking, and baking" he laughed "I don't know about number three but I'm a pro at one, two and four."
"Hm, sounds l-ike my kind-a women" he chuckled and shivered a little in spite of himself.
"Oh geeze; you're cold take this back" she started to slip the jacket off her shoulders, almost grudgingly and held it out to him.
"Come on Celestia" he pulled the puppy dog eyes "don't spit on my gentlemanly gestures."
"You seem to prefer that name; most people prefer Cela" she was still holding the jacket out; stubborn woman…
He pondered a minute "Well Celestia's just a lot prettier I guess. Besides you look like a Celestia not a Cela."
"My… b…i…g bro…th…e…r w…as th…e sa…me w…ay; he n…ev…er go…t use…d t-t…o call…ing me Ce…la"
"Stop being so stubborn on the jacket issue!" he smiled down at her; her whole arm was shaking as she shivered. "I'm not taking it back; so you might as well wear it."
"M…a…ke m…e p…u…n…k" she smirked at him.
"Oh so it's a challenge then?" she hid the jacket behind her and skipped out of his grasp. He was kind of impressed; she could run circles around him "Hey, no fair" he teased after a moment.
"Want me to make it stop? Just take the jacket b…AACK!" her shoe got caught in a crack and she went flying. He leapt forward fast enough to catch her halfway to the ground. "Nice save" she caught her breath. He could hear a little giggle coming from 'Thena's direction as he helped her right herself.
"You know; I had a notion just now…" he started.
"What's that?" she seemed a little shaken from the fall.
"I won!" he grabbed the jacket out of her hand and threw it over her shoulders. He held it there, probably longer than he should have; long enough to make him feel like he didn't want to let go. He retracted his grasp; feeling slightly embarrassed.
16.Celestia
She felt like a whole flock of butterflies were fluttering away in her stomach; not in a nervous-vomiting kind of way, but a good exhilarating exciting way. "Well if you insist" she slid her arms into the jacket that they were play fighting over. It was of course comically large on her. She felt like a little girl playing dress up in her parent's closet.
He seemed a little shaken himself as he tried to restart some form of conversation "So your sister mentioned that you guys were moving next week…"
She heaved a heavy sigh "Well she is…" she trailed off.
"Really? That's surprising, you guys seem to get along so well…" he ventured.
"Oh 'Thena and I get along great; we're like best buds… it's just…" she searched for the right words to explain the situation. She wanted to be honest; but didn't want to sound weak. The two goals seemed to be mutually exclusive.
"I'm sorry I'm prodding…"
"No, it's just… difficult to explain. See I got roped up in this thing with this guy; and it's not a good situation for 'Thena to be in so she's moving not away from me but from him…" she felt so pathetic.
He was silent for a moment "he's the one who did that to your eye isn't he?" his voice was cold; yet full of concern.
"Yeah" she answered in a low voice. She kept her eyes trained on the ground; she could feel tears burning in them. She knew if her eyes met his she'd break down; 'just look at the sidewalk' a voice rambled in her head. "But if it wasn't me it would be sis; so I can take it…" she ventured a glance up; he was looking off towards the street; away from her. She caught Rude glancing back.
"It shouldn't have to be either of you Celestia" he responded
"I know…" her voice was raspy and weak. "That's why she's getting out of there. She'll be safe…"
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine…"'look at the ground, not him' the voice was getting annoying. Part of her wanted him to ask her right now to leave; to take 'Thena and go, just the four of them. They'd be able to take care of Trent and all the friends he could muster. She'd leave with them without a second thought. But that was unrealistic; besides it was her problem, no one else's. He caught her off guard when he gently grabbed her hand.
He slid a card into her hand and looked her square in the eye. She had to fight the tears back full force. "That's my number and address; if he ever goes too far, anytime, day or night…" he trailed off slightly and brought her close to him. She was literally breathing him in; or at least that delicious cologne he wore. "You both will be safe; I promise." He kissed her forehead; she felt her knees giving out under her.
"Thank you…" was all she could eek out. He kept his arm over her shoulder as they continued walking; more or less guiding her. Her head was spinning as she slid the card into the hidden compartment of her wallet where she kept her emergency money. The rest of the walk was pretty much silent on their end. It was one of those rare situations where no words were spoken but it was still a meaningful exchange. He slid his arm out as they approached the building.
"YO SIS! Get the lead out!" 'Thena's voice dragged her back to reality.
It took her a moment to shake the haze of her day dreams (or in this case night-day dreams) off. "Well thank you guys; I really appreciate it; and it was very nice meeting you" she hugged Rude and gave him a little punch on the arm; it was one of her weird little quirks. It was her second highest form of casual-acquaintance affection; kiss on the cheek was the top. She turned towards Red, who was smiling at her; she hugged him and whispered "You're my hero" into his ear as she pulled away. She started to return to the building when she looked down at her arm and realize she still had his jacket on. "Oh, I almost forgot" she slid out of it and returned it to his owner; along with a little peck on the cheek. She slipped into the building; thankfully 'Thena was still exchanging pleasantries with the guys and she indulged herself in a few tears as she leaned against the wall. In a strange way the hot liquid felt good running down her face; despite the fact that they were tears of sadness and frustration. She quickly wiped them away as 'Thena came in and pretended to be fumbling for her keys.
"Alright sis; start talking" 'Thena started excitedly.
"What are you talking about…" she knew exactly what she was talking about…
"You and Red; what was that about?"
"Nothing happened…" she dropped the keys and some mints out of her purse… 'where the hell is the elevator' she mused to herself. 'Thena was essentially the only person in the building who used it.
"LIAR!" 'Thena playfully teased.
"Nothing happened…" she lied again as they got in the elevator.
"Come on; something happened, you're shaking like a leaf! And Red was a space cadet out there!"
"I'm just tired…" there must've been something in her eyes that told 'Thena to let it go because she didn't breathe another word about it that night. Luckily Trent wasn't home… she took a shower and went to sleep on the sofa; feeling truly exhausted.
Author's note: Insert Anchor Man credit here. OK Kiddies; 2 small points:
If your still reading this I hope it means I hooked 'ya (hey a girl can dream). Again; I like the whole Rude 'Thena dynamic I've got going; don't ask why I can't really explain it I just think it's a kinda cool big brother little sister thing. If you think it's coming of as cheesy or anything message me; I don't want to be affiliated w/ bad writing P
Again; Reno's character, I don't know if his actions seemed totally 'Un-Reno'; I took some liberties that will come to light in later chapters. Hope I haven't offended any hard-core fans.
KFConti