Disclaimer: Nope. Atleast… Not yet. Mua ha ha ha ha.

Summary: After discovering Rude's secret, some interesting memories return to Reno's conscious.

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A soothing pitter-patter commenced across the apartment building's burgundy shingles. The rhythmic rain was relaxing, but it differed drastically from the distressing feeling that boiled within Reno's throat. He was lying atop the covers of his twin bed, favouring the right side, as if he longed for the left to be filled with another warm body. His hands were clasped together beneath his head for support as he pinched his eyes shut and took a deep breath. After a few moments, the creases in Reno's eyelids relaxed as he slowly released the air held within his lungs and faced the emotions burrowed within his neck.

Uncomfortably, the man turned onto his side and glanced at his alarm clock. The bright red numbers reading "2:43" were almost mesmerizing as they persistently flashed in his face. Reno's simple room would fill with a blinding red hue before vanishing to darkness once again. The pattern continued as his gaze was diverted to the white ceiling, his eyes glazing over. Quickly Reno shook away his sadness and remembered the reason for his state.

flashback

Reno nervously rubbed his hands together. A shaky sigh fell from his lips as his glance hastened upwards; his mind was contemplating the different events that could possibly unfold in consequence from his future actions. Thinking he had reached some sort of conclusion, Reno let out a breath of assurance.

Swiftly, he glided toward the kitchen where Elena was cleaning the dishes from the previous meal. Reno subtly did a brief breath check before engaging in a conversation with his ex-colleague.

"Hey 'Lena," he stated simply as he slid into a stool next to their bar style counter and rested his arms against the cold laminate.

Elena looked up briefly before snatching a wet rag and scrubbing the area near the man's arms. "Yes?"

Reno leaned forward confidently. He was tremendously skilled at hiding any type of fear. "And how are you doing today, Lanes?"

Elena ceased her cleaning and slowly brought her head up to meet his gaze. Staring at him peculiarly, she asked, "what do you want, Reno?"

The fire-head noted how she instantly saw right through him. He scoffed slightly before disguising his tone of voice with a layer of sarcasm so thick that it dripped.

"What? Me? Nothing! You know, Elena, you are very paranoid. Can't I enquire as to how my dear friend is doing this lovely morning?"

Elena's gawp transformed from curious to questioning. "Reno, it's almost three o'clock."

Colour began to prickle Reno's face, but he refused to allow his embarrassment display. "Oh, now how did that happen?"

The Turk's slur of words evolved into mumbles under his breath as he made an effort to recall. "What could I have been up to last night that made me so goddamn exhaust–" He paused as memories struck. Grinning cheekily, he released a small chuckle. "Oh, right."

The woman rolled her eyes. "Honestly Reno, can you cut the mindless drabble and get to the point? I got a lot of cleaning to do before I get ready for my shift at work, so could you stop wasting my time?"

Her eyes were tired and exposed years the rest of her youthful appearance would never reveal. Reno felt a little pang of guilt for never helping maintain the apartment.

"Elena," he gently tugged the cloth away from her grasp. "Don't worry about the mess, I'll deal with it."

The blonde cocked an eyebrow. "And by 'deal with it' you mean ignore it, don't you?"

Reno was slightly irritated by the comment despite the fact that it held quite a bit a verity. "No, it doesn't mean I'll ignore it!"

"Oh, you're right, it means 'Rude'll do it'"

"Shit Elena, I try to help you and this is what I get?" His furrow cast shadows over his eyes but even the absence of light couldn't hide the hurt. "Well, fuck it, 'cause apparently I'm useless."

He turned to walk away, but Elena caught his wrist. She felt remorse for her lack of trust.

"No…" Reno faced her. "Reno, look, I'm sorry. It's just, well, I don't know… It's not often you offer to help, y'know?"

Reno shrugged in response.

Elena continued. "Um… Well, thanks. It'd be great of you to clean this up." She smiled brightly, trying to diminish any tension between them. Reno simply nodded in acknowledgment.

"Now… You were gonna ask me something, weren't you?"

Memories came swirling back and Reno remembered why he originally approached the blonde.

"Oh… yeah," he rubbed his neck as his previous thoughts came rushing home from the brief delay.

Elena tilted her head as she listened intently. Reno noticed it was a habit she often did.

"I was just wondering if, maybe, sometime we could… I dunno, hang out or something?"

Confused, Elena glanced to the side. "What do you mean? We hang out all the time, Reno."

"Um, well, I was thinking more along the lines of a…" Just do it, Reno. Just blurt it out! "A date, Elena. Will you go out on a date with me?"

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Author's Note: Bad place to end, I know. But don't worry; I've already started the next bit… So the wait won't be as long as last time… Which was pretty insane. I'm sorry. Tear. Anyone who read this from the start must have completely lost interest. Sob. But I'm trying my best to be better, I promise! So… do you forgive me? -Puppy eyes-… Anyway, I ended it here 'cause I really wanted to split Reno's flashback into two parts and what better place to stop then the biggest cliffhanger point possible? Well… It's not really a cliffhanger. It's hard to make a cliffhanger when nothing is really happening… but I try. So… I also wanna get some action in here. (After Reno's flashback is complete) Do you think it'd be too much? I just find action adds a lot. Opinions? Ergh, I ramble too much. Just review, okay?