chapter 2
Ren's lost in paperwork. For whatever reason, things are just piling up, and she can't get her head above water and she feels like she's failing, starting to drown under all of the crap her father buried the business within, and she can't get her head around it, over it, she's just... she's sinking. She buries her face in her hands, a rare moment of vulnerability, of weakness, and she wishes, not for the first time, that Donno was by her side, ready to flick a knife at someone, to bring her a plate a food, to say something dry and mundane that would still bring her to the cusp of cracking up.
She feels like she's about to just grab a match and burn it all down when- a shrill sound cuts through the air and stops her short. She gasps for air and coughs, digging her knuckles just under her collarbone and finally getting a breath in before grabbing her phone and bringing it up to her sight line to read it. She barely registers the name flashing there before she taps desperately, accepting the request. "Donno!" she exclaims, trying to sound normal.
He blinks at her, eyes immediately taking their usual path as he examines the screen before him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she insists. "Just..." She twists the phone around and lets him see the state of her overflowing desk, and when she turns the screen back around, his expression gives nothing away but there's a glint of surprise in his eyes. "Yeah, I'm having a really good time over here."
"I can call back later," he says.
"No, you will not!" she all but snaps at him, and he pauses, waiting for her to clarify that thought. "Just... talk to me, alright?"
He gives her another one-over before shrugging. "I used the mental Kuzuski distraction technique today," he finally says.
She freezes and takes her turn at examining the screen, searching what of his face she can see, before barking out a laugh that seems to startle both of them. "The shirt tearing and everything?"
"And everything," he confirms, lips twitching as she giggles helplessly into her hand.
"Alright," she sighs, giving up on the paperwork for at least right now. "This story I have to hear, and don't leave any details out."
She kicks her shoes off and curls up in a chair as far as she can get away from the desk without completely leaving the room, Donno's slow, comforting voice washing over her as he explains something about a squatter in one of Tonya's homes, and everything that came from that.
"Well, look at you," Ren says once he finally finishes. "You're a hero."
He scoffs. "Please."
"You are, saving that careless sheriff's department from losing a witness like that. I leave you for a few weeks and you're already making yourself invaluable."
He shrugs. "The only value I care about being is to you," he says.
Ren nods, her lips twitching a little. "I know," she murmurs. "But you're happy, right, Donno? With Tonya, and the restaurant, and..."
He sits quietly for a few moments. "Are you?"
Ren thinks about it. "I will be," she finally settles on.
Donno nods, a jerky little motion that somehow looks even more choppy over the phone. "Then I will be too."
Ren smiles faintly, leans back into the chair and exhales, gaze wandering over to the paperwork still waiting. "Same next time week?"
"Same time next week."
Unfolding herself from the chair, she stands and returns to the desk, determined anew to get a grasp on the mess before her.