all that jazz
theme 08: secrets and lies
It was rare to find Reno asleep, since he was usually such a light sleeper.
This meant, or so Elena assumed, that he was either stoned (unlikely), extremely tired (also unlikely), or had drank too much alcohol (very likely).
And so an ingenious idea began to grow in the rookie Turk's mind.
Rude stopped, stared for about half a minute, raised one eyebrow, and finally asked the impending question that he wondered about for two minutes.
The petite woman was positively glowing.
"… Elena. What are you doing?" He would be lying if he said that his voice was a little bit like a mentor reprimanding his favourite protégé, wary of her antics.
"Mm?" She smiled, brighter than sunshine. "Oh nothing. Although…" Her eyes glinted, charmed by whatever revelation occurred in her mind. "I bet you could help me."
"…"
"Come on, follow me." She said, leading him to the unconscious Reno.
Reno's fingernails were already painted in clashing colours, no immediate pattern coming to mind: black, yellow, red, orange, green, blue, pink, white and silver. It looked odd… to say the least.
"Huh."
"I haven't even started: I've got blusher, mascara, lipstick, and so on, girl stuff, you understand." Elena rubbed her hands in glee. "Lend me a hand?"
… it's not much, but Rude experimented with Reno's locks of red hair, eventually settling on plaits, for that 'country girl' look.
And, it's a look that brought out Reno's high cheekbones. Most fitting.
"Elena."
"Mmmhmm?" Elena finished with the face, and began to pull off Reno's socks.
"… what are we going to tell him?" Rude was quite… curious to know.
"The truth!" She flashed him a grin. "He got so wasted that he did it to himself. Caught in a floozy state, deliria made him… pretty. Shiny. And the like."
"That's anything but the truth." And actually, it sounded familiar, for some reason…
"Well, then – it'll be our secret. Care to be my partner in crime?" A dimple danced, too far gone in mischief.
And—
"Hey, you—"
Elena tapped her nose, winking. No doubt she realized that he knew why the phrase seemed familiar; he had been in a situation quite similar to this.
"Our lie."