A Day in the Life
Collection of drabbles.
l l l Part 25 l l l
The sun was setting on the horizon, casting hues of reds, yellows, and purples across the darkening sky. Faintly twinkling stars were peeking through the twilight, begging to be seen.
And Reno had his eyes closed.
Sitting beside him, Tseng sipped nonchalantly from his glass, ice clinking together with the movement. His gaze was caught by the dusk.
The two Turks had been sitting thus for over an hour, not a word spoken between them. Words weren't necessary. They both worked most of the same missions, and there was no need to discuss them. Especially today.
However, while they weren't talking about it, they were both replaying it silently in their minds.
An audible sigh came from Reno's silent figure, which caused Tseng to tilt his head to get a better look at the younger Turk. The redhead was sprawled out languorously across one of the balcony chairs sitting outside Tseng's apartment, his goggles AWOL, his suit barely put together, and he looked in dire need of a shower. But he was relaxed—or at least that was the impression he was trying to convey. Instead, Tseng could clearly see the lines across the young man's face. Reno's eyebrows were drawn together and his shoulders were tense. It was as if he couldn't let himself relax. And Tseng knew the redhead was drunk. He'd seen how much alcohol the younger man had consumed, and he was well-aware of how much it would take to intoxicate the man. But through the haze of his inebriation, he'd still not let himself unwind.
Tseng wasn't sure Reno'd ever really let himself relax. Though he often displayed an ostentatious persona, he was anything but. During the many years Tseng had known him, Reno was always intensely private and never revealed anything more than he had to about his personal life. Obviously, the Turk leader had perused Reno's file many times over the years, but he knew there was much more to Reno's life than he let on.
"Have you ever wanted out?"
Reno's softly spoken, barely audible voice cut through the silence and caused Tseng to jerk his eyes up to the other Turk's face. They were half-lidded and glazed, but Tseng could tell he was all there. His question threw Tseng mentally off-balance and he tried to make sense of what the redhead was asking. He realized he too was a little buzzed and wondered momentarily if Reno had even said anything. Then the words filtered in through the haze of his inebriation and he caught on to Reno's unexpected train of thought.
Wanted out of what?
He placed his glass down on the table between them and the sound was harsh and clear, causing both to blink. Reno's eyes cleared as if he suddenly realized whom he was talking to and what he'd been asking. He cleared his throat and straightened up in his chair before turning his gaze toward the sky which was now fully darkened by the night.
"Forget about it, yo." His voice was vaguely nervous and disarmingly young. "I think I've had too much to drink," he admitted. He glanced briefly at Tseng before lifting his own glass and raising it up with a smirk.
Tseng wasn't fooled at all. He knew exactly what Reno had been thinking—and he'd been thinking it, too.
l l l
to be continued.