(no subject)

[sleazeoverstyle]

"Strap in, Chuck." He does the final check and all systems are a go. Of friggin' course they are; he does the maintenance on this helicopter himself whenever he can. Shin-Ra 3, ready and waiting. Because he can, he reaches over and adjusts the noise-reduction phones on Charlie's head, shows her how to use the mic so she can talk to him over the noise of the rotors, makes sure her seat belt's all fastened up the right way, and hands her a map of the known world, or the planet Gaia, whichever she wants to call it. There's a big red X next to Midgar.

"We're here. We got enough fuel in this thing to make it just about anywhere, and I can always put down for more if we need it. Any of those place names strike your fancy, Pie Lady?" There are some places he'd talk her out of goin' on general principle. Like... he just went to Costa del Sol and Gold Saucer with Lara and he ain't sure how much more fun in the sun he can stand. But there's all sorts of shit to do, from the port at Junon to a flyby of the Northern Crater, to the pretty little town of Nibelheim. The only place he ain't gonna go is Wutai, 'cause there's people there who don't like him real well.

Wait, what the hell's he sayin'? There's people everywhere who don't like him real well. But still, he ain't goin' to Wutai.

"Except here." He points the skinny little sliver of world out to her. "Or if nothin' calls to you by name, we can just fly around for a while and stop where we feel like stoppin'." He has to file some sort of flight plan, but he'll figure that out.

Comments

[sleazeoverstyle]

"Some of 'em, sure." Local wildlife to him, more or less. "Some of 'em have special attacks and shit. Some just steal stuff from you. You know that bracelet you got? That's armor, Chuck. Keep you protected, especially if you equip it. It's got a slot in there for materia. Depending what kind you use, you get a different kind of protection. Materia's the pretty glowing stuff in the little orbs you saw back in the item shop in Midgar."

He steers the helicopter up and away, back over open ocean. It's still turquoise beneath them, but gets darker quickly.

"But don't worry. I wouldn't let nothin' hurt you. Not on my watch." This chopper's equipped with all sorts of stuff he ain't told her about, 'cause why bother? They haven't needed it. "And we're safe in the cities." Safe being a relative term and all. Like... oh, say Sephiroth respawned or whatever and summoned Meteor again? Then the cities ain't so safe. But how likely is that?

Not likely at all.

[timedeniedme.livejournal.com]

Charlie looks over at him. "You mean there were dangerous monsters out there and you didn't warn me!" She smacks him on the shoulder playfully in case her voice doesn't make it clear that she's teasing him.

"You're a big meanie, Reno!"

[sleazeoverstyle]

"Yeah, that's me. And you already met the most dangerous monster of all. That's my sister."

He can take bein' smacked. It sure as fuck ain't the first time it's happened, and he expects it's gonna happen again right about now for what he just said.

[timedeniedme.livejournal.com]

He's right because she totally smacks him again. "Hey! I like your sister!" The attempt to sound outraged didn't work as well as it might have if she weren't laughing in obvious amusement.

[sleazeoverstyle]

"HEY." He rubs his arm but it's all fake melodrama, fake agony. "I like my sister too. Just don't tell anyone I said so. I got a reputation to protect."

Now he's all kinds of amused, and reaches into his jacket pocket, holds out a little bag for her. "Here, Chuck. I got you something at the beach when you weren't lookin'." Nah, she was too busy oohing and aahing over the bangles, but he found this little tiny sliver of a necklace at a stand outside. Silver chain, real petite, and a little carving made of some beach coral or some shit like that. It ain't supposed to mean nothin', but he liked it.

The fuck, right? He must've been a lot more relaxed than he thought.

[timedeniedme.livejournal.com]

"You did, did you?" she laughs as she takes the bag and reaches inside. She stops laughing when her hand comes back out. "Oh my gosh," she breathes, "it's..." she isn't sure how to describe it.

"Reno, you didn't have to..."

[sleazeoverstyle]

"Shit, I didn't? Well. Give it to me, then. I'll turn around and take it back." He makes a grab for it, but it's half-hearted as anything; the helicopter swoops down toward the water for a minute but that was purely intentional. He ain't gonna crash 'em.

"Just kidding. It's no big deal, Charlie. Just thought you'd like it. Since you were busy lookin' for souvenirs and all." The chopper levels off again; he gives her a baby smile.

He'll take payment in pie.

[timedeniedme.livejournal.com]

Charlie starts to move to hand it back to him before she realizes he's joking. That takes her a second because it's a beautiful piece and she can't imagine him meaning to get it for her.

When she does she just shakes her head and smiles. "You're a real brat sometimes. You know that don't you?"

[sleazeoverstyle]

"Yeah. I might've heard it once or twice."

(That friggin' grin stays on his face halfway across the ocean.)

---

It's one more perfect landing in a whole series of perfect landings and he can add that to his resume if he ever decides to quit his job at Shin-Ra, which he won't, 'cause there ain't no other jobs to be had on the whole friggin' planet that give him the kind of freedom this one does. He can go wherever the fuck he wants, do whatever the fuck he wants, and people nod and call him sir whether they like it or not, and the shit he did in the past stays in the past and now, while he ain't exactly a model citizen or nothin', at least they're doing a couple good things for the good of the Planet, and maybe somewhere some day that'll make a difference of the good variety instead of the bad. People like Tifa ain't ever gonna forgive him for the shit he did, and why should she? Why should they? He killed all those people.

A little bit at a time, he could make up for it and now, as he opens the door for Charlie and helps her down out of the helicopter and reaches for her pack, he shrugs and walks them away from the landing pad. "So. Day's almost done. You got a burning desire to go back to Sector Five? Or you ready to go home?"

Either way's good. He still has the bar's knife in his pocket and it'll still open a door for them no matter where they are, he's pretty sure. All depends on if Charlie's had enough yet.

[timedeniedme.livejournal.com]

She grins, eying the pack. "Half the stuff in there is yours, I think." All those toiletries she'd borrowed. "You want to drop it off at your place before I head home. Because I feel like I've imposed enough."

Her hand drifts down to her pocket, where she stashed the little necklace. More than enough, really.

She also doesn't know how long she can stay here, and she doesn't want to push her luck.

[sleazeoverstyle]

"Nah. I don't care much about things." The only thing he really does care about, actually, is that knife that used to belong to Riley but other than that... nah, everything's replaceable. She can even keep his Shin-Ra softball league t-shirt if she has it: don't matter to him.

And he has to clear up one thing. "Remember, Chuck, I invited you here. It wasn't some imposition. I had a good time." He has, too. He got to fly to some of his favorite places, and she smiled and laughed a lot, and that's the measure of somethin' or other in his book. Maybe some day he'll even figure out what.

In the meantime, he fingers that knife in his pocket as he opens the door leading off the roof. Where there ought to be a little lobby and a bunch of elevators and stairs, there's a bar.

Just like that.

"Home, you said." Seems like the trip went awful friggin' fast.

[timedeniedme.livejournal.com]

"Thanks, Reno," she leans over and gives him a peck on the cheek. "It's been a whole lot of fun."

She swings her backpack over one shoulder and reaches out to grab his hand so she can tug him through. "Let me treat you to dinner or something..."

And just like that, her vacation is over (http://community.livejournal.com/milliways_bar/21603455.html). And she has no regrets.