(no subject)

[midgarhorizon]

Characters: Reno, open
Setting: Directly after this
Format: Prose
Summary: After Sephiroth showed up on the wedding post, Reno wants to kill something
Warnings: Pissed off turk





Clenching his fists, he slammed them down on the console, not really enough to hurt it but enough to cause pain. It helped clear his head a bit, and he angrily pushed off and away from the terminal.

He needed to do something, though, and he went back to his room to grab his makeshift poncho and started to head down to the gymnasium. That track, even in the cold, was sounding mighty lonely. It needed someone to run on it.

After a terrifying moment almost falling into Floor 46, he made it mostly unscathed and didn't bother to warm up. He dumped a bottle of water at the starting point, and set off, running around the track as if his life depended on going the fastest he could.

If anyone looked, they might notice that occasionally, he performed different moves. A few jumps into the air, some tumbles ending a slamming kick into the ground. Once or twice, he did a few roundhouse kicks without breaking stride. So much energy bound up in these moves, it was hard not sense the emotions coming off of him.

It wasn't just Sephiroth, it was everything that had happened over the last few months, but most of all it was something that should have been a happy thing, something positive in the hell tower wasn't anymore. All of the physical effort wasn't helping, and he was having second thoughts about asking in the first place.

It was just going to make them more miserable. He had been stupid to think that they could make this a home, or get a tiny bit of... something that wasn't terror, agony, or heartbreak.

Comments

[divinitysoiled]

The gymnasium was an interesting place to Catarina. Controlled space to exercise and tumble? Certainly nice, and something to use in a place such as this. And the one she saw, the aggression shown being worked out- she smiled, the idea of how the aggression could be used in other ways slipping through her head. She had fed recently, well, but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy working out anger in multiple ways.

So she came near him, making sure to be in his line of sight before inclining her head, offering her fists as a target.

[midgarhorizon]

The Turk was too focused, moving too fast to notice her at first. Once around the track, and he noticed there was movement and a shadow. Another half lap and he started to slow down, finally stopping when he got near.

At first, he was confused. Her stance indicated she wanted to fight, but he didn't remember doing anything to her... "Haven't seen you in a while."

[divinitysoiled]

"Been busy," she purred. "Meeting new people, getting to know old. You look tense... like you need some aggression to work off."

She couldn't help the sexual purr, but she did indicate that there were options.

[midgarhorizon]

That just made him more confused, and he tilted his head. It was irritating a bit, and that just made him sound even more gruff when he answered. "I can handle it myself. Wouldn't want ya to get hurt."

[divinitysoiled]

She laughed, deep and rich. "As can I. It does take much to injure me past something I cannot heal easily." Unless he had a holy weapon, but he didn't seem the type. "I'm interested in you. Unless you wish to let it out in a more enjoyable manner...?" She knew the answer. She just couldn't help herself.

[puppy_lancer]

Lancer usually didn't like the gymnasium as a training spot. He preferred more practical forms of keeping up his skills, like fighting monsters and such. However, he managed to make it into this floor while heading toward the storage room.

He catches sight of the other man in the room. Working off emotions through physical exertion is something he can understand. But for things like anger and grief...running wouldn't completely cut it.

"Hey."

He calls out to the man. That guy needs a good fight and Lancer is bored. He might as well as offer to be the guy's sparring partner.

"You look like you could use something more challenging."

[midgarhorizon]

This time, Reno came to a crash and roll when a voice startled him.

He came back up, mostly unharmed, but not very amused. Smoothing out his clothes and hair, he looked at the guy with one eyebrow raised. "Can't a guy just get a workout in peace?"

[puppy_lancer]

Lancer doesn't even snicker at the sight of the other man falling. He only smiles when the other man gets back up.

"I'd say you're not getting the right type of workout. Wanna spar?"

He looks and sounds as casual as he always is, with his arms placed on his waist and a cocky smile on his face.

[midgarhorizon]

Pulling himself up to his full height, he folded his arms and stared at the guy. "What is it with people thinkin' they know what I need or don't need? If you want to fight, just say so and drop the poser act."

[puppy_lancer]

"Because your emotions are just seeping out right now. But sure, let's do it your way. I wanna fight, and hopefully you won't refuse."

[attheclocktower]

It was a little while later before the terminal had finally become too cold to stay at, and Xion had left, heading down to Floor 38 in the hopes that moving around would help her warm up some. It was there that she spotted Reno, watched him for a good long while as he worked out his obvious frustrations.

Xion frowned, a little upset at herself that she hadn't realized how badly what happened earlier could go. Had it been her spilling the news? Or all the awkward questions? Or... what that one guy had said. The one she'd gotten so angry at? The latter seemed the most likely...

Calling out to him seemed like a bad idea, and she waffled for a bit at the idea of starting to practice herself, but in the end she just sat down at the edge of the track, breathing on her fingers to warm them.

And it was there she waited, wondering if there was anything she could do to help fix things.

[midgarhorizon]

There came a time where Reno stopped for a drink of water, and he padded by, breathing heavy. Grabbing the water bottle, he downed the contents, then stood in front of her.

"Xion, what are ya doing here?"

[attheclocktower]

Xion met his eyes briefly, then looked away, biting her lip.

"I thought I'd come down here to warm up some," she mumbled, fully aware that she wasn't doing much to combat that particular problem at all.

Still, that left... "Are... you okay?"

It's a standard question. She isn't sure how else to address how unhappy he looked.

[midgarhorizon]

Reno shook his head and tried to look stern. "Yes. Fine. Why don't you go talk to Elena?"

It was a little odd, to say the least. More an indication of how he was feeling than his words. He did not want another discussion, especially not with Xion.


"I think she could get some help with uh... you know." Not even wanting to say it.

[attheclocktower]

Xion turned slightly pink.

"Th-that's not what I wanted to talk about!" she insisted, turning to look up at him. "I... I can tell something's wrong okay. I'm... I'm sorry if I shouldn't have said anything or... or if it caused problems."

Either from what she'd said or from the replies it had garnered.

[savedbyasong]

Shion had been up to the gymnasium every day since his and Reno's conversation, and every day he came up stared at the floor trying to convince himself he could still train, that if he got better he wouldn't lose control again.

And every day he turned round and left, because he couldn't trust himself. No matter what Reno's death had inadvertently undone it did not change the fact Shion had killed him, it did not undo his crime.

Today though something was different, Reno was there and he didn't look happy. Shion wondered what had happened, and jogged over his face showing worry.

"Reno?"

[midgarhorizon]

Sighing, Reno stopped to let Shion catch up, and rubbed his face, sweeping sweat out of the way. It was cold, but Reno was exerting a lot of energy. "What? What do ya want, Shion?"

[savedbyasong]

"Nothing... What's wrong? Did something happen?" Shion looked worried. He was worried, things went wrong all too often.

[midgarhorizon]

"I'm fine, Shion, for being in the dumbest fuck hole I could have wound up in." The language he used was a dead giveaway he wasn't fine. He rarely talked like that unless he needed something to vent with. "Sephiroth did me a favor and reminded me this whole wedding thing is just gonna lead to more traumatic bullshit."

[savedbyasong]

So he wasn't fine, Shion stepped closer to him shaking his head and gripped his arms. "Are you going to listen to Sephiroth?"

He breathed slowly, counting to ten trying to suppress the urge to go and hunt down Sephiroth for ruining the one good thing to happen to Reno in a long time. Shion might not understand marriage, or why they would get married; he understood the reasoning in his own world, to be a family, to be allowed to be together if one person was elevated or demoted in status. But he doubted the rulers of the tower would care about such things.

But he wasn't about to tell Reno that, because he thought maybe marriage meant something different to him, he had been reading stories about marriage and it was rarely for convenience in those.

[provenworth]

Well, this was an interesting turn of events. And by 'interesting', she could easily say this was an all out cluster-fuck. News had spread fast through the tower - not that she could be angry at Xion. But the attention that it earned was surprising. As if nothing like it had ever happened before.

Pushing herself away from the activity of the network, Elena found herself wandering around in both Tower and thoughts. This....this wasn't how she saw things happening here. She wouldn't lie about her feelings, but with this level of interest and attention, she was worried. Worried that this had inadvertently brought not just herself, but Reno under intense scrutiny. They were, in a sense, being watched under a microscope. And she wasn't entirely sure if the attention would continue after. Doubt gnawed quietly at the edges of her mind.

Of course, it didn't take her long to reach the gym, or to figure out who owned the flurry of movements. She kept quiet, leaning against a nearby wall with arms folded, and let him continue for several more minutes. Clearly there was a lot of pent-up energy - perhaps even anger? - in his system.

Clearing her throat, she pushed off the wall, fingers working the zipper loose of her jacket before removing the fabric. Tossing the jacket aside, she stepped onto the mat, rolling sleeves up. "Care to have an opponent besides the air?"

[midgarhorizon]

He stopped dead when he saw her, and tried to smile- she probably wouldn't buy it though, not when she knew him so well. "Hey, Elena. I was just... practicing a bit. It's been a while, started to get rusty."

Pulling off his blanket-poncho, he shook himself out a bit, feeling the chill in the air clash against his overheated body. "You sure you want to spar with me right now? I..." Suddenly, he deflated. "I'm not convincing you, right? I don't know, Elena. I'm too wound up, and I don't want to hurt ya."

[provenworth]

Bringing both white sleeves of her blouse to up above her elbows, she continued her slow walk towards him. A corner of her mouth curled up into a small smirk, her head shaking. It was damn obvious that something was definitely wrong, but she wasn't about to call him out on it - yet. "I don't know about that - you looked pretty sharp."

With a quiet, scrutinizing eye, Elena walked around him in a tight circle. She wanted to first check to make sure he didn't have any injuries and then secondly allow him time to cool down before getting him working again. A short, amused chuckle bubbled up form her chest before she spoke.

"Yes, I'm sure. I've got three years of training with you and Rude under my belt. I'm pretty sure I can take what you throw at me." As she passed by, she gave his shoulder a pat before turning, her body moving into a neutral stance. "Besides, its about time I show you just what I'm capable of."

[midgarhorizon]

That wasn't quite what he had been expecting, and he gave her a confused glance. "You sure about this?" It was true, even listening to everyone about what happened in the years after Meteor, sometimes he forgot they were older than he remembered them, and still reverted back to his memories. He didn't know what she was capable of now, but if it was anything like his expectations of her when she was still a rookie, he wouldn't be disappointed.

"Elena, you don't have to prove yourself. You did that a long time ago."

[provenworth]

Her haughty, almost cocky grin could have been the only response she needed to his question. But, keeping to her own nature and in response to his look, she would still answer his question. "Of course I'm sure. I'll even let you have the first move."

Elena wouldn't lie to herself by saying she was engaging him only for his own sake - the man looked like he could kill something and that sort of energy needed to be used before something dangerous happened. It had been a very, very long time since she had herself a proper training session as well. The last one she had - with Reno, she mused - had been right before the trip to Northern Crater. That little memory earned an unwelcome shiver.

"MMmmm. I'm going to have to disagree. My record here hasn't exactly been stellar and before I got here...well... I'm sure you've heard." That she was an utter disappointment - that she hadn't been good enough to get both herself and Tseng out of that freezing pit. Sure, they'd managed to survive, but that had been because of Valentine's timing and - Stop it. "Now c'mon, Reno. Take the first shot."