intraspective | Gold Saucer, Gaia, Thursday Fandom Time

Rosa had voted for the sunny shores of Costa del Sol, but she'd been out-voted three-to-one.

They'd wound up at the Gold Saucer instead. It was tacky, it was beautiful. There wasn't an inch of that wasn't infused and inundated with blaring noises and lights that dazzled the senses. It was rotten to the core and unabashed about it. Come play a game, the Gold Saucer beckoned, try and win against me.

Ino loved it.

She loved the sparkling lights, the crowds, the sheer noise of it. She loved the quiet glittering world that spread out beneath her when she rode the gondola, she loved the chocobo races, she loved all the different ways she could cause trouble and not get in trouble.

(Though her uniform likely helped with that.)

As soon as they'd ditched their things in their hotel room, Ino had grabbed Reno, since Rosa had been too slow at not being left with Rude to avoid such a fate (secretly, that was exactly what Rosa had wanted), and headed out.

They hit the games room about twenty minutes after they'd arrived. Two Turks, in jet black suits, Reno's looking sloppy, hers' adorned with a flimsy pink ribbon instead of a tie. His hair was pulled back into that ridiculous ponytail of his, while her hair was loose and shimmering down around her in a pale blonde waterfall. Neither of them was visible armed, which meant nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

She tended to bounce a little when she walked, he sauntered, or slouched, as the step and his mood took him.

Ino's grin was unrepentant as she took in the rising wariness of the employees of the Gold Saucer and picked out her first target.

"Oh my gods," Ino said, leaning around Reno, and pointing with one hand. Her nails were the same pink as her ribbon. "Reno, you still owe me from the last job. Get me one of those chocobo plushies or I cut you."

[OOC: Unlike the puppy, as of this post, Ino is reachable by phone/email/text! Post is for the one she's threatening to cut and anyone who feels like calling. I'm so happy to have her back! \o/]

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"I should make you do it," she said, sticking her tongue out at him. "Since you're such a slacker and all."

"I earn my keep, yo," Reno protested lightly. Though, after a pause, he amended, "When it matters, anyway."

Why the hell put in more effort than was strictly necessary whenever he was off the clock?

"You're just getting old," she said and offered him her chocobo. "If I'm going to save your sorry ass from having to work, you can earn your keep by looking after this guy. Treat him better than you treat your gil, yoto."

Did it make sense to make him work to avoid having to work? No? Ino didn't care.

"Yeah, sure," Reno laughed, tucking the chocobo under his mog-free armpit. "Show this old man here how it's done, Rookie."

"It's not fair that I can't go for a three in one," she said, giving the machine her gil and shaking out her fingers. Making a show out of doing so. "But we can't all get lucky 'bout where they're placed."

"That said, you manage to pull it off, and I'll buy your drinks for the next week," Reno teased. "C'mon, Rookie. Show me up."

Ino snorted a laugh and shook her head, which sent her loose hair tumbling around. "Maybe I'll tell Rude and Rosa that you said you would anyway. They'll believe me."

They probably wouldn't. But they wouldn't believe Reno either.

That worked.

"But, okay, sure. First some readjustments to the toy configuration..."

It was totally cheating to shake the entire machine. Ino? Ino didn't care as she gave it two good shakes anyway.

There was a reason the Gold Saucer staff hated the Turks. That wasn't stopping Reno from leaning back and smirking. Like he cared enough about playing fair to call her out on something as little as shaking a machine that most people thought was rigged in the first place? Honestly, now.

Oh, please, the Turks tipped well and the only trouble they caused was all in good fun. There were worse things. Like them on the job. If the Gold Saucer employees were lucky, they'd never see that part of them.

She stepped back and grinned the adamantaimai landed right by the cactuar. The flower prong was a little further away, but totally within reach of the claw--if positioned carefully. It was true that she wasn't as good at this sort of thing as Reno (he had more practice) but she was pretty damn good. She thought her chances were more than fifty-fifty.

"You sure you don't want to change your mind about buying my drinks?" she asked.

"Wow me first, then we'll talk," Reno laughed. He wasn't tying himself into any deal he couldn't weasel his way out of, Ino. Sorry.

Darnit!

She rolled her eyes at him, straightened her shoulders and went for the three toys.

"Yes! All three!" Now, just to bring them over to the drop... closer, closer... closer... and then, right at the edge of the dropbox... "Oh, come on! Flower prong, fall in! Don't hang there on the edge!"

Well, two out of a three was pretty good? They were tied?

Ino studied the machine thoughtfully. Could she knock the third toy down into the chute? Should she?

Reno gave the machine a scrutinizing sort of look.

"Eh, close enough for government work."

And then, ever so casually, he leaned sideways and thumped a shoulder against the box. So that he could lean against it, obviously. Nothing suspect over here.

Ino held her breath as the toy teetered, teetered and... fell down the chute. Then she squealed.

"All three are mine!" she said, scooping them out of there before anyone could even try and tell her differently. "One flower prong, one bald cutie, one cactaur that needs a serious makeover!"

She'd buy Reno a drink later, but really, acknowledging that he'd helped her out now would take the fun out of it.

Reno just grinned, never one to take the fun out of something if he could help it.

"Tseng is gonna shit himself," he decided. "I can't wait, yo. Hey, Rookie, what do you say we hit up somethin' else now? We've gotten all the good ones outta here, I think."

"All right," she said, holding up her prizes to make sure they were as cute as could be gotten from a crane game. "I was getting bored anyway. Did you have something in mind?"

She peeked in on Rosa's mind and ducked out again. "Rosa 'n Rude are watching one of those shows. I don't really want to go and do that."

Booooring.

"Ugh, anything but that," Reno agreed, wrinkling his nose and making no secret of the fact that he'd sooner have root canal done than go see a play or something. "What about we go play somethin' that'll win us some new materia, next? I can always use some more thundaga."

As if he didn't have enough already.

"It's the best materia," she said happily, since she was also loaded up on it. "I think the battle game was doing materia as a prize. Or chocobo racing?"

"Like hell I'm sittin' my ass on one of them birds," Reno snorted. "Fightin's more my speed, yo. You?"

"I don't like the handicaps they give you," she sniffed. "I'm going to go find the birds. Meet up in a bit?"

"Meet up in a bit," Reno agreed, smirking. "Don't bet on any bird I wouldn't bet on, yo."

... Let's be real. Reno would bet on any one of them.

"Oh, please," Ino said, waving him off. "I'll find you! Don't kill anyone I wouldn't kill."

And in reply to that, Reno just gave her a wink and blew her a kiss before tossing her chocobo plush back to her and then vanishing into the crowd.

Gold Saucer, Gaia, Thursday Fandom Time

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