Room 512, Monday Early Morning

[intraspective]

Ino was drowsy, and warm, and comfortable. Michael’s arm was draped over her and she came to wakefulness slowly. She blinked up at the ceiling for a few moments, just orienting herself, and trying not to think too hard about any of the emotional tangles that she could get caught in.

Just good fun.

And if she kept telling herself that, maybe it’d be true.

Carefully sitting up, not wanting to wake Michael--no surprise that she’d be up earlier than him really, not with her training—Ino glanced over at him, almost fondly--

And froze.

Those were... scars. On his back. Faint, but there. Ino leaned over to get a better look, one hand reaching to gently trace them, as her eyes narrowed.

[For the boy in the bed! Room and boy modded with permission! That Ino and Michael woke up together and talked is FB everything else, including the topic, is severely NFB.]

Comments

[rebelheartalien.livejournal.com]

"Nothing to get too much attention. Dean did punch him out when we were leaving."

[intraspective]

"I think I owe Dean a thank-you card or something," she mused. "What do you think?"

[rebelheartalien.livejournal.com]

Michael laughed.

"I think he might be kind of confused, but go for it."

[intraspective]

"Why should he be confused?" Ino asked, her hand leaving his back to play with his hair now. "Really now."

[rebelheartalien.livejournal.com]

"It was a while ago." His head tipped back into her hand. "But then, you'd explain."

[intraspective]

"Maybe I would," she said, smiling down at him. "Or maybe I'd try that whole woman of mystery thing."

[rebelheartalien.livejournal.com]

"And then he'd be confused."

[intraspective]

She laughed. "I'll figure something out, I'm sure."

[rebelheartalien.livejournal.com]

Michael grinned up at her, then tried to look over his own shoulder at the scars.

"Almost forgot those were there, anyway."

[intraspective]

She smiled, moving her hand so he could more easily look. "Well, it's not like you can easily look at them yourself, I suppose."

But she'd remember them.

[rebelheartalien.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, true. And it's not like they hurt anymore."

[intraspective]

"Yeah," Ino said slowly, wrestling with her temper. "There's that too."

[rebelheartalien.livejournal.com]

"They didn't much ever, 'cept for the first couple of minutes", he said casually. "Chafed, didn't hurt too bad."

[intraspective]

Hank was a dead man if she ever got the chance. Yeah.

"I think your opinion of pain is slightly skewed," she said carefully. "It never should've happened."

[rebelheartalien.livejournal.com]

"Oh, sure. But it did, and it could've been worse. Wasn't even enough he had to take me to the hospital."

Hank was careful about that.

[intraspective]

She should, really, get an award for how well she was keeping her temper. No control? She had plenty of control.

"Can still do a lot of damage without having to seek help to heal it," she noted.

[rebelheartalien.livejournal.com]

Michael sighed and turned over for a proper look at her.

"It was usually surface damage. I promise."

He was only talking physically, of course, for the most part.

[intraspective]

"I'm the one that healed our bruises last time," she said quietly, thinking of all the other damage that had been done. "Don't you dare try to downplay it."

[rebelheartalien.livejournal.com]

"Bruises are surface damage", he said equally quietly, trying to meet her eyes. "They heal, and they're gone. Same for the little cuts I got these from."

Little, but deep.

[intraspective]

"They still hurt you," she said, avoiding his eyes. "And deeply."

It didn't matter if they were only minor injuries, that wasn't the point. The point was the intent behind them. She wouldn't have cared if he'd gotten bruised while playing a game, or the cuts from the same. It was the reasons behind the injuries, however long ago the actually wounds had healed, that upset her.

[rebelheartalien.livejournal.com]

"Ino, look at me." He waited a second, then continued. "It'd have hurt me if someone I loved did this. I never loved Hank."

[intraspective]

She looked at him when he asked her to. "It's still sad," she said, quietly. "So much time lost."

[rebelheartalien.livejournal.com]

"I wasn't alone." He raised a hand to her face. "Not for too long."

Just three years.

[intraspective]

"For too long," she disagreed, closing her eyes when he touched her face. "Too long."

She didn't need to know how long it had been in years, it was easy to see that there was damage done and that meant it had been too long.

[rebelheartalien.livejournal.com]

Michael, unfortunately, was in thorough denial about any and all damage.

"But that part's over now too."