Room 504, Tuesday Morning

[intraspective]

Ino wasn’t feeling that great today, mostly a low-level blahness that was a precursor to an all-out cold or flu. She was lying flat on her stomach, sprawled out on her bed with a blanket draped over her, reading through her medical notes and wondering why on earth curing basic colds wasn’t one of the first things that was covered.

Seriously, people. She didn’t want to get or be sick. Why wasn’t there any information about it? Geez.

Ino huffed, and reached for her tea. Which had grown cold. Wonderful.

[Door is open a crack, post is totally open!]

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[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"Somewhat, yes," he admitted with a brief blush, "but someone made me think I should at least give it a chance. I tried it and actually found something that didn't bother my sensibilities."

Yeah, reality television at it's finest.

[intraspective]

She was going to blink at him more now.

"You actually found something half decent?"

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He nodded almost too quickly.

"It's brilliant," he said, eyes bright

"There are a number of special chefs who are the proprietors of a certain arena and they host for others to come and compete against them in a one hour duel wherein they have to work a single ingredient into each of their dishes. They specialize by style of cooking, the special chefs anyway, and then a panel of judges make odd comments about it and give them scores."

He grinned.

"It's fascinating."

[intraspective]

...Ino could practically feel her braincells cringing away from that idea.

She was so glad she hated sitting still long enough to watch television most of the time.

"It sounds weird," she decided, but amicably enough, sipping more soup.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He blinked but nodded, looking a little deflated.

"I suppose it's a little unorthodox," he had to agree. "But it's interesting to watch."

He leaned back and smiled at her.

"I'm still not much of a television user, but it'll give me something to talk about."

[intraspective]

"It might be good," she offered, feeling bad about the deflating, "but I don't watch much and you've got to at least admit that it sounds weird."

Mmmm, soup. And blanket. Blankets were nice. "You don't have enough to talk 'bout?"

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"I'm no good at explaining things, so you're probably right.

"But I thought it would be something that isn't... floating pencils and dusting the bookstore and cookies, at least," he said with a faint smile. The deflating didn't last long.

"Something I'd share with others. Being the odd one out wears thin, after a while."

[intraspective]

"You think too much 'bout being the odd one out," she said, finishing the soup and setting the bowl aside, while pulling up the blanket.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He shook his head.

"Not really."

Yes, he did. But he didn't really want to talk about it.

"Feeling warmer?"

[intraspective]

"You're lying," she said, almost drowsily. "And a bit."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"Disagreeing," he said. "It's relative."

His eyes scanned around until he found her tea.

"Warm that up for you?"

[intraspective]

She wriggled another blanket up around her, leaning into it, and watching him through half shut eyes.

"I like you even if you don't do things for me, so you don't got to," she said, "and I'll keep liking you though you think too much 'bout your differences instead of how you're the same as anyone else. But I still say you're lying."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He looked at her, honestly looked at her.

"I'm not doing things to make you like me. I'm doing things because I care about you."

And that was true.

"And maybe I do," he told her with a shrug.

[intraspective]

She stared back at him. "And sometimes it feel like you're doing those things 'cause you think I won't keep caring if you don't."

And if he did, then she'd rather not have him do any of it at all.

"That's better."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"I'm not," he told her plainly. "I do it because it's one of the easiest ways of letting you know I care. The most familiar way for me. And because I want to."

He looked to her then, a content sort of expression.

"Nothing I do can make you care or not care, at least when it comes to that kind of thing. I've learned that lesson well enough."

[intraspective]

"I don't like being coddled," she said petulantly. "It's just adding weakness."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He looked at her for a moment, just looked at her, and nodded his head before standing up.

"I'll just go now, before... anything."

He bowed his head to her once more before reaching down to pick up his bag.

[intraspective]

"I didn't say go," she said peevishly, "you're just going 'cause now you're worried I'll fly off the handle and that's no way to be either. If you just leave all the time nothing changes."

Ino was rambling. She'd blame that cold she didn't have.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He turned to her.

"You didn't say go, but I would like to go," he told her as he hitched the bag over his shoulder. "And I'm not worried you'll fly off anything. The staff's over in the corner."

A small joke.

"I'm glad you're feeling a bit warmer, but I should get to my own practice. Altra shouldn't be away from Karal for too long, so I'd rather not waste his time when he comes."

[intraspective]

"Mmmmm," Yeah, Ino didn't believe him.

"Liir?"

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He tilted his head.

"Yes?"

[intraspective]

"Love you," she said, deliberately keeping most of her attention on the fun process of wriggling under more blankets.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He smiled a little as he made his way to the door.

"Love you too," he told her.

Then he headed out.

[intraspective]

"Even when you're lying," she muttered, mostly to herself since he'd already gone. "Crazy."

She was going to nap now though. Ino curled up, careful not to lay on any of her scrolls, and closed her eyes.