Room 504, Saturday Evening

[intraspective]

Ino had woken up at her normal ridiculous hour, freezing, and taken a long look outside before deciding that her clinic shift could go screw itself because Ino? Ino was not going outside in a blizzard. Even if, she'd realized as she'd hauled more blankets on to her bed and crawled back under the covers, the clinic probably had power and was warm. Clinics had things like back up generators and stuff, right? Eh, not worth the odds of getting lost and dying, no.

When she woke up a few hours later—warmer, but then enough blankets to drown in helped with that—Ino peeked out and swore when she realized what she really should have realized before. Her poor plants! It was funny how that got her out of her nest of blankets faster than anything else had as she went to work tacking up blankets over the window and wishing like anything that she had some way to keep her plants warm.

Poking her nose out the hall said that it was even worse out there and she shut her door tight and the shoved blankets at the bottom of it to keep any cold air from getting in. Then she went digging through her kit that she dragged around on missions and came up with a few glow sticks—snapping them got her some light, and if it was green light, well, it was better than nothing. Even if it was an absolute bitch to read by.

So, Ino spent her nibbling on chocolate and granola bars (she had ration bars but Ino was saving those for if this went on for longer than a day or two) alternately reading by glow stick and exercising because that got the blood moving and she could pretend she wasn't cold for a bit and fussing over her plants.

And hiding. But seriously, she was from the Fire Country. Snow and cold were not her friends. Ino curled up in about twelve blankets with another granola bar, another glow stick, and the play she'd picked up in Gaia.

Today sucked.

[Closed door but open post, yes.]

Comments

[puppy_fair]

"Well, if you really want, I could start walking around on my knees," Zack laughed. He couldn't resist anymore. Laughter was mandatory. "We'd just about be able to see eye-to-eye, then."

[intraspective]

"Maybe I'll get you to do it for a day," she teased. "And video tape it. You going up the stairs on your knees, no hands allowed! Things like that!"

[puppy_fair]

And now, gods help him, Zack was considering this.

"Can I use my elbows?"

[intraspective]

Ino hummed thoughtfully. "Each elbow can only be used twice on each flight of stairs?"

That sounded fair to her but she was the one who was going to be laughing her head off, so...

[puppy_fair]

"Deal!"

... What, Zack?

"Once the weather is back to normal, so that I'm not slogging through snow-drifts up to my nose, then. I'll spend a whole day on my knees, just for you!"

[intraspective]

Ino blinked at him.

Seriously?

She burst into delighted giggles. "You'll have to let me know so I can tape it," Ino said, beaming. "And if there's anything you want me to do for you?"

Because, well, he was going to look like an absolute idiot all day just for her. She could totally do something for him.

[puppy_fair]

"I guess I'll have to think of something," Zack replied, grinning at her merrily. "I'm sure that won't be too hard, right?"

[intraspective]

She eyed him. Dubiously.

"And you're just going to leave me in anticipation?"

[puppy_fair]

"Well...." Zack leaned his head back, looking at the ceiling. "If I manage to pull it off, I suppose you would have to pay me back somehow..."

He perked, holding one finger into the air.

"I know! How about one date?"

[intraspective]

Ino blinked and glanced sideways at him.

"A date?" she echoed.

[puppy_fair]

See Zack. See Zack grin sideways at Ino.

"Well, why not? Dinner, or a movie, or another trip to Midgar to kill monsters, or something like that?"

Zack Fair: Hopeless romantic.

[intraspective]

"Killing monsters is a date now?" she asked, looking mock-pouty. "So I can't just beg for another trip whenever I want?"

Pffft, he was romantic enough for her.

"We could go to the onsen or something," Ino suggested.

[puppy_fair]

"What's an onsen?"

Please, nevermind that Zack had probably been by the thing about a million times since he'd gotten to the island, running laps around the place.hea

[intraspective]

"Hot springs," Ino said brightly. "Well, hot spring baths. They're awesome, seriously."

A grin.

"You'd need a bathing suit, though."

[puppy_fair]

"A bathing suit?" Zack wrinkled his nose a little. "Mine is back in Midgar."

Not that he ever used it. But yes, it was totally back in Midgar.

"Looks like I'm going to have to get a new one, huh?"

[intraspective]

"They don't like people going naked in the onsen," she said, resisting the urge to giggle at that.

"I can help you pick one out?" she asked brightly. "We could do that before going to the onsen!"

She could get a bathing suit of her own, too. Because Ino totally needed more of them when she already had, like, seven or eight of them, yes.

[puppy_fair]

"Shopping, and then swimming in the onsen it is, then!"

This seemed more like two friends hanging out than a date, but it wasn't as though Zack knew any better. And anyhow, they were just two friends.

Who held hands frequently. Shut up.

"What day is best for you? I can wear holes in the knees of my uniform the day before!"

[intraspective]

It was just two friends hanging out! Really! Even if Ino wasn't going to say no to the chance to wear a bikini around him.

Or admire him out of most of his clothing. But still, totally just friends. And swimming.

"If we're looking for two days in a row? Thursday and Friday are my best days," she said, pursing her lips. "Otherwise I have class and work or only one day free."

[puppy_fair]

"Well, that works out nicely," Zack laughed. "Thursdays and Fridays are great for me, too. My classes are all on Tuesdays, and I try to hit up the magic reserves on Wednesdays, when I can."

When he remembered to. Same thing.

[intraspective]

"Ew," she said, making a face. "Magic reserves."

Ino had opinions on that, really. Bad enough that Tony had made TA in Magical Ethics. She wasn't going to subject herself to his brand of 'leadership' any more than she absolutely had to.

[puppy_fair]

Zack frowned thoughtfully at her at that, and then shrugged.

"They'll come in handy, sooner or later. In a place like this, you know?" No, he had no idea what the 'ew' was about. "You don't think that the Tuesday meetings are ew, too, do you?"

[intraspective]

"Nooo," she said, wrinkling her nose up at him. "I don't mind the Tuesday meetings. I'm always there, aren't I?"

Okay, she wasn't sure how much good they'd do in an emergency in all honesty, but Ino was, in fact, always there.

"Just went to one magic reserves meeting, you know? And got threatened with watching my step and called names 'cause of my ethics being different." Ino lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I weren't being much nice either," because forming a proper sentence was for people who weren't Ino apparently, "but yeah. I don't like that."

[puppy_fair]

"Ooooh." Zack gave a little nod, frowning faintly and leaning against her a little more. "So it's nothing against the group itself, then. Just whoever it was who gave you a hard time."

Zack could appreciate that, then.

"I don't have to go and give anybody a stern talking-to there, do I?"

[intraspective]

"As pleasing as that idea is," she said, "I don't know if it's a good idea. It doesn't matter--he don't matter."

It was just galling, that was all. When she hadn't done anything questionable on the island but have an opinion. Opinions weren't actions, after all!

[puppy_fair]

Zack still seemed a little put-off by the whole thing, but if Ino insisted that it didn't matter, then he wasn't going to push it, either.

"Well, if you insist." He reached sideways and grabbed some more paper to toss onto the fire. "It isn't as though you're not going to get plenty of practise with magic back in Midgar, at any rate. On the field is the best sort of experience, I think. It's what really counts."