Room 504, Sunday Morning

[intraspective]

Ino had flowers! Ino was being an absolute dork over them as she went about trying to arrange them just so and giggling at the note that Zack had left her with the flowers from him. She had the radio broadcast playing as she paid an absent sort of attention to it.

She was all pleased that he'd actually looked up the meanings of the flowers before sending them out. And they were friends, so he'd been right about the weir--

Ino blinked at the radio.

Date? Her and Zack? What?

"We're just friends!" she protested, covering her eyes briefly and giggling madly.

... She'd probably be giggling as she fussed with her flowers for quite awhile, yes. They were just friends! Really!

It was a very giggly morning, all things considered.

[Open door, open post, sure!]

Comments

[puppy_fair]

It was possible that a certain puppy had taken the stairs two at a time, upon hearing the radio broadcast himself.

"Ino!" And there he went, crashing through the open door, looking kind of like he was torn between flailing and laughing himself half to death, and maybe blushing just a little somewhere in between it all. "We were on a date last night! Did you know?"

They were just dancing! And hanging off of one another! And flirting! But Zack flirted with everything! Zack flirted with everything!

But especially with Ino.

[intraspective]

Flirting she wouldn't deny! But dating implied some sort of--formality and they were just friends. Who liked holding hands and stuff. YES.

And, okay, that sort of entrance?

Totally not helping her case of giggles.

Ino stared at him for a moment, eyes bright, and then completely cracked up.

Why was she not surprised that he'd shown up? Why was she not surprised?

[puppy_fair]

"I mean, I thought we were just dancing," Zack said, continuing on his round of babble in between giggles of his own, "and, okay, so we made plans for swimming and dinner and- Oh! The school is going to some tropical place with beaches and stuff next week, did you hear? Wanna room with me?"

He could bring his civvies! He could spend a day crawling around the beach on his knees! They could do dinner somewhere!

Just like friends do!

[intraspective]

Breathing was going to become problematic if he kept talking, she was pretty sure.

Because that was totally going to convince everyone that they weren't dating. Really!

Even if they were just friends!

Ino fought to get her giggles under control and just shook her head when she looked at him. "We can totally room together," she managed, and was cracking up again.

Ino, to have a conversation, you're going to have to stop laughing. Really.

[puppy_fair]

"Awesome!"

And this would be Zack-Ino's-Friend, pumping a fist into the air and doing a dorky little victory dance.

"I'm gonna need a swimsuit," he announced. "And stuff like that! Have you ever heard of this place that we're going to? I haven't, but I think it's kind of like Costa del Sol, back on Gaia. Beaches and surfing and warm weather, and all of that, and-" He grinned and leaned over a little, crossing his arms over his chest, "are you going to be okay?"

[intraspective]

Ino gave a kinda squeaky wheezing noise at that. She'd be fine! Really! Any second now.

Breathe, Ino. Breathe.

"We already had plans to get you a swimsuit," she managed, wriggling her fingers at him so he could stop--looming--and come sit down or something. Maybe a hug. She had to give him a hug for the flowers, right? "Looks like now we got a good excuse for it earlier than planned."

[puppy_fair]

"That works out great, doesn't it?" Zack bounced a little, and then he was smiling and doing that attention-deficit-puppy topic swap thing again. "Thank you for the flowers, by the way!"

They were preeeetty. And he almost remembered what most of them meant!

[intraspective]

She crossed her legs, settling herself a bit more on her bed and grinned up at him.

"Our notes make it sound like we'd been having a conversation and the flowers just got tossed in half way through," she told him, beaming. "I love the flowers you got me!"

[puppy_fair]

"Should I maybe have not looked it up, so that the ones you got me would still be a mystery?"

The yellow ones meant 'FRIENDS!' He remembered that much!

"I'm glad you like the ones I got for you," he added. "There were a lot to choose from."

[intraspective]

"Nah," she said, laughing a bit at that. "What meanings did you pick out of the flowers I sent you anyway?"

She was curious!

"I love them," Ino assured him. "No worries there."

[puppy_fair]

"White means innocence and purity or something like that, doesn't it?" Zack was still smiling as he tilted his head at her. "I'm still trying to figure that one out," he admitted. "But it's pretty!"

It being pretty made up for it alllll.

[intraspective]

She tugged at her hair a bit self-consciously after the near miss last night with things she wasn't ready to even really think about.

"A white rose and a yellow rose together mean harmony," she admitted, fussing with her bedspread.

[puppy_fair]

Ooooooooooooh.

That was even the face that Zack made, right there. It was his "Oooooooh!" face.

"Well, that makes sense," he decided, nodding. "I mean, we get along really well. Heck, when we're out killing monsters, we hardly even have to talk about our strategy anymore. We just go and do it."

Plus there were a million other little things, but the monsters-babble route seemed a lot safer than nudging at the weird little corners of their friendship that seemed to make everyone else think that they were dating.

[intraspective]

She was going to just--be relieved with the route his babble had taken.

And hope he really really didn't want to know about the burgundy roses. Hope he didn't remember that one. Because then she was going to go pink as anything.

"Exactly," she said, smiling easily at that one. "Our timing is getting a lot closer too."

[puppy_fair]

He totally remembered the burgundy roses.

He was making that strategic tapdance around them in order to discuss harmony, instead! He was nice that way.

"It is! Give us a little bit of time, and we won't even have to say anything before we flank an enemy and take it down!"

[intraspective]

He was very nice! He could keep being nice? Ino approved of the nice.

"And we're getting stronger too," she said, bouncing a bit at that. "So we'll be able to take on more kinds of enemies and stuff!"

[puppy_fair]

"I'll be taking you out and around The Planet in no time," Zack agreed, with a cheerful bounce of his own. "Was there anywhere in particular that you wanted to visit? It doesn't all have to be on the same continent as Midgar, I mean. Not since we can just buy portals right to where we wanna go!"

[intraspective]

"Does everywhere count?" Ino asked curiously. "I want to see Gongaga! And Costa del Sol! And Cosmo Canyon and Mideel and everywhere!"

Her frequent portaller points were going to get wracked up astonishingly fast if she had her way, yes.

[puppy_fair]

"It's been years since I've been to Gongaga," Zack noted, sobering up slightly with the mention of his hometown, but only for a heartbeat. "I should probably get back there sometime. Show my parents that I'm doing alright for myself, and all of that."

Yes, Zack. Or, you know, even writing them a letter to say, 'Guess what, Mom and Dad! I'm not dead!' would be nice.

[intraspective]

She tilted her head at that.

"I'm sure they'd like a visit?" Ino suggested, a bit tentatively--she didn't know. Why would someone like Zack not be visiting his parents? "I mean, if you wanted to go."

[puppy_fair]

It really was the principle of the matter. You don't just drop everything, announce that you're going to get out of this boring town in order to join SOLDIER and become a great hero like Sephiroth, and then leave, just to swing on by with the job half done.

He'd had a point to prove.

"They might," he admitted. "You'd probably like my Mom, too. Although she'll probably invite you to join the family or something."

That was just the way his mom was. It was kind of embarrassing, actually.

[intraspective]

Ino blinked at him.

"Invite me to join your family? Like, what? A sister?"

She didn't want to be Zack's sister.

[puppy_fair]

...

"Yes, Ino. Just like that."

LOOK, IT WAS SAFER THIS WAY.

[intraspective]

She didn't often get that tone from Zack, no.

Ino stared at him more.

"Seriously?"

She wasn't asking about the sister bit with that question.

[puppy_fair]

Aaaand that would be a facepalm.

"Seriously," he mumbled into his hand. The hand which was totally there just to conceal just how pink he was going right now.

Your ears are still showing, Zack.