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

[intraspective]

"I bet she just wants you to be happy," Ino said, not letting go of his hand. She could keep it for awhile, right? "And maybe thinks you're rather hopeless with girls."

Teasing, teasing.

[puppy_fair]

"Twelve," Zack said again, laughing a bit. "Twelve, Ino! I'm allowed to be helpless with girls at twelve!"

The trouble was that not much had really changed in the way Zack went about trying to pick girls up, since.

[intraspective]

Ino rather doubted much had changed but figured that saying that would be rather untactful.

Especially since she didn't actually have a problem with his girl difficulties. Shut up.

"True," she said, tugging him over to her bed. "Maybe it was the fact you were trying at that age that concerned her?"

Or maybe his mom was just a bit weird, but.

[puppy_fair]

"I think she just wants grandchildren," Zack informed Ino oh-so-dutifully as he made his way over to her bed as she tugged. "Besides that, though? She's a good mom. They're both good parents."

And then, because he felt that it was worth repeating?

"You'd like them."

[intraspective]

"I'd like to meet them," she said, flopping down beside him and smiling at the flowers she'd gotten. "Forewarned and forearmed and so even if she asks I won't be caught off guard, you know?"

[puppy_fair]

"That makes sense to me," Zack agreed, looking over the flowers and smiling thoughtfully at them.

He should have gotten her a burgundy one, too. And some white, to go with the yellow. Harmony. He liked that.

"Think they'd be disappointed that I'm not a great hero yet or anything?"

[intraspective]

"No," she said honestly. "I don't think so, not if they're good parents. You're doing well--getting considered for 1st! And... I just think, if you visited, they'd just be glad to see you, you know?"

Family was important.

[puppy_fair]

Zack gave a bit of a thoughtful nod, and then he kind of oozed sideways to bump his shoulder against hers.

"Thanks," he said. "Maybe I'll write them a letter, to let them know I'm thinking of visiting."

[intraspective]

She giggled and bumped him back.

"Let me know what they say?" she asked, grinning up at him. "And now you have to tell me what you were thinking while you picked my flowers."

Because she could subject change as well as he could, really.

And Ino was kinda curious. She could guess what he'd meant but there were several interesting subliminal messages in them.

[puppy_fair]

Oh, that was mean, Ino.

"Well, the yellow meant friendship, and the orange was, like, energy and stuff like that, wasn't it?"

There was more there than just that, Zack, and you know it.

[intraspective]

"That's one meaning of both of them," she conceded, shifting so staring up at him wasn't quite so hard on her neck. Angles were fun that way. "But that's not what I asked."

So mean, yes.

[puppy_fair]

"Well, that's what I was thinking about," Zack replied, shrugging. Awwwwkward. "I mean, about our friendship, and how easy it is to just hang out with you. That kinda thing."

And how nice it was when they just sat around, holding hands and stuff. And how He maybe wanted to just sit around, holding hands and stuff more often.

"My memory's a little fuzzy," he added, after a moment spent trying not to blush too much. "What does the burgundy mean, again?"

He knew full well what the burgundy had meant.

[intraspective]

At least she'd avoided giving a number that would say things? Ino was proud of that one.

Even as she turned a very delicate shade of pink at the question.

Bravo, Zack.

"Um."

Unconscious, uncontrived beauty had seemed like a good thing to tell him through a flower. Not so much when he was right there.

[puppy_fair]

It had probably seemed so safe to say before she'd learned that he was capable of looking things up!

"I think we're about even, then," Zack decided, smiling lopsidedly and mercifully letting the topic drop.

He wasn't going to clarify that the number of roses he'd gotten for her implied 'infatuation.' If he played dumb, then he was totally safe!

[intraspective]

"So not even," she insisted, still pink. "Not anywhere near even."

Which would be why Ino's fingers snuck behind her and grabbed her pillow.

Annnd there went a pillow aimed for his head. HA!

[puppy_fair]

"GAH!"

Yep. He'd pretty much had that coming to him, too. The pillow made nice, solid contact, and Zack had to take a moment to get his brain around the fact that he'd just been beaned by Ino's pillow before taking extreme countermeasures.

These extreme countermeasures might have included an attempt to tackle her against her bed so that he could tickle the heck out of her sides.

[intraspective]

The noise was one she'd treasure. Zack Fair Hit By Pillow.

And then he tackled her.

She yelped, laughing and squirming as she tried to--get away, retaliate, something anything as he attacked her sides.

"Cheater!"

Did that make sense? No! That was alright with her, though, totally. Ino squirmed, trying to tickle him back.

... And this was totally a losing battle. He had her pinned. Man.

[puppy_fair]

"You started it," Zack crowed, relentlessly proving that he was totally worth his SOLDIER purples by doing what SOLDIER was made for.

... Relentlessly attacking those weaker than themselves? Wait. No. That wasn't right.

"Say 'Uncle!'"

[intraspective]

"Never!"

It was a valiant cry of protest as she discovered that, really, SOLDIER uniforms were a lot harder to tickle someone through than her t-shirt and leggings. Unfair.

Still laughing, though, so really it wasn't that unfair. Her fingers found her pillow and her eyes lit up as she whacked it at his head again.

[puppy_fair]

And once again, the pillow hit straight and true, and Zack let out a squeak of protest of his own in response to his second good whomping of the morning.

Not to be deterred, he was going to take this as a sign to move on!

... Or to fall off the bed, laughing.

[intraspective]

Ino just lay on her bed for a moment, trying to get her laughter under control before rolling on her stomach to grin down at him on the floor.

"I think I won that round."

[puppy_fair]

Zack, staring up at her from the flat of his back, was inclined to agree.

"This round totally goes to you," he agreed. "But next time, Ino. Next time..."

[intraspective]

"Next time you'll lose even more?" she asked, amused. And maybe rolling off her bed to flop on him a bit. Shut up. He was comfy looking down there.

"Does that mean you'll answer my question so the score actually is even?" Hmmm?

Ino, stop that. That's mean. You already know the answer.

[puppy_fair]

"The score is totally already even," Zack insisted, with a small oof while she settled on top of him. "You evened it out by hitting me with the pillow."

A beat.

"Twice!"

[intraspective]

"You tickled me," she protested mildly. "My sides are going to hurt from laughing. You deserved the pillow whacking."