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]

"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.

[intraspective]

See, now Ino was going to get off her bed to see if she could tug his hand away from his face.

"Guess that started pretty early, huh?"

[puppy_fair]

"I left home when I was, like, twelve," Zack stressed, still a delightfully rosy shade as his hand was pried away from his face. "That's just how Mom is."

Again, don't get him wrong, he loves his parents and all... But.

[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.