Room 655 (and beyond!), Atlantis Resort, Bahamas, Thursday

[intraspective]

"I still think you're cheating," Ino complained half-heartedly, grinning and hunting for her sandals. "You totally didn't walk 'round yet on your knees. Cheater. Why should I go on a date with a guy who can't keep his promises?"

Yes, a date.

They were just friends so this was just one date and that was it but they'd made a deal about this one so it had to happen.

Ah ha! Her sandals! Ino slipped them on, tied her hair back from her face with a brightly coloured ribbon and glanced at him.

"You ready?" A beat. "Cheater."

Not that she'd refused, mind, when he'd brought up the date they hadn't had yet. Shush.

[For the daaate.]

Comments

[puppy_fair]

"I'm only partly cheating," Zack insisted, shrugging his shoulders and grinning. "You've got me in civilian clothing, doesn't that almost make up for it?"

Yes, he was wearing jeans. And a tank-top! A black one, because he was fond of black, darn it. Good clothes for hanging around tropical places in!

... Especially if you didn't get to get started at by people who had never seen a kid in armor before, but that was totally beside the point.

[intraspective]

Ino's grin deepened.

"I suppose," she drawled, "that it makes up for some of the disappointment."

Okay, most of it. He looked good and he was out with her. Ino was allowed to be inwardly smug.

[puppy_fair]

"Only a little?" Zack grinned and crossed his arms (and they were far more noticeable arms without armor covering up those shoulders of his) over his chest. "I guess the rest of the date is going to have to make up for that. Or did you want me to just kill two Zuu with one stone and get down on my knees now?"

[intraspective]

They were amazing arms and Ino approved of his tank top muchly, yes.

"If you got down on your knees now," she said, laughing, "then we wouldn't get much of the date done today. Your knees would never survive."

[puppy_fair]

"I hear that holes in the knees of your jeans are really fashionable, though!"

If you were into grunge, sure. And he wasn't wearing nearly enough flannel to be into grunge.

[intraspective]

"Only if it's deliberate." Ino shook her head and slung her bag over one shoulder.

Look, her sundress didn't have pockets, okay?

"If it's just random holes then you'd look like a slob."

[puppy_fair]

To Zack's credit, he only puppy-faced at Ino for a second, at that.

"Well... Okay. Then I'll put holes in them first, and then I'll go around on my knees." Which would be hell on his kneecaps. But that was okay, right? "Or do we just want to go shopping and get food without me having to come back to use those dog-stairs?"

[intraspective]

"Let's just go shopping and get food," she laughed, wrinkling her nose at him. It'd take more than a second of puppy-facing to get her to yield.

"Besides, the stairs are more entertaining to fall off than anything else. Though," she added, eyes dancing, "if you went up them on your knees I'd laugh."

If he tried carrying her up them on his knees, Ino would probably never stop laughing.

[puppy_fair]

And Zack was totally willing to do just about anything for a laugh!

... After shopping and food!

"Is there anywhere you want to check out first? I still need swim trunks," because he'd somehow managed to get through most of his time in the Bahamas without actually putting on a swimsuit, yes, "but is there anything else?"

[intraspective]

He'd been vacationing and doing squats.

... Ino would mock but she'd spent most of yesterday studying and so really didn't have room to mock.

"A sun hat," she decided, smiling lightly. "One of those crazy huge floppy ones. I think they're cute."

Also, they made her look ridiculously harmless.

"But your trunks are way more important." Because then they could go swimming!

[puppy_fair]

"Trunks and a hat it is, then!"

It was funny how those silly poses of his managed to look even more silly when Zack wasn't in uniform, wasn't it? That wasn't going to stop him from holding that pose for a moment before grinning, and then making his way to the door.

There was shopping to be done!

[intraspective]

It was funny how those silly poses of his just made her smile now, right? Not even surprised.

"Sun hat," she corrected him cheerfully, almost twirling as she followed him out the door. "There's a difference."

[puppy_fair]

"Sun hat, then," Zack replied, laughing and shaking his head before making a reach for one of her hands. "We should get going before there's no sun for you to enjoy your new sun hat under, huh?"

She would look really, really cute in one, he decided. He was going to keep that particular opinion to himself, though.

[intraspective]

Her hand duly taken, her fingers wrapped around his hand, and Ino grinned up at him.

"Come on," she said, tugging him a bit. "'Cause you're right, the sun'll go away eventually, yeah? Even if this place has, like, crazed amounts of sun."

She approved, really. It wasn't the weather that was boring after all.

[puppy_fair]

Fortunately, it wasn't as though a place to go shopping was difficult to come across in the middle of a tropical resort.

"It reminds me of Costa del Sol," he informed Ino helpfully as they wandered into the store that specialized in summer wear. "Plenty of places to spend your gil, you know?"

And ridiculous prices to go with them!

[intraspective]

"Yes," she said, checking out the price on a one-piece as they walked by it and making a face. She could buy nearly a whole new wardrobe for that price! "But, honestly, I like spending my gil on things I find useful."

Not that this was going to stop her from peeking over racks and trying to spot the mens section.

[puppy_fair]

At six-foot-three, Zack didn't have to peer over racks so much as he had to casually look around. Ah, over there!

"A swimsuit isn't useful?"

Yes, Zack. It was. That was why you were here.

[intraspective]

She let him tug her along, snickering.

"Your swimsuit will be useful," Ino said, giggling. "A lot of swimsuits aren't, though. Other than for sitting 'round lookin' pretty and stuff."

[puppy_fair]

"Soooo... Mine will be for swimming?" Perish the thought! "I think I can handle that!"

[intraspective]

"Yes, swimming," she laughed. "Because then you're going to swim with me, hmm? And it's no fun if you have to get your jeans soaked."

Drying jeans were Not Fun.

[puppy_fair]

Zack had no idea! His uniform was made to handle the elements! Extremely!

"Of course I am," he laughed. "You know, it'd be silly to come all the way out to a place like this without even getting into the water!"

... Like he'd been failing to do all week. There had been a lot of squats, between Sunday and today.

[intraspective]

Ino was probably more aware of that than anyone else on vacation, too. Of course, she'd made it to the beach all of... once... so it wasn't like she ruled at vacation much either.

Room 655's occupants were not suited to peaceful vacation, really.

"And yet," she said loftily, "I've noticed a distinct lack of swimming on your part."

Well, yes, that's why you had to get him a swimsuit now.

[puppy_fair]

"I didn't have a swimsuit!"

And now he was going to! That worked out nicely, didn't it?

He meandered his way idly around a rack into the men's swimsuit section. "We're changing that!"

[intraspective]

Ino held up a pair.

"These are colourful," she said, grinning over at him. "But these ones are even more so."

The second pair got considered before firmly being placed back on the rack.

"Not your style."

[puppy_fair]

"Sooooo not my style," Zack agreed, kind of gaping at the second pair for a moment even after they were safely put away again. "The first aren't really, either. I can probably get through the vacation better if I don't start running around with rainbows on my butt."

It would give people ideas.

... What sorts of ideas, Zack had no idea. But he knew that they would exist, somehow.