Room 504, Saturday Evening

[intraspective]

It had been the sort of day where all she'd wanted to do was hide away and not talk to any one (Zack was the sole exception to that) and Ino was feeling quietly pleased with the fact that her day had gone exactly as planned.

She wasn't exactly in a good mood, no, but it had settled into something vaguely… calm. Calm was a good word. She would go with that.

Now, after showering and changing into her jammies even though Ino didn't think she'd be going to sleep any time soon, she curled up on her bed with a book and devoted herself to reading it just to pass the time.

That was all right, wasn't it? She thought so.

[For one and SP, la.]

Comments

[intraspective]

"Not for a giant," she retorting, smiling slightly. "Take it easy for the next day or so on that shoulder--give it a bit of a break, yeah?"

[furnaceface]

//That much, I can do,// Jono agreed, crouching down to collect his bandages and wincing a little as he looked them over.

//Lovely.//

This was going to be a 'wet leather coat, head down, hugging his own face and making a mad dash down one floor' sort of evening, yet.

[intraspective]

She didn't bother hiding her grin as she offered him a towel. "Wrap 'em in this," Ino suggested. "That way you're not touching any of that directly."

[furnaceface]

Quietly, Jono held his had out to accept the towel, and then gave his bandages another look. And then the towel. And then the bandages.

//Hands can be washed,// he said, after a moment. //But I can't use these again. Not like this.//

[intraspective]

She rested her elbows on her knees and looked at him.

"Do you have anything else you can use?"

[furnaceface]

//Turtlenecks.//

Lovely.

//Turtlenecks, and more bandages, I suppose, once I manage to work my way out of these trousers. Th'leather's ruined already, at any rate. Might as well cut them and put them to use. But for right now, not really.//

[intraspective]

She frowned slightly.

"You want a towel to cover up with 'till you get back to your room?" Ino asked, figuring that dancing around the subject wouldn't help. "If you don't want people to see."

Yeah, she hadn't missed his wariness.

[furnaceface]

A blind person could have caught his wariness. He wasn't just wearing it on his sleeve, he was practically radiating it.

//I won't burn it,// he replied, casting a glance toward the plants that she'd moved out of the way. //I have better control than that, at least.//

That would be a 'yes, please.'

[intraspective]

"If I doubted that," Ino said, standing and going to track down a third towel for the evening. "I wouldn't have touched you. My plants are different."

[furnaceface]

Jono wanted to sigh, at that. But projecting one at this point seemed like too much effort, and so he simply nodded, his eyes back on the floor.

//Thank you,// he said, again. Not just for healing him, this time. For being... normal about it.

[intraspective]

"You're welcome," she said, smiling as she tried to get a look at his eyes. One large towel for Jono in her hands. "Stop acting like I'll freak out, hm?"

[furnaceface]

Getting a look in his eyes would involve getting him to look up. And even if he did, it would be a difficult guess as to whether or not he was looking back, because his eyes had flickered away to a solid white somewhere through all of that.

//People freak out, luv. Even around here, people freak out. Why should you be any different?//

[intraspective]

Ino crouched down, towel puddling around her feet as she contemplated what she could see of his face.

"You're dangerous," she said bluntly. "I know that. Looking at you tells me that if you lost control, most of us would be dead in a heartbeat."

A pause.

"You haven't lost control. You're still here. I'm still here. Your appearance doesn't scare me. It's how you look. You are not your powers--why should I freak out? Since when do people get to choose their powers?"

[furnaceface]

In the place of a rueful laugh, there was a small spark, a flicker in the flames from yellow to white-hot before the whole mess of it faded away to blue.

//Some of us never wanted them in th'first place.//

[intraspective]

"Feeling sorry that you got them won't help anything," she noted, not flinching away from the flames.

[furnaceface]

//Maybe not,// he allowed, holding his hand out for the towel, //but I don't have to be happy about them, either.//

[intraspective]

"They say," she said, giving up the towel. "That the more powerful and dangerous your powers are, the more you should live your life filled with love for life."

[furnaceface]

//Mmm. So that I'm less likely to blow somebody else's face off?//

He blinked, and his eyes returned to normal as he wrapped himself up as best as a towel would allow, and then reached for what survived of his jacket. He wouldn't wish a profile like his on anybody.

[intraspective]

"Because happiness means mental stability," she said flatly. "You want to wallow in self pity and woe is me when there's nothing actually bad happening? What do you do when something is wrong, then? Reach critical mass and kill everyone? Ain't something you'd like to live with, I'm sure."

[furnaceface]

//I don't wallow,// Jono protested, thus demonstrating that he was, in fact, in supreme denial. //And I am happy, I think. Usually. There are things I miss. Eating, breathing, kissing. Swimsuits in th'summertime. Standing in shopping lines back home without being spat on. But, all things considered, I am happy.//

He had Didi. He had friends, here, and a place to stay that didn't chase him off because he was a hideous, malformed, burning freak of nature. That was cause to be happy, at least.

[intraspective]

Ino gave him a long considering look.

"I think you don't want to be, not really."

Then she stood, turning her back to him and stretching a bit. It was late, she was tired.

It wasn't her problem, was it?

"You still owe me," Ino added, "for the bet we made in the cabins."

[furnaceface]

And zip went Jono's jacket, or what was left of it, and as he stood, it was with his bandages in hand.

//I've been practising,// he stated, eyes on the floor again. //I was going to settle for one song, but I might have gotten carried away.//

It was entirely possible that he'd gone right ahead and learned an entire album in a fit of boredom at work one day.

[intraspective]

"Oh?" she asked, flopping down on her bed. "Does that mean you're sayin' I ought to be prepared to lose?"

[furnaceface]

And for possibly the first time since he'd stepped into the room, Jono allowed himself not only to look up, but also to try a smile on for size.

//To lose horribly,// he confirmed.

[intraspective]

"I'm looking forward to it," she said, smiling back. "What songs?"

So she could sing along, yes. Shut up.