A Secluded Area of the Preserve, Friday Early Morning

[intraspective]

It didn’t seem to matter that, when they’d woken up in a tangled grouping of hands and legs and eyes and smiles that touched their eyes until they’d woken up enough that the smiles stopped hitting their eyes, that they hadn’t really spoken at all as they’d gotten dressed.

As they’d headed down into town to pick up something for breakfast—they hadn’t really even glanced at the kitchen in the cabin—they still kept mostly to their silence, though he held her hand as they walked.

Or she held his. Ino wasn’t really sure if that distinction mattered. Either way, neither of them was letting go of the other.

It wasn’t a conscious decision either to head out to the preserve once food in neat brown bags had been obtained.

It wasn’t conscious, but she wasn’t going to complain as they walked deeper and deeper into the trees. Ino liked trees, she liked Zack, and she liked breakfast. The silence was just something that had happened. They’d work it out.

She glanced sidelong and up at him, blue eyes worried. Her smile had faded into something more serious. Last night had been only part of it. He’d needed last night. (He’d scared her last night.)

Ino didn’t know what this would bring, out here, with breakfast and him. Just that it happening was the only thing that made sense to her. A weird and twisted snarl of emotions curled in her mind and Ino thought it couldn’t be anything as bad as how he felt. That wasn’t comforting.

[For the one whose hand she won’t let go of.]

Comments

[intraspective]

She shook her head in muted disagreement.

"I ain't nowhere near as open as you are 'bout--that sort of thing. So I just said it, that ain't always good enough is it? Not after you--not after... last night."

[puppy_fair]

"I'll be fine," Zack replied, more a knee-jerk response than anything that actually meant... anything.

He frowned as he realized that, and then looked down toward the ground again. No, he didn't know that. It wasn't fair to just say that and leave it sit.

"I mean... You say it when it matters, Ino."

[intraspective]

His knee-jerk reaction and then further response made her stomach squirm. He was trying.

That meant she had to try too.

"I could... I could try to say it more often...?" she asked, rather distressed at the whole idea of that actually. "But I don't like saying them too often. It... makes them sound weak to me. Like an excuse."

... That possibly made sense only to her.

[puppy_fair]

"Cheapens it?" Zack looked her way, back to smiling again, though his smile was wry at best. "Like grinning too much, or laughing when you think that's what people want to hear?"

[intraspective]

"Sort of?" she said, frowning a bit as she wriggled her toes absently. "But it's worse when it comes to--that sort of thing. Those words ought to be more important."

[puppy_fair]

"They should," Zack agreed, softly. And then he frowned a little. "I don't use words like that too often, do I?"

[intraspective]

"Only if you don't mean them when you say them," she said quietly. "I don't want to hear them if that's the case, you know?"

[puppy_fair]

"I don't say things like that unless I mean them," Zack replied with a shake of his head. "I say a lot of things I don't necessarily mean."

Like 'I'll be okay,' yes.

"But not things like that."

[intraspective]

"Okay." She nodded and cast a glance at their mostly forgotten breakfast bags.

Ino knew she probably had to say something else. Something useful. Something that had meaning.

"Next time we're in Midgar, can we go shopping?"

...Ino. That's not any of what you need to say.

[puppy_fair]

Not totally forgotten, at least! She'd mangled a muffin and he'd left an apple on the ground for the ants!

That totally meant something.

"Um... Sure?" Zack gave her a weird little look at that, because, really, where in the world had that come from? "On the plate, or below? Wall Market in Sector 6 is an interesting place, all lights and noise."

[intraspective]

Ino bit her lip and called herself every name she could think of.

This, this was not helping. It really wasn't.

"Anywhere," she said, before her mind caught up with her lips and she beat her head gently against him. "I can't do this."

[puppy_fair]

He sighed, gathering her close all over again.

"Which part of it?"

The subject change? If she wanted one of those, he was fairly certain that he could wrangle one up. Just give him a moment.

"... There never was much in the way of shopping in Gongaga, but..."

Really, the only thing of note that could be bought from Gongaga were some kind of tacky Navajo patterned rugs. But it was totally an awesome vacation spot!

If you liked frogs.

[intraspective]

Ino snuggled into him.

"The bein' honest part," she murmured. "I was tryin' to think of something to--say--and that came out instead."

It was something she wanted to do but this was hardly the conversation for it.

[puppy_fair]

Zack actually laughed softly, at that.

"Well, we're making the effort... right?"

It was just happening in fits and starts, for the most part.

"You caught it, at least."

[intraspective]

"I'd rather talk 'bout the shopping," Ino admitted, in a tiny voice. "It seems a lot easier but that'd be--wrong, to you, when I said I'd try. Can't call you out when I'm..."

Ino shrugged.

[puppy_fair]

"Actually," Zack said, pursing his lips and looking up at the sky again, "I wouldn't mind talking about shopping. We can't just talk about the heavy stuff, right?"

That would be... really, really hard, after a while. It was already pretty difficult now.

[intraspective]

"We can take a break?" Ino asked, closing her eyes. "From the heavy stuff. We know it's there and we're going to work on it. And now we talk about the silly stuff?"

She liked that plan. She really really did.

[puppy_fair]

"Just so long as we know we're going to have to go back to the heavy stuff again sooner or later," Zack agreed.

And then he moved his fingers to her sides in classic tickle-attack formation.

[intraspective]

She'd had a response to that! A sane sensible response!

It was definitely lost in the sudden squirmy giggle-fitting situation she found herself in.

"No fair!" she cried, laughing as she wriggled in an attempt to get away. "I had no warning!"

[puppy_fair]

Oh, you better watch out, Ino! The tickle-monster was loose!

"Who says I have to give you warning!?"

Nobody that he knew of, that was who!

[intraspective]

"I do!" she cried, laughing and attempting to snag one of his hands. If she had one hand, right, he couldn't tickle her with that?

[puppy_fair]

If she had one hand, then he could try to grab up both of her hands in it so that she couldn't fight back! And then he'd be free to left-hand-tickle until victory was totally his!

"Is that sooo? So you're saying I should stop for a moment and give you fair warning that I'm going to tickle you?"

[intraspective]

Oh! Oh that was mean of him! Rendering her helpless and giggling and having to try and formulate an answer around all of that which amounted to more than sticking her tongue out at him.

"Absolutely!" So she had time to run away! Even if she didn't really want to get away!