Room 504, Monday Evening

[intraspective]

The nice thing about playing with a puppy for most of the day was that, once she’d gotten back to their room, Zack had conked out fast and hard in a pile of limbs and fuzzy ears on the edge of their bed. Which meant that, until he woke up, she had the freedom to think and do what she wanted to.

Which, tonight, was a matter of finishing her e-mails. It was the matter of seconds to actually send them after proofing them one more time, and then Ino just leaned back against the headboard and frowned thoughtfully, absently toying with her hair.

It was weird, now, to not have something to write as a goal. ‘Sending out the e-mails’ had been a good way to have something to focus on that made her feel like she wasn’t going to suffocate under her worries.

Nothing to stop that now.

[Ooopen door, open post, yes!]

Comments

[puppy_fair]

It was the way of puppies, really, to MOVEMOVEMOVE and then to thud out for a nap after a good while of bouncing about like a hummingbird on speed, yes.

It was also the way of puppies, of course, to go from zero to sixty in about ten seconds flat, once their nap was over and they were made acutely aware that their most favorite person in the world was nearby.

So, really, was it any surprise after the past few days that Zack the puppy was rolling over, barking out a happy little hello, and then plodding across the bed to peer over at her. Forlornly. Like a sad, lonely little puppy who only wanted to be hugged and snuggled forever, was that really so much to ask?

[intraspective]

The bark got her attention, yes. She blinked out of her thoughts--her not so very fun thoughts--and offered Zack a smile.

"You don't fool me," she said, leaning over to snuggle him right into her lap unless he squirmed away. "You're spoilt, not lonely."

[puppy_fair]

Oh, yeah, as if he was going to squirm away! There was a lap! Laps afforded puppies the wonderful luxury of immediate facial access! If he just stood on his hind legs with his feet on her knees, and then planted his front paws on each shoulder, then he could let his tail wag a mile a minute and he could lick Ino's face like it had never been licked before!

HI! Hi, Zack looooves you, Ino! And you're his bestest friend ever and nomnomnom, face!

[intraspective]

It was a testament to how much she a) adored him and b) indulged him that this was met with laughter instead of shoving him off even as she scrunched her eyes up to avoid getting doggy slobber in her eyes.

Because ew.

"Spoilt rotten," she decided, and ruffled his fur lovingly.

[puppy_fair]

Oh, he totally was! He was the most spoiledest rottenest puppy in the whole wide world and that was how he knew that Ino looooved him too! Because loved puppies were spoiled puppies, and she had the most lickable face in the universe! Did she know that?

And, when somewhere between a tailwag and a lick, Zack realized that Ino was suddenly a good deal smaller than he'd gotten used to her being over the weekend, he paused for a moment. That wasn't right, was it?

...

That was not going to stop him from laughing, and then giving her cheek another lick for good measure, just because it was there.

What? Why not?

[intraspective]

So she'd been used to fending off Zack the puppy as he licked her face, right? Well, it was rather a different story when Zack the puppy became Zack the very naked man and still licked her face.

Ino could be forgiven for laughing and shoving at him, even though he was a great deal heavier as a person.

"Ew!" Her face was dog slobbered! And he was licking it! Ewwww!

[puppy_fair]

What! Why not? It was his own slobber, after all! And no matter how you looked at it, he was still going to have kibble breath until he could get a chance to brush his teeth.

That chance was not going to arise particularly swiftly just yet, no. Because right now, he was going to tumble back onto the floor and crack right the heck up.

"What? It was a kiss! You don't like kisses?"

He was a big, naked brat. That was what he was.

[intraspective]

Ino tried to pull off 'outraged' but the sight of him, laughing naked on the floor, just meant that she was going to giggle, a startled broken sort of giggle and then full out laugh.

"Not like that!"

[puppy_fair]

"I could give you real kisses," Zack noted, still caught somewhere between giggles, "but everything kind of tastes like dog food right now."

Mmmm, Kibbles 'n Bits!

[intraspective]

"No kisses until you're clean," she said loftily. "And that's my final decree. I don't kiss people with doggy breath."

Unless they happened to be real dogs as she'd done a lot of snuggling Zack the puppy over the weekend.

[puppy_fair]

And in response to that, Zack laughed for another minute more, and then settled back on the floor, just grinning up at Ino with bright eyes.

It was so good to hear her voice again. He'd been worried sick for days, after all.

"I guess that means I'm going to have to grab some pants so I can go gargle, huh?"

Gargle, and probably shower, Zack. Get rid of that wet dog smell that was bound to settle in if you didn't.

[intraspective]

"And shower," Ino said, leaning back and offering him a smile that was nearly as bright as his. For the moment, it was easy to be happy. "Or you're not allowed in bed tonight."

So there!

[puppy_fair]

"What, not even sleeping on your feet? You have really comfy feet, you know."

Well, she did! He'd learned that over the past few days, too! Being a puppy was a very educational sort of experience.

... Okay, okay, he was going to go scrounging about for pants, now.

[intraspective]

"They're cold and probably way less pleasant now that you don't got fur," Ino said, almost mildly as she admired the view.

... Shut up. She was allowed.

[puppy_fair]

Honestly, now. It wasn't like it was anything she hadn't seen before. And Zack was still a little too busy grinning to let himself get too flustered, anyhow.

"Well, it helps that they're your feet," he pointed out.

[intraspective]

...

"...you did not just say that they're comfy 'cause they're mine."

Which she was pretty sure he had and that was something that flustered her because it was very--sweet, really.

But feet. Feet were not comfy.

[puppy_fair]

Feet were totally comfy! If you happened to be the sort of guy who could tromp around in army boots all day, and clank around in armor, and flop backward onto a sword without thinking anything of it!

By comparison, when it came to Zack's usual antics, feet were totally the most comfy things ever.

"Sure they are!"

[intraspective]

"That's weird!" she protested, waving her hands at him. "Shower! You!"

[puppy_fair]

"Shower! Me!" Zack took a moment to give Ino a cheeky little grin, and then he pulled himself into a pair of more-or-less clean uniform pants and grabbed for a towel and some shampoo. "Fine, fine. But only because I don't want to smell like dog for the rest of the night, either."

He was laughing a little again as he made his way through the door and down the hall. A shower was much-needed, really.

[intraspective]

Ino left the room long enough to thoroughly wash her face and hands--puppy slobber wasn't fun for her either--and then came back and curled up on their bed.

She resisted the urge to reread her e-mails and the time to think found her, rather than fidgeting or writing, just staring at nothing in particular.

[puppy_fair]

And by the time Zack came back to the room, shampoo in hand, towel flung over one shoulder, and hair dripping and clinging to the sides of his face and sticking out in crazy directions, he'd had a chance to mellow out some, himself.

The smile was still there, but then, the smile was a fixture. Something like worry had crept back into his eyes, though, and he was looking at her with that worry in place as if he was wondering if he should be opening his mouth and speaking his mind now, or what.

...

"You know... It was really good to hear you talk again."

That would be Zack, speaking his mind, somewhat, by hedging in sideways a little.

[intraspective]

She toyed with her bangs while considering that, and him, with eyes that took in that smile and dismissed it from the equation.

"I could tell," she said, finally.

Puppy him had been pretty obvious about that and she wasn't stupid. Perhaps deliberately missing the point, but... if he was going to smile then, well, her own methods were going to rear their ugly heads.

[puppy_fair]

Zack had to swallow a lump in his throat now, before he could talk again. He'd brought it up, and now there was no turning back. He'd have to barrel blindly forward and hope for the best.

The smile wavered a little.

"I was worried," he added.

[intraspective]

She studied her hair--it was such a useful hide-a-way and struggled to find something to say to that.

'I knew that too' probably wouldn't go over that well.

"Do you want me to say I'm sorry?" She was. For upsetting him.

Not for being silent.

[puppy_fair]

"No," Zack replied, shaking his head and chewing the inside of his cheek. "I want you to be okay."

Not just acting okay. He wanted her to be okay. And he figured that she knew him well enough by now to be able to tell the difference.

And he knew that she knew that he knew her well enough to be able to tell the difference, too. So there.