Midgar, Gaia -- Sunday

[intraspective]

Little changed in the hospital room overnight. The girl slept, the boy slept, and machines continued their monitoring—more to be safe than out of true need for them—and if the nurses came by to check on them (but always careful not to wake them) a little more often than necessary…

Well, there was nothing wrong with that, was there?

And in this manner, time passed until morning.

[For ze puppy. NFB due to distance.]

Comments

[puppy_fair]

He had his suspicions, really.

"It was nothing," he replied. Because... Because heck, none if it was really a big deal, to him. He was just happy to have her back. And he had that wonderful ability to not have to think too hard about the trail of bodies that they'd stepped around when they were carrying her out of that cave. That helped, too.

[intraspective]

"Not to me," she murmured, eyes catching sight of a hi-potion with a straw on the table and laughing, a bit weakly.

[puppy_fair]

And Tseng had even been kind enough to twist the cap off for her before sending it up!

Zack glanced the way she was looking, spotted the potion, and then proceeded to blink.

"What's...?"

Uh. Potion on the table. He hadn't even noticed that before, he'd been so wiped.

[intraspective]

"Tseng came by," she murmured, "while you were sleeping."

And neglected to mention that that had happened yesterday.

"He said he'd send me a potion with a straw, but..."

[puppy_fair]

Zack blinked at the potion a little more. And then at the straw (it was bright pink and bendy) that was sticking out the top of it.

And then he started to laugh.

"You didn't believe he'd do it, did you?"

[intraspective]

"Not really?" she said, smiling at him. "It was a bit--hard to picture, with the straw, I mean."

[puppy_fair]

"You know, I thought he was all stuffy when I first met him, too," Zack admitted. "But once you get to know him, you realize that he's got a better sense of humor than most of SOLDIER combined."

Zack wasn't just speaking highly of Tseng for the sake of doing so. Tseng's humor was dry, but it was most certainly there.

Case in point: The bendy straw.

[intraspective]

The pink bendy straw.

"Yeah?" she asked, with another glance at the straw. "'Cause I'd wondered if he was being funny but that could've just been... me."

And the number of things floating around her system to take away pain, yes.

[puppy_fair]

"Naaah, he's totally funny!"

So, so not you, Ino!

"Why did he pay you a visit, anyhow?"

[intraspective]

"I think he might've wanted to talk to you?" Ino said, after a considering pause. "But you were sleeping and I wasn't, so he talked to me instead--I guess he thought it'd be a good thing to know me a little?"

And offer her a job. But that was staying under wraps, even from Zack, until she'd had the time to consider her options.

[puppy_fair]

"I guess so, huh? I mean, since we're so close and all," Zack mused. Hey, it made sense to him. "I'll have to call him when things settle down a bit, I suppose. See what he wanted."

Nothing at all, puppy. Nothing at all.

[intraspective]

But surely he'd think of something to say, no?

"I like him," Ino offered, leaning towards Zack. "He seems like a good friend to have."

[puppy_fair]

It he couldn't think of something to say, he really didn't deserve his rank, did he?

"One of the best," Zack agreed. "He's pretty absorbed in his work, but I think most Turks are. And what they do is important too, you know? So that makes sense."

[intraspective]

"You're a fine one to talk 'bout being attached to your work," she murmured, then studied him carefully. "I--Thank you. For coming, I mean."

[puppy_fair]

"I couldn't not," Zack replied with a shrug, leaning up across the bed to plant a gentle kiss on her cheek. "It's what you do for your precious people, isn't it?"

Well, maybe with fewer bodies, usually.

[intraspective]

"Yeah," she said, blinking hard. "It is. But I still--"

[puppy_fair]

Zack shrugged and snuggled in a little more, actually scooting up onto the bed to sit beside her.

"It wasn't your fault," he murmured, pulling her close. "It wasn't. If anything, all of that was because of me, Ino."

He'd almost lost her, because of some grudge against him.

[intraspective]

He moved and she was shifted and when things settled, it all felt right. Ino leaned against him, using his solid presence to prop herself up as she focused on the simple pleasure of being held.

"It's not your fault either," Ino said stubbornly.

[puppy_fair]

"They wanted me," Zack pointed out, softly. "They would have left you alone, otherwise. They don't have any interest in civilians."

[intraspective]

"They also wanted me 'cause I'd killed a few of their own," she said, ducking her head and closing her eyes. "They'd not gone after me before that."

[puppy_fair]

... Oh, wow. Excuse Zack for sitting there in a bit of a daze, please.

"And that's my fault too," he noted, a little more quietly still. "They were talking about me that one time, weren't they?"

[intraspective]

"That's not the point," she protested, twisting her head to peer up at him. "It weren't your fault."

[puppy_fair]

"You were trying to protect me, weren't you? And then it turned out that I was out fighting the Crescent already."

And he'd stumbled through the door a bloody mess. He was worse off this time around by the end of it, though.

He still hadn't gotten around to worrying about most of the worst of the holes in him. But at least they were clean, now? Thank goodness he was SOLDIER.

[intraspective]

"And it's their actions that are the problem," she said mutinously. "Not yours. You didn't make up their minds for them, they did that all themselves."

[puppy_fair]

"They did," Zack agreed. He really couldn't deny that. "I think some people might argue that I gave them a reason to, though."

And he'd left them alive. Over and over again. That had been his real mistake, hadn't it?