Midgar, Gaia -- Sunday Afternoon/Evening

[intraspective]

There wasn’t really room in the quarters she and Zack shared in the ShinRa building for a proper vanity and mirror, but Ino was used to living in dorms and had adapted to the smaller spaces those offered. It wasn’t so much of a bother, truly, so long as there was time to get ready and nothing had to be rushed.

But for tonight, they had as much time as they needed. Hours yet before the production started and everything (what little they needed) was packed for the trip they were taking tomorrow. (Which was so very different from the one their classmates were on.) Ino shifted, the silk of her dress clinging to her as she moved, and tried to think if there was anything she’d forgotten.

She studied herself in the hand mirror, touching up a bit of lipstick, before glancing at Zack.

“Almost ready?” she asked, though, of course, Zack had far less to do to get ready, when it came to dressing up for a night out.

Or perhaps she was asking about tomorrow and what that would bring.

[NFB. For the one mentioned, though open for phonecalls.]

Comments

[puppy_fair]

Really, Zack's idea of 'getting ready to go out' mostly just involved a spit-shine for his boots, and maybe brushing his hair, if his date was lucky.

Well, how else do you suppose he'd go about getting it to stand on-end like that, no matter what he went through?

"Almost," he replied, with a lopsided sort of lilt to his usual smile. "I mean, looking forward to the play and stuff, right? The study group said it was pretty highly recommended. Kunsel really liked it, too."

Yes, talking about the play was way easier than talking about going to visit his folks.

[intraspective]

"Kunsel could like it for a hundred different reasons," she said, setting her mirror to the side. "I suppose at least one of them might be true for us as well."

Because, really, she had a brain and Kunsel was--something else.

Ino flicked a bit of her hair behind one ear. "Are you excited to go?"

[puppy_fair]

Hey! Kunsel was awesome, Ino! He knew more about the inner workings of ShinRa than most of ShinRa did.

He was also very good at keeping that fact on the down-low, when it came to the Turks, perhaps.

"To the play?" Zack offered a tiny smile. "I guess so. I mean, I should be, right? It's got a big name, anyone who's anyone has seen it."

Yes, it was so, so much easier to talk about the play. Sorry, Ino.

[intraspective]

"Yes," she said, with a roll of her eyes that did nothing to hide the fact that she was amused. "I'm sure that's exactly why we're going. So we can be somebodies."

Absolutely! It was awful to be nobodies, right?

Ino fussed with her hair a little more before giving it up as being as good as it was going to be.

[puppy_fair]

Hey, Zack knew nothing at all about being a nobody. Honest. Except for how most people didn't even want to acknowledge that he existed until his uniform had gone from violet to black.

Being a nobody kinda sucked.

"Well, that, and it's supposed to be a good show. And... I don't know, maybe we'll learn something, right? This is culture."

Culture involved a lot of waxing poetic about wandering souls and ripples on the water.

[intraspective]

She stood, the earrings she had on tinkling with the movement. Little bells. Perhaps it was silly, but she was fond of them.

"Does that mean," Ino teased, as she slipped into her coat. "That you're going to fall asleep during it?"

Really now.

[puppy_fair]

"I'll try not to drool on your shoulder," came Zack's bright reply.

So... yes!

[intraspective]

"If you do, I'll find some other nice handsome SOLDIER to take me home," she mock-threatened.

She wouldn't. Ever.

But it was still something that amused her to say.

"Shall we go?"

[puppy_fair]

"We better," Zack laughed, "before we miss the whole first act, just trying to get our heads around all of this culture."

Culture was a big deal, okay?

[intraspective]

Ino laughed and slipped out the door, fully expecting him to follow. Perhaps, she wondered, she ought to be in her suit.

But she was still very new, and this was a date. Surely something else was allowed?

[puppy_fair]

Hey, Turks were totally allowed to wear their civvies around when they weren't on duty! Really, it was just that modelling new costumes was a pain in the ass it was so much easier to be on-call, if you lived in the same outfit all of the time.

Zack didn't seem to mind that she wasn't in the Turks' uniform, anyhow. He was humming, merrily and somewhat off-key, as he led her to the elevator.

Unlike her trainer in the Turks, Zack did not generally frequent the stairs.

[intraspective]

Which was something Ino was grateful for.

"Did I tell you," she murmured, keeping pace with him easily enough, even in heels. "When I'm on duty, I take the stairs?"

All Reno's fault.

[puppy_fair]

"Yeah?" Zack actually laughed a little, looking her way. "Seriously? Do they think you need the exercise, or what?"

[intraspective]

"No clue," she said cheerfully enough, though it was--somewhat of a lie. "I think my trainer does it just out of habit and I'm hardly in a position to argue with him about it."

A beat.

"And it's kinda fun to race down them."

Well, it was. Even if she always lost.

[puppy_fair]

"Well, we could always just skip the elevator and run down the stairs, instead," Zack laughed.

Because that was just what they needed, if they wanted to make it to Loveless Ave. on time. To run down 49 flights of stairs.

[intraspective]

"In these heels?" she retorted, with a glance at them. "Bite your tongue!"

A ding, then, as the elevator came.

[puppy_fair]

"What? You can't run in heels?"

Could you, Zack?

"Okay, fine, we'll take the elevator. This time. Next time we go see a play, though? The stairs, all the way down!"

He'd do it, too. He might just take them in leaps and bounds and jump from platform to platform, though.

[intraspective]

"I'll walk," she murmured, "slowly. And take my time."

Just to make him impatient.

For now, though, she stepped into the elevator. "I've heard the show is sold out," Ino shared, "so we got our tickets at a good time."

[puppy_fair]

"It's been really, really popular," Zack agreed, nodding as he crossed his arms and the elevator started its long trip down. "It's the one show that's a sellout every night, no matter what. We're kind of lucky that we managed to get tickets at all, you know?"

There was the other great thing about Kunsel. Make enough sadfaces at him, and he always comes through with things like two seats to a sold-out show.

[intraspective]

Because, clearly, Kunsel was a god of some sort.

"Luck does run in my family," she mused, clasping her hands behind her back.

Which had nothing to do with the tickets, but sure!

[puppy_fair]

"I guess it would have to," Zack laughed. "I mean, they have you, right?"

He was being silly! But at least he was being silly and flirty, right?

[intraspective]

Her smile twisted slightly.

They didn't really have her any more, did they?

"Well," she said, instead, striving to keep the lightness of the evening going on. "You have me, at least."

That was something.

[puppy_fair]

Well, they had her more than his own folks had had him for the past... half-decade, now.

Wow, it had really been that long?

"And that makes me the lucky one, doesn't it?"

[intraspective]

"What do you think?" she asked, tilting her head at him and looking impish.

[puppy_fair]

"I think..." Zack leaned forward, because right here on the elevator was an awesome time to steal a kiss, "I think I don't even have to ask. It's a given."

[intraspective]

She was a willing participant in his kiss-stealing. Truly, not a horrible fate at all!

"Sap," Ino replied affectionately. "Giant sap."