Apartment Above the Boards, Monday Night

[intraspective]

It would be a damn dirty lie for Ino to even pretend she wasn't really into what was out of Taylor Swift's new album. She totally was. No shame.

"My castle crumbled overnight," she sang while scrubbing the floor. Cleaning the kitchen wasn't very glamourous but it was pretty important. "I brought a knife to a gun fight."

Ino was pretty sure she'd win in a case like that. She was also reasonably sure Taylor would too, if she cared enough.

Still, misdirection was a useful tool. She leaned back on her heels and stretched, smiling at where Silly watched her from the counter.

"And I know I make the same mistakes every time
Bridges burn, I never learn, at least I did one thing right
I did one thing right
I'm laughing with my lover, making forts under covers
Trust him like a brother, yeah, you know I did one thing right
Starry eyes sparkin' up my darkest night
My baby's fit like a daydream
Walking with his head down
I'm the one he's walking to
So call it what you want, yeah, call it what you want to…

She was possibly going to sing this song until the kitchen sparkled. It was catchy.

[For ze boy, please!]

Comments

[intraspective]

She flinched, dropping the sponge. Ino picked it back up, glancing over at him.

“Call It What You Want,” she said, sitting up on her heels again.

Then, a bit sheepishly, she added, “That’s not me being rude. That’s the name of the song.”

[puppy_fair]

"It's, um..." Zack smiled a bit, hopefully encouragingly. He was never quite sure these days. "It's really catchy," he offered. "But I missed the start of it."

[intraspective]

Despite herself, she smiled slightly.

“It just came out Friday morning,” Ino said, striving for easy and almost hitting. “Um, did you want to hear the beginning?”

[puppy_fair]

"Sure," Zack replied, and he actually almost sounded as easygoing about it as he wanted to. This conversation was something verging on normal. That was something they hadn't had in... in forever. "Might as well have a listen to the whole thing, right?"

[intraspective]

It had been a long time. It was almost shocking how long it had been, given that they lived in the same place.

“Alright,” she said, honestly wondering what he’d think of the whole thing when she was done. “I guess that’s doable.”

She… actually didn’t mind. And sounded like that was fine.

“My castle crumbled overnight
I brought a knife to a gunfight
They took the crown, but it's alright
All the liars are calling me one
Nobody's heard from me for months
I'm doing better than I ever was, 'cause…”

She carried on, not really sure if she should look at him or not and settling for almost.

[puppy_fair]

The... the end of the song wasn't nearly as gutting as the start of it, was it? Or maybe it was even moreso, knowing what the lead-in really was. Knowing that the end was a result of what had come before.

Zack listened to her sing, and slowly lost the open, pleasant look on his face. He managed not to choke, at the very least, but by the time the song had come around to where he had walked in before, he was staring at the floor, just trying to process.

Well. It was still catchy.

[intraspective]

It was, at that.

It was also painful, somehow, the way it resonated.

Ino still liked it, as she wound down through the song. There was hope, under all that pain. And a savage sort of triumph.

[puppy_fair]

Zack needed a few moments to look up again. And when he did, he needed a few moments more before speaking, to be sure he wasn't going to choke on his words.

"It's a good song." A pause. "It's not an easy song."

[intraspective]

Ino hitched one shoulder up, in a bit of a shrug, even as she studied the sponge she was still griping. Poor sponge.

“She’s got a lot of songs like that. They’re catchy and fun and good. But they bite too.”

[puppy_fair]

Zack nodded wordlessly, staring down at that sponge as well for a few seconds more.

"A knife to a gun fight?"

That part stood out. A lot of parts stood out.

[intraspective]

Ino paused, thinking of how best to explain Taylor Swift to Zack.

"The singer--and writer--of the song is known for writing autobiographical snapshots about her life," she said, finally. "It's one of the things that made her famous. It's also something people judge and shame her about. She... had a bad year, last year. Her latest album--this is the fourth single off of it--is her addressing it."

Ino chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment.

"Did you want to hear another?"

[puppy_fair]

Zack chewed the inside of his own cheek, too. And then he nodded.

"Sure," he said, softly. "I'd like to hear more, yeah."

Maybe it would give them some insight, too.

[intraspective]

"Okay," Ino said, not... really sure what to make of any of this really. But... okay.

Singing. Sure, she could do that. It wasn't like she didn't know (and love) the music.

Doing it while mostly on the floor wasn't going to happen though. Ino stopped mangling the poor sponge and tossed it in her bucket, standing.

"Like, what, just a couple or I start from the beginning and give you a better idea of it that way?"

No way was she singing every single song Taylor Swift had done, but she could go in order, sure.

[puppy_fair]

Zack tilted his head a little at that. That was a good question. How many songs were there to go through, anyway?

"Maybe... just pick some of your favorites?"

That seemed like a better idea. Or possibly a worse one, depending on what they were about.

[intraspective]

Yeah, she probably wasn't going to be singing Better Than Revenge.

"My favs?" Ino shrugged. "Alright, if that's what you want, that's fine with me. Can we do this in the living room, though?"

[puppy_fair]

Zack blinked and tilted his head, and then nodded.

"That's more comfortable than the kitchen," he agreed. "Sure, let's take it to the living room."

[intraspective]

"Great," Ino said, going to wash her hands in the sink first. Silly bumbled over to her arm and, after wiping her hands dry on the dish towel, she scooped her ridiculous chicobo up onto her shoulder. "After you?"

[puppy_fair]

Zack nodded, then made his way out to the living room, pausing to look at the couch. Huh. Right. They had one of these. People sat in them and talked and stuff.

He'd slept in it a few times when Ino wasn't home. He was pretty sure this would be their first conversation in it. He sat down on one end, leaving plenty of space if she wanted the other.

[intraspective]

Well, first conversation that wasn't about things like... food. And getting clothing. And stuff like that. They'd done that, hadn't they, back when they'd moved in?

Ino drifted in after him and, after a moment, took the other end of the couch.

She fiddled with her hair, for a moment, thinking.

"This one is pretty old, I liked it before we left..."

But she liked it more now. Wasn't it funny how things like that worked out?

Ino drew in a breath and then began to sing:

"I used to think one day we'd tell the story of us,
How we met and the sparks flew instantly,
and people would say, "They're the lucky ones."
I used to know my place was the spot next to you,
Now I'm searching the room for an empty seat,
'Cause lately I don't even know what page you're on."

[puppy_fair]

Well. That was...

Zack wasn't sure if she'd chosen that song for a reason, but it was one hell of a punch to the guts. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until she was through, and his throat felt tight and his head was spinning maybe a little bit.

"Are they all like that one?"

[intraspective]

"They're not all like that," she said, tilting her head. "She's got another a lot like it." Forever & Always.

And it rains in your bedroom
Everything is wrong
It rains when you're here and it rains when you're gone
'Cause I was there when you said forever and always

But Ino hadn't wanted to sing that. It hurt more.

"She's got a lot of ones that are--deep feeling. She writes as she feels."

[puppy_fair]

"Not many people do," Zack noted. Or maybe that was just his experience. His friends had all been SOLDIER, or Turks, or stubborn students of Fandom High. Not many of them were prone to sharing their feelings. He bit the inside of his cheek for a few seconds, mostly just to pull his head out of a thought spiral he wasn't ready for. And then he ventured, "I'd like to hear another one."

[intraspective]

Ino studied him for a moment, sideways. "You sure?" she asked.

[puppy_fair]

Zack knew that look. And he was pretty sure she knew the look on his face, in turn.

"Yeah," he said, at length. "Yeah, I'm sure."

[intraspective]

Yeah, she did.

Ino didn't sigh. Though she wanted to.

"Alright," she said quietly. "Then..."

It was a pretty different song she picked this time. Less a slap to the face, but still... hard.

"Looking at it now
It all seems so simple
We were lying on your couch
I remember
You took a Polaroid of us
Then discovered (then discovered)
The rest of the world was black and white
But we were in screaming color
And I remember thinking…"