Apartment Above the Boards, Thursday Afternoon

[intraspective]

Ino hadn't wanted to... not bother Zack, exactly, but hadn't wanted to bring anything up that was too raw given everything, and then coupled with Tseng's visit (which had confused and intrigued her in about equal amounts, with an odd, unexpected dash of finding it comforting that he'd come--or, perhaps, comfortable was the better word?) well, Ino just hadn't wanted to step ungently.

There was a time and place for that.

But she and Reno really did need to get going, the trip Zack was going on with the school gave them time to get away more or less scot-free, and... before that happened, she didn't want to hold back Aerith's letters.

Tseng hadn't wanted to punish Aerith any further--well, Ino had never wanted to at all.

"Hey," she said, smiling as Zack came in after class. "What did you cover today?"

She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, sorting through notes from her shop, not having bothered to put on more than a tank-top and shorts on today, since she hadn't been out.

[For the modded-with-permission guy, but also open for calls and/or visitors.]

Comments

[puppy_fair]

"Mmmm, horse snot," Zack laughed, shaking his head. "He'd be sad he couldn't stay in the apartment, though. Or sit in your hair."

She'd have to stock up on shrivels just to be able to keep a pocket chocobo.

[intraspective]

“Now you’ve got me picturing wrapping my hair around Silly in a hug and that is sad,” Ino said, frowning a little. “Silly had better not grow up.”

[puppy_fair]

"Then it's decided," Zack said, grinning. "Silly's not allowed to grow up. Rubber stamp it. Hear that, Fandom? Miniature chocobo forever."

[intraspective]

Ino paused.

"The island had better not take that as a challenge," she observed. "I'll be really upset if it ages Silly up for longer than a weekend."

But a weekend would be okay.

[puppy_fair]

"Just a weekend," Zack said, smiling. "I bet he'd be great to curl up against. Like a big warm feathery pillow."

[intraspective]

“I’d be okay with that,” Ino decided, wandering over to flop down on Zack. What? He could cope. “Silly’d be okay with that too, I think.”

[puppy_fair]

Zack smiled, shifting his weight a little so that he could wrap his arms around her.

"I mean, he already figures he's eight feet tall and invincible," he noted. "He'd get to know what that actually feels like, for a change."

[intraspective]

Ino laughed, grinning up at him. "In fairness to Silly, 'invincible' has proven accurate so far!"

[puppy_fair]

"Okay, I can't deny that," Zack laughed, and then leaned in to steal a kiss. What? She was right there. "So, did you have a good visit this weekend?"

Three Tsengs. Gods, that must've been... something.

[intraspective]

And she was never, ever going to complain about him stealing kisses, no.

“You know,” she said, considering him, “I think I did. Not all the conversations were easy, but even with that… yeah. What about you?”

[puppy_fair]

Zack hiked a shoulder up slightly.

"Met a friend of a friend," he offered. "That was pretty neat. I, uh. I talked to Tseng - our Tseng - for a few minutes, too."

It had been a very short conversation.

[intraspective]

“He gave me some letters to give to you,” she admitted. “Can I ask how the conversation went?”

Tseng, after all, tended toward the dramatic.

He was quiet, unless he lost his temper, but he was very dramatic.

[puppy_fair]

Zack let out a small huff, his smile wavering for a moment.

"I mean, I didn't punch him into the duck pond?"

That was good, right?

[intraspective]

That was good, and it confirmed what she’d told Tseng: he weren’t done with him, not even a little.

“That’s good,” she said, “since the ducks didn’t do nothing to deserve that.”

Tseng had, yeah, she couldn’t deny that.

[puppy_fair]

Zack nodded a little.

"They're good ducks." He fell silent a moment, and then added, "He had letters?"

[intraspective]

“Yeah,” she said, quietly. “From Aerith. She wrote you the whole time you were…”

Ino trailed off.

“He kept them for you.”

[puppy_fair]

Zack blinked, his arms tightening around her slightly, unconsciously.

"She wrote?" A beat. "He kept them?"

There... there were a lot of strange implications to that. Zack didn't know what to think.

So he settled on, "Why?"

[intraspective]

“Why did she write? Why did he keep them?” she asked, glancing up and making no protest about the sudden squishiness. “Or… why did he want to give them to you now?”

[puppy_fair]

Zack was quiet for a few moments. He could imagine why she wrote. Most of his questions were about Tseng.

"Why did he keep them? Why give them to me now?"

[intraspective]

Ino thought about that.

"I think he kept them out of guilt," she ventured, after a bit. "And affection, but he's got a nasty streak of blamin' himself for shit that runs right down. And as for now... I don't know, but I think that maybe it's 'cause he's just now comin' to the terms with... you ain't disappearin' again. You're gonna stick around."

[puppy_fair]

"I mean..." Zack frowned a little, mulling that over. "It isn't as though I have much choice."

Going home was off the table.

And where else was there?

[intraspective]

Oh, Zack.

"No," she said, feeling a bit helpless and sad. "No, I didn't mean physically, Zack. I mean, he--he ain't worried now that you're going to die."

[puppy_fair]

"I wasn't dead before," Zack noted, softly. "He knew that."

But he'd been as good as dead.

Tseng had known that, too.

[intraspective]

"But you..."

Gods, Ino wasn't prepared for this conversation. Not even a little.

"You were as good as," she said, her throat tight, "and he had no idea if or when that'd go from good as to actually dead."

[puppy_fair]

Zack went quiet at that, just pulling her more tightly into a hug, then. He wasn't sure anything could possibly come from his mouth that wouldn't make this moment worse, but he felt compelled to try.

"He had them looking for us," he muttered. "When we were running. He had the other Turks looking."