fandomtownies | Chilly Boulder, Saturday Afternoon

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Chilly Boulder, Saturday Afternoon

So, originally, the plan had been for Karla, Warren, and all three children to show up at Fandom this weekend and do the whole reunion thing. They'd see old friends, show Nyles and Cora the island, and take a ridiculous number of pictures commemorating things that really didn't need to be commemorated. And then, last night, Cora had come into Karla's parlor before bedtime complaining that she didn't feel good. And then had promptly thrown up. Nyles, who had been a footstep behind her, managed to keep down his dinner, but was flushed and feverish.

Long story short, Cora and Nyles had come down with chicken pox. And as much as Karla would have liked to simply Heal them and be done with it, getting chicken pox now meant they wouldn't get worse illnesses later, and so Warren and Karla reluctantly agreed to let them stick it out. And that clearly meant that at least one parent needed to stay with them. But Kayla, being far too young, needed to be kept away. And so, after a spirited game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, (best two out of three, and no, Warren, she didn't cheat), Karla had ended up being the one who got to take Kayla away to the island for the weekend, while Warren and his healing factor took care of two thoroughly miserable children.

On the other hand, now Karla at least had a good excuse to take a million pictures? Like the ones she was taking now, of Kayla smearing vanilla ice cream all over her face as she attempted to spoon it into her mouth. Thank the Darkness for data plans.

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"Now that you're Ino again, why can't you?" Triela asked, her voice falling into mild curiosity again. She was sure that Ino had a good reason, she simply didn't understand it yet.

"Because I love them," Ino said simply. "They're my family. So is Zack. But I can't leave either."

"And they don't like each other."

Triela frowned thoughtfully.

"I'm sorry."

She shook her head.

"It's more... it's more complicated than that," she said quietly. "Tseng, my boss, he and Zack were friends but when Zack went down in Nibelheim, it were the Turks under Tseng's orders that had to take him off to be... experimented off. Tseng didn't have a choice, that were his job, and he's the reason Zack got out, but Zack can't forgive him. And he can't forgive the Turks, even me, 'cause of it."

She hadn't even been there. She hadn't known.

"They didn't tell you." That wasn't a question. Triela was frowning slightly. She understood the need for operational security, but... "Were the right?"

That was a question Ino still didn't know the answer to.

"I don't know. I probably would've gotten myself killed trying to get him out, if they'd told me," she said. "So what they did saved my life. But, but Zack deserved better."

And she'd grieved. So much.

"And you might have done it. Against all odds."

Triela considered long and hard. "I think... if I were you, I would have tried to kill them. When I found out." Her lip quirked. "But I guess I do look at 'family' a bit differently than you do. And maybe your way is better."

"I don't know if it were better," she admitted. "But, but I did want I felt like doing and that was looking after Zack. And being angry, so angry, at them for lying to me but it were out of love."

It was so hard to argue with love.

"Just because someone loves you doesn't mean that they're right."

Triela squeezed Ino's fingers, looking down where they touched. "They've made you unhappy, Ino," she said softly. Triela did not approve.

"I know," Ino said, squeezing back. "But, but most of them are dead now. There's nothing I can do that will make me feel better and they can't apologize now."

Tseng could. And Reno. And Rude.

But no one else.

"So why stay?" Triela asked after a moment, still looking down at their hands rather than at Ino's face. "It sounds like you need a clean start. A chance to be happy again. You deserve that, you know."

Even as she suggested it, Triela doubted it was a realistic idea. It wasn't like she could have walked away from her own situation no matter how miserable it had gotten.

"Because it's my home," Ino said, "and there's worse coming. If I can, I want to help. And because Zack won't leave and I'm still the girl who'd followed him to his world after high school."

It was ridiculous. It was true.

Triela frowned, finally looking up at Ino. "Are you content?" Not happy, but content?

It was such a strange question that she stopped and blinked.

"What?"

"With your life," Triela expanded. "You may not be happy, but... is it enough?"

"Like... if I died, would it be enough to look at the life I lived?"

"No, not that." Triela shook her head, frowning as she tried to frame the question properly. "The life you have now... the Turks and Zack and," she paused, waving to indicate Ino. "Are you looking for more, or is it enough?"

Oh.

"Oh," she said blankly. "I. Well."

Was she content?

"I'm miserable."

Triela sighed, but nodded. About what she'd expected.

She took a deep breath, then looked up at her friend across the table. "I don't know how long I'll be here," she admitted after a moment. "But while I am, what can I do?" she asked. "Even if it's just for an hour or two, what can I do to make you happy?"

"I don't know," Ino said, sounding a bit... lost.

No one had asked her that in ages. She hadn't thought about it in ages. It was all about getting by.

"You can think about it, if you like," Triela offered. "I'm not in a hurry."

Besides, she knew that tone of voice. She'd used it herself once or twice. Heard it from some of the other girls at the Social Welfare Agency. And she was surprised by how much it hurt to hear it from Ino.

"I'll think about it," Ino promised. "I just... it's not..."

She shook her head.

"It's different, that's all."

"You haven't thought about it in years, have you?" Triela asked softly.

She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Probably not since you thought Zack died."

Ino winced, but didn't deny it.

"Might be stupid, makin' someone your whole world, but that was what I did," she said. "Weren't the best plan, as it turns out."

"I'm not one to chide you for something like that," Triela said softly. "But I think that might mean I understand, too."

"At least a little bit."

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