The Perk, Monday Afternoon

[intraspective]

Ino had… maybe put off calling Tseng about her impending marriage for a few weeks. Maybe more than a few weeks. It was at least a month by now. Not because she thought he'd be mad about it, but because after everything to do with Kueng and all… it had been weird, if only in her head.

But there was only so long she could put it off and the longer she put it off the less she wanted to tell him.

Which was why she was at the Perk. Largest hot chocolate they had in front of her, and an apple fritter to eat after she got this phone call over and done with.

Ino's feelings on everything were kind of incoherently complicated right now, but especially when it came to Tseng, Zack, and her marriage.

She was… going to call him. Absolutely. She was going to steel herself and call him.

There was a significant part of her that was hoping he'd be too busy to pick up though.

[Open, yo!]

Comments

[ponytailedturk]

No such luck, sorry, Ino.

"Tseng," came the usual, brusque greeting on the other end of the line.

And only that. Because... Tseng.

[intraspective]

Dammit, Tseng.

“Iris,” she returned since… yeah, she probably should say that much, definitely.

She hesitated a moment, then went fuck it, and just blurted it out: “I’m getting married.”

She was bad at this times about a million.

[ponytailedturk]

Apparently so!

It was fine. So was Tseng, who sat there in silence for a few seconds before replying, "Congratulations."

...

He had a lot of sorting to do himself, here.

[intraspective]

Ino was doing her very, very best not to giggle. Since she was pretty sure it’d come out a bit… off.

“I mean, I weren’t expecting it exactly, and I didn’t mean to not tell you earlier, but it was just—“

She paused.

And just… kept on pausing.

Maybe she could put herself out of her misery.

[ponytailedturk]

There was a long silence on Tseng's end before, ever so helpfully, he supplied, "Awkward?"

Much like this was now?

[intraspective]

“I can hang up,” Ino suggested, more than half serious. “We can pretend this phone call never happened and I can start over?”

[ponytailedturk]

"Hang up, and you call back, and this goes better?" And now there was something like amusement creeping into Tseng's voice. "Will I need to wait another few weeks before you try again?"

Guess who had access to Fandom's podcasts, Ino. Guess.

[intraspective]

Just… just… shut up.

There was a long silence.

“I may never call back,” she admitted.

Because, seriously, help. Someone just help her.

[ponytailedturk]

And then Ino would hear something that people very, very seldom, if ever, heard.

Tseng was laughing.

Enjoy that, Ino.

[intraspective]

Ino just sort of… put her head down against the table.

Tried to will herself out of existence.

And, despite that, couldn’t help but smile slightly. It was… it was… wow, it was nice to hear him laugh.

[ponytailedturk]

"Well then," Tseng said, his tone still surprisingly light once that laugh was through, "we had best continue this conversation now. I would like to remain in contact with you, after all."

What with her being one of his Turks, and all.

[intraspective]

Yeah, that wasn’t really helping Ino’s wish to will herself out of existence, funnily enough.

“If you insist,” Ino said, “though my offer to hang up is definitely still on the table.”

[ponytailedturk]

"That won't be necessary."

You're welcome, Ino!

"Have you chosen a date yet?"

He was certain he didn't have to explain to her why Turks didn't marry. He was also certain that she wouldn't care if he did.

[intraspective]

“No,” she said a bit helplessly. “Ain’t really done much yet, honest.”

Mostly, Ino had panicked and flailed.

[ponytailedturk]

Tseng was going to be good. He wasn't going to laugh again.

Really.

"Oh? Just content to be engaged for the time being, then?"

[intraspective]

“I…”

Her throat closed.

“I don’t know.”

[ponytailedturk]

"Ah," Tseng replied. "Nervous."

Damn him anyway.

[intraspective]

“Panicking,” she corrected.

Since nervous was a thing little people did.

“He—he had the ring all through Nibelheim.”

Ino was pretty sure she wasn’t worth that.

[ponytailedturk]

Tseng was thankful that there was so much distance between them.

Because then she didn't need to know that his answer to that should have been, 'I know.' He had, after all, had a hand in restraining him, making certain to inventory anything Zack could potentially use as a weapon.

"He's very dedicated to you," he said, instead. "Not many people can appreciate that."

[intraspective]

Yeah. Yeah, there were answers Ino would accept and—that one, however true, would shatter all progress they’d made in the year and change since Zack had been freed.

Ino squinted at her phone anyway. That was an interesting response.

“I ain’t sure I can,” she admitted.

[ponytailedturk]

"Oh?" Well... that was interesting. Tseng's tone mellowed out somewhat at that. "And why is that?"

[intraspective]

Was this the sort of thing she was supposed to talk about with her boss?

Probably not?

“I don’t know,” Ino admitted. “But I said yes and were happy and the longer it is, the more I feel—“

She cut herself off there.

“I don’t know.”

But it made her feel small and tight and off-center and she didn't like it. It made her want to find something to mellow her out, but she hadn't dared to.

[ponytailedturk]

"Uncertain?" Tseng was now kind of tentatively prodding, yes. "Is it about him, or is this self-doubt?"

And yes, this conversation was strange to be having on several levels.

[intraspective]

And, yet, he was literally the only person she'd talked to who didn't expect her to be 100% on cloud nine about it.

It was refreshing.

"It ain't 'bout him or 'bout caring enough," she said, her hair braiding itself and then unbraiding itself nervously. "I just--I don't know. Maybe I ain't good enough for it. I were a mess while he were gone. And he, in that future that I died in, he kept on going."

She hadn't really. In the five years she'd thought him dead.

Ino chewed on her lower lip and thought of how to explain how she felt. "It ain't, now, like I lost 'im again, the way I were before you all--" intervened? stopped her from killing herself by inches? "--but I ain't... I don't know."

It felt like she was wobbling on a tightrope where her balance had been perfect before.

Maybe this was a conversation she should be having with Tseng after all.

[ponytailedturk]

Maybe it absolutely was.

Tseng was silent for a long moment before speaking again.

"You're comparing dumbapples to gysahl," he noted, finally. "He kept on going, but he wasn't going alone. And he had somebody he had to hold himself together for. Falling apart was simply not an option. When you lost Zack... you lost everything you had built together. Everything you had planned for. It's entirely different."

And Tseng himself was inextricably tied into both situations in very different ways.

That, too, made this an interesting conversation.