fandomhigh | Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part I

Entry tags:

!event: welcome picnic

Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part I

The recent cold front had been a welcome weather pattern as far as Zoe was concerned, and she was very grateful for how things had turned out today - it was sunny and breezy, and just cool enough that no one would pass out from heat exhaustion. Hopefully.

Beneath the blue and gold streamers and balloons, tables had been set up with drinks and food, including an entire table of ~~moddable~~ different ice cream flavors. As always, there was a stack of nametags set down next two signs: one listing the Big Sibling/Little Sibling pairings, and one listing rooms and roommates for the new students.

[OCD is up! Have at it! This is part one of the picnic, specifically for meeting siblings, roommates, and teachers. The rest of the picnic is happening here and here, in an effort to keep browsers from breaking for as long as possible. Since it's outside, the picnic is open to all students, teachers, and townies!]

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Reno nodded, soaking that in. If it was any other guy, he probably would have tossed in some sort of joking, 'he pushes his luck and I'll kick his ass for you,' for good measure. But... Not so much, with Zack. For various reasons.

"So long as you're comfortable with it," he said, instead.

"You think I would've let him if I weren't?" Ino asked.

Reno's wry grin. He'd show you it.

"I think you're a ninja and one of my Rookies, but you're still a teenage girl who knows a pretty smile when she sees it," Reno replied. "But you ain't stupid, I know that, too. So I'm gonna have to trust you on this, huh?"

"And fuss," she sighed. "You don't need to fuss over me 'bout Zack."

Yes he did. Not that she knew it.

"That ain't gonna stop me," Reno pointed out. "You're my Rookie, Rookie. I fuss."

Even if certain other Rookies would never believe as much. Which drove him nuts. But, hey, that was also the job of the Rookie.

"For no reason," she replied. "I mean, it's Zack. He's, like, seriously not going to hurt me in anyway."

"He smells funny," Reno retorted, "and he's got stupid hair."

Yes. That was seriously the best that he could come up with to hold against Zack. And the smelling funny thing wasn't even entirely true, generally. But Reno had only really ever had the honor of smelling Zack after the boy had been through hell and back and was drowning in post-battle sweat, so maybe he wasn't lying, either?

"And that's why you don't like him?" Ino asked, making a face at him. "And he doesn't smell weird at all. Or have stupid hair."

She was used to the hair.

"Why're you so against him?"

"He's SOLDIER, I'm a Turk," Reno replied, shrugging and smirking a bit at the question. "You ask him sometime, what it is he thinks our job is. See what SOLDIERs think our purpose really is, yo. SOLDIER is there to look pretty while they smash crap, Rookie. Bein' a Turk takes finesse."

Okay... so that wasn't the reason why Reno was against him, by a long shot. But it was a nice, convenient starting point, at least. And not entirely untrue.

"He thinks you're not the best," she said, crossing her arms. "'Cause you waved your glorified stick in his face on first meeting. He's not fully sold on you bein' important to me either."

"Yeah, well, he thought he was bein' the hero, runnin' headfirst into Turk business," Reno replied, shrugging dismissively. "Cissnei had her situation handled fine, didn't need no SOLDIER boy to leap in to save the day, yo."

Damn, that had been ages ago. It felt like forever, to Reno.

"So it's history to you," she said, "it ain't to him. And it'd be a lot nicer if I didn't have to deal with the both of you not much caring for the other. Bein' stuck in the middle ain't fun."

Reno sighed at that, taking a moment to pick a piece of imaginary lint from his shoulder.

"You want me to back off, Rookie? About him, I mean."

He wasn't backing off from her. Hell no.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "I just--don't much like being stuck in the middle while you two dislike each other."

Oooh. That's how it was.

Reno sighed again, nodded a little, and then shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Between you an' me? I don't hate the kid. He's all... sunny an' happy an' junk, and that ain't really my gig, yo. But I don't hate him."

... Much.

She studied him.

"But you don't much like me with him, do you?"

"It ain't really like that, either," Reno said. "You're probably damn good for one another, yo."

He wasn't about to tell her that Zack only had maybe six years left in him, and four of those were spent in a tube, though.

"I worry. I can't help thinkin' that bein' with him means you're gonna get wrapped up in Gaia's rough spots."

And that was even the truth, however sidestepped. Bravo, Reno.

Not telling her was both... the best and worst thing he could do, really.

Ino considered him for a moment. "If I get wrapped up in Gaia's problems," she pointed out, "it'll be my own choice."

Reno nodded slightly, at that.

"And I know it ain't my choice to make for you," Reno replied. "But if you make it... Don't make it lightly, that's all I'm sayin'. Don't make it for Zack, don't make it for Gaia. Make it for you, if you make it at all."

"Don't worry 'bout me, Reno," she said, reaching out to whack him lightly on the arm, if he'd let it connect. "I can land on my feet."

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Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part I

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