Day 34: Lunch

[thatdamnedninja.livejournal.com]

Yuffie bounced all the way through collecting her lunch, all the way to a good seat- one with a nice view of the whole cafeteria, which was something she'd been missing out on during the past day or so that she'd been stuck in the Institute- and hell, she even bounced into her seat.

A good mood? No, really?

Despite the occasional blip, talking to Sagara had been awesome. He was a fun guy; he wasn't a prude, didn't have a stick shoved so far up his ass it was poking out his eyeballs, and he'd actually had a conversation with her. One that hadn't revolved around doom, gloom or how much life sucked. If she could find other people like that and keep in touch with Sagara, maybe there was a little hope for this place.

After a quick gulp of pink lemonade, Yuffie settled to munching through her food and keeping an eye on the door.

[Waiting for Dean, I think? :x]

Comments

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

"Oh wonderful!" Armand said cheerily. "Perhaps I can put up a note after lunch." He drank some more lemonade and poked at the breaded chicken. "Is that chicken?" he asked doubtfully.

Then, as if forgetting what he just asked, he went on, "What are we doing next shift? Do you know?"

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

TK decided he wasn't going to try and respond to that any more. The renewed blush was doing that well enough for him. Food was a less contraversial topic. "...What's a chicken?" Maybe he didn't want to find out, but he'd already eaten whatever it was, anyway.

Usually he could remember the schedule perfectly, but right now he needed a moment to think before he could say with certainty. "Showers for adults." He remembered how much Armand seemed to dislike those.

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

Some of his smile fading, Armand sighed. "There's nothing wrong with being clean, I suppose." But he wondered how to get the note up.

"Oh well. I'll work out how to find you some friends somehow. And if you look after yourself, you and Bridget can show me more about self-defense."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

TK nodded. He saw nothing wrong with the idea of a shower, although a water shower was going to sting like hell on any wounds right now.

"I have no intention of going anywhere dangerous at the moment. Too woozy." Sleep sounded like the most attractive option, really.

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

"I meant in general," Armand murmured absently as he continued to poke his chicken. It still didn't look like food. He glanced up at Morrison through is lashes. "I can imagine someone being very happy to warm your bed, my friend."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"Wh-" Oh. Well, here came the blush again, along with a look of comprehension. It might be best if the blush just stayed there, so it wouldn't have to keep coming back every ten-or-so seconds. And now he didn't even have any food left to act distracted with. 'Awkward' was an excellent way to describe his state of being.

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

"When you do that you seem very innocent and naive." And on that subject, he supposed he was. At least Armand had experience in bed. Not a lot, but enough. "I want to help, not torment you. Would you rather I didn't?"

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"Well, I am, really." He knew about the whole concept in a vague sort of way, but that was it. "It's fine. I'm just... This is completely new and unfamiliar."

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

"It won't be new for long. There's a first time for everything." His hand is still now, resting on the table, but his eyes are watching Morrison, not warily but speculatively. "I do wish to know..."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

The blush almost started to come back in preparation for whatever was going to be happening next. "...What?" He was sure whatever would happen next was going to warrant another blush, possibly from a combination of surprise, embarassment and confusion.

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

With a quick, nervous glance from side to side to see if any nurses or orderlies were too close, Armand leaned across the table--that part was awkward--and attempted to plant a very quick kiss on Morrison's lips. The man was already blushing far too much.

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

TK's response to surprise wasn't often to freeze up, but this time was an exception. He stopped dead, mouth just slightly open, and very, very confused. There had to be a reason for this, somehow, somewhere, but he couldn't figure out what that was.

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

He didn't linger. Armand wasn't attracted to Morrison himself, but he thought it would be very easy to tell if the man loathed being kissed by another man. He didn't as far as Armand could tell. No cringing, no slapping or groans of disgust. Armand settled back, somewhat relieved that the act had gone unnoticed, at least so far.

He was red-cheeked as well, and ducked his chin to let his hair fall over his face. "Ummm... my apologies. I only wanted to see if you hated it." As far as he could tell, Morrison had reacted like any inexperienced person to a surprise kiss. "Perhaps you do not hate intimacy with men," he murmured, still hiding his face. "I should find a young lady to kiss you now."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"Uh..." That was about all he could manage, at the moment. The blush seemed to have gotten to his brain by now.

The last thing Armand said made him snap out of it a bit. "Oh, no you don't have to do that..." Then he realized something. "...That was the first time I've ever been kissed by anyone."

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

"You don't think you like women?" Armand asked, head to one side. His own flush was fading now. "I'm sorry it was your first. I wish I'd been able to make it more enjoyable."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"It's just that getting kissed randomly again would probably make me blush so hard I'd spontaneously combust..." TK ran a hand through his hair, embarassed. "And it's alright. I was just startled, that's all."

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

"Well, a fellow like you, surprising you is the only way to get close," Armand teased. "It can be embarrassing, especially if you don't know what to expect or how you'll react. I remember my first kiss." He blushed again at the memory. "I was just about your actual age. When I got home, Margot had heard about it and made me wash my mouth out with soap."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"So normal civilians start doing this sort of thing when they're still about twelve years old?" He couldn't imagine the clone equivalent ever doing that at that time.

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

"Oh yes, some earlier, some later. The girl in question was a bit older than I." He peered at his friend. "Even though physically, you're all grown up, I think you're even younger that way. It's sad. By the time you catch up mentally, you may be much older." He puzzled that over a few minutes.

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

TK did a half-shrug, remembering to not disturb his left shoulder this time. "War caught all of us up on most things. Social skills were deffinitely not among them." No, deffinitely not social skills.

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

"I feel for you. You have a chance to have normal life with this--as normal as Dr. Landel will allow. I want to help you as much as possible." He leaned on the table, resting his chin in his hand. "You're quite special, I think. Honesty and sincerity are rare traits."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"Thank you. I doubt I'd ever even think to do anything about these things by myself." He would just go about doing things the way he always had, as well as he was able to here. He still did for the most part, but this... This was so much different.

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

Another smile. "And as a friend you are not so bad as you think. You cheer me up, and when I'm not worried you'll get killed, being around makes me happy. Not many people do that around here."

Bridget. Anthy. That was about it. He knew other people, but many of them made him various degrees of uncomfortable.

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

TK nodded, unsure of what else to say. He never knew what was the right thing to say in situations like this, and he was used to knowing the right way to do everything.

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

"You don't even know how good a friend you are, do you?" Armand asked. He thought back over the last few days. "Remember when I was... upset the other night? That is what a friend would do. And I thank you for it."