Sowing Seeds

[buon_giorno]

"Come here...isn't your paw hurt?"

Giorno had full intentions of stealing a mid-day nap, but Croccante was high on one of the broken pillars beside the door to his room. The white cat eyed him but didn't come down. Giorno sighed and rubbed his head. Just looking up for too long was hard when he had been on his feet for longer than an hour or two.

It had been just two days since he cured Joseph. He had slept almost the rest of the day through and that was all he was allowing himself after making himself so scarce for a whole week. At some point doubt would creep into the community gossip and that was the last thing he needed to manage.

Giorno leaned against the pillar and put some of his energy into the ivy vines that crept up it. The flowers burst open, surprising the small cat, and urging her to leap down--right onto his head. He quickly pried her out of his now-mussed curls and inspected her paw. A little splinter poked out of the pink pad, and he squinted to pluck it out--and missed. And tried again--and missed. His hands were shaking. Croccante's tail was swishing in irritation. He summoned all his focus and managed to fix his fingers around it to pull it out, and the fluffy cat bolted out of his arms not a moment later.

"Yes, yes...you're welcome." Giorno watched her take off down the hall.

Comments

[julibahana]

"You have any pictures of him on your slate?"

[scholarandaprincess]

"Yes! Um...pardon the angle." Zelda's practiced fingers pulled up picture album and quickly scrolled through to near the beginning of the roll. There was a selfie style picture with Zelda smiling in a very photo-ready fashion into the camera from a high angle. On the ground by her was a young man in a blue tunic crouched over a frog. He was glancing up at the camera, his expression a neutral one (if not slightly puzzled.)

[julibahana]

Juli peered at the Sheika Slate, her eyes lit with interest.

"He even has blonde hair like Giorno," Juli said. "He's pretty cute."

[scholarandaprincess]

Zelda's eyes softened with warmth at the memory of when she had taken this picture. It was her fifth attempt to get him to participate in her frog-licking experiment. Perhaps it was her own bias, but she found Link much cuter. Then again, Giorno wasn't exactly cute. He was handsome in a refined sort of way--too refined. Regal, even. Pettily, she begrudged him for how natural it seemed to come to him.

Still, even Giorno had his moments, she was finding. Maybe she could talk him into some frog licking.

"I suppose they do look alike, don't they? Though it's not just that...they're both surprisingly shy."

[julibahana]

"Yeah," Juli said with a soft sigh. "I wish Giorno would open up more... not just to me, but all of us. It's hard to make friends with others when you're always holding them at arm's length."

[scholarandaprincess]

"I understand what you mean. Link...he's quite notorious for being silent. One day I asked him why. He told me that with so much at stake, he felt it necessary to stay strong and silently carry his burdens. To him, the worst thing he could do is add to anyone's worries. Even if I admire his selflessness...it's terribly frustrating."

[julibahana]

Juli let out another sigh. "Don't they realize that they add to our worries by not talking about their own?"

[scholarandaprincess]

"They truly don't." If they did find Link out in the woods, Zelda was feeling brave enough to have that very conversation thanks to Juli. "Still...please don't think poorly of me, but I'm a bit jealous. Giorno is much more of a romantic."

[julibahana]

"You think?" Juli asked. Then she realized something... "What's your boyfriend's name?"

[scholarandaprincess]

"Yes, after all, Giorn--" Zelda's eyes widened. "Oh no, no. Link isn't my boyfriend. He's my personal knight."

[julibahana]

"But... you'd go out with him if he asked, right?"

[scholarandaprincess]

"...If, after everything, he were to ask..." It was hard to think about such a time arriving back home with the Calamity approaching, but...she let herself indulge in such a possibility. Even if just for a moment.

"That's why I'm a bit jealous. You're the reason Giorno is arranging this festival, after all."

[julibahana]

"What?"

[scholarandaprincess]

“Oh…you hadn’t figured it out? That’s why he forbade you for having anything to do with organizing it.”

[julibahana]

Juli's brows furrowed as she messed with her bangs. "But why would he do that for me?"

[scholarandaprincess]

Zelda hummed loudly. “Well…even if he’s not using his words, he’s still trying hard to convey his feelings.”

[julibahana]

"I'd rather he use his words. This is way harder to interpret than any solid."

[scholarandaprincess]

Zelda brought her hand to her mouth as she giggled. It wasn’t often Juli was blunt, but it was fun when she was.

“So, if he committed himself plainly to you tomorrow, you would say…”

[julibahana]

"I seriously doubt he would do that. Not when he has an entire community of people to fret over already."

[scholarandaprincess]

“Put that aside. This is a hypothetical.”

[julibahana]

"If this were a more normal situation, then I'd say yes without hesitation."

[scholarandaprincess]

Zelda looked to the sky in thought. She could see the sunlight peaking through the leaves at last. “He did ask you to accompany him to the festival. Would him taking the next step be so surprising?”

[julibahana]

"I think it's easier for people to do things like this when there's an occasion for it. I don't know when we'll have another such occasion."

[unchill_chuck]

‘Shouldn’t I be saying something?’ Even if a tall-man’s ears couldn’t make out what they were saying, Chilchuck’s could. ‘Nah. I’m leaving it be.’

Even if nothing ever good came out of teammates getting romantically involved, he’d just cross that bridge when he came to it, if it needed crossing at all. Juli was doing a good job of pumping the breaks already.

“Just so everyone’s aware…we’ve got a follower.” He spoke up, pointing his thumb behind them. The fox from earlier was following at a distance, its bushy tail swishing curiously.

[shepard]

Shepard glanced over her shoulder. "You interested in adopting?" she asked Chilchuck with a smirk. "I think he likes you."