Ren was a pretty skeptical kid by nature, but the way Sakura had put it made it sound like she really did believe they'd find a way to destroy the clock. And he had no choice but to believe in that.
"Okay," he replied.
It was starting to get depressing, and he needed to change the subject before he really did start to scare himself, so he said, "I need to find some clothes. Nothing fits me anymore, and I wasn't about to let Phillip pick anything out." Because had you seen the way Phillip dressed himself? Ren was not going to put up with that.
Sakura considered, thinking to the call Rory had made for general supplies. "There's a few sets of clothing we have here in the Bay that should work for you. I have a few shirts at the house that might fit, too. A little loose," she adds with a small smile, "But all fairly plain." No flowers or distracting shades of pink, if one was red.
Sakura did like red. "I can also see about talking to the clothiers, or ask around." Worst come to worst, she could also try hemming. Not that sewing was the kind of skill she spent time on perfecting, but it was one of the things she'd had to pick up over the years.
"I'll see what's here," Ren said pretty quickly. Even if Sakura's clothes didn't look girly, there was still the thought. And it was the whole reason he'd avoided letting Phillip pick anything out at all costs.
She turned around to hide the smile on her face, amused. "Comeon," she said neutrally, "Unless you'd like me to bring them to you, they're just over here. You can pick out something that looks good to you."
Ren nodded and followed along, trying not to trip over his own shoes. That was one of the first things he was going to have to look for--even a pair of sandals would be easier to keep on.
It's not that far from where he'd been, a box of clothing that's been nicely folded back into it, more or less sorted into size. Shoes were on the bottom, which may have explained why Sakura reached in and pulled the pile of shirts out and set them on the nearby flat surface for Ren to look through, followed by the assortment of shorts and pants. Mixed bag all around, but hey, it was something.
"Here you go! I don't know if there's anything in shoes for you. If there isn't, I'll ask around."
Ren dug into the clothes and immediately started setting aside anything that was a definite no: too small, too big, too girly, too boring--why were all of his clothes back home neutral-colored anyway? It didn't take long for the neat stack of clothing to, well, look exactly like what happens when a kid gets to it.
He'd finally pulled out a shirt and a pair of jeans he was okay with when he went to the box to check for shoes and repeated the process. Half of the shoes were left all over the floor, along with one of his own.
"Found something," he said, pulling out a pair of sneakers. "They're a little big, but they're okay."
Sakura was already starting to refold some of the clothing when he found a pair of shoes that would work. She glanced over to Ren, eying the sneakers when he spoke up. "Good," she said brightly, trying not to grimace at the shoes lying all over.
She set a refolded shirt down, bending over to snag his shoe out of the jumble of the rest. "Let's make sure not to accidentally lose anything of yours you'll want back when you're back to normal." Foregone conclusion. If she said it enough, it'd be reality -- and not magically, but through determination. "There's no real changing area around here, but we can draw curtains around one of the beds if that sounds okay to you."
Ren headed off to change behind the curtain the moment Sakura mentioned it--which coincidentally meant that he didn't have to pick up the mess he'd made. After a few minutes, he pushed the curtain out of the way, dressed in much better-fitting clothes and with his normal clothes crumpled up under his arm. The necklace he always wore with his girlfriend's ring on it was out in plain sight, a strange contrast against the child.
A coincidence that left Sakura continuing to fold things and put them neatly away. She wasn't quite done by the time he was, if it wasn't as important as she might unintentionally make it seem.
She glanced at his necklace, curious. "Feeling hungry?"
"I guess," Ren answered with a shrug. He was trying not to show it, but he felt uneasy about everything. Lost memories, lost years, and no way of knowing when everything would be fixed--it made him feel like he needed more help and guidance than he'd ever admit.
"We've always got the mess hall, if you feel like eating goop." She grinned, if she'd done just that for a long time. "We've got some variety back at the teahouse. Lots of canned things," she admitted, smiling. "Rice, different spices, something called freezedried. Ramen, if I'm afraid that's instant."
Who knew if ramen even was appealing. It was a general overview of what Sakura had decided to stock up on while on planet, if she'd gotten a decent number of things with the intention of them being supplies for everyone at the house. "Or we can head home and decide things from there. It'll feel nice to get away from this atmosphere for a while."
"No slop, please!" That was one of the few things Ren could remember clearly, if only because it was impossible to forget how bad it was.
"Maybe it would be better if we go home," he decided. He was a little apprehensive about facing everything that was supposed to be familiar to him, but it was better than the medbay.
She was tempted to laugh. She figured one of these days she'd find someone who actually enjoyed the slop in the mess hall. Not today. "I think we can avoid the slop for now."
Sakura pulled the box of refolded clothing up, moving it back to where it had been before shed pulled everything out for Ren. "Home sounds like a good idea to me," she said amiably, picking up his former shoes. "I've got your old shoes. Did you want me to carry your old clothes, too, or have you got them yourself?"
"I've got them," Ren insisted. He hadn't had much of a problem with Sakura cleaning up after him before, but...well, when it came to clothes and underwear and stuff, he was a little embarrassed about a girl seeing them.
"Looks like we're ready." She looked up, waving to one of the other staff members. It's a semi-official nod toward protocol, and they all are contactable by ring or comm device should they be needed back in MedBay. "Do you remember the gravity tubes?"
Ren was a pretty skeptical kid by nature, but the way Sakura had put it made it sound like she really did believe they'd find a way to destroy the clock. And he had no choice but to believe in that.
"Okay," he replied.
It was starting to get depressing, and he needed to change the subject before he really did start to scare himself, so he said, "I need to find some clothes. Nothing fits me anymore, and I wasn't about to let Phillip pick anything out." Because had you seen the way Phillip dressed himself? Ren was not going to put up with that.
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Sakura did like red. "I can also see about talking to the clothiers, or ask around." Worst come to worst, she could also try hemming. Not that sewing was the kind of skill she spent time on perfecting, but it was one of the things she'd had to pick up over the years.
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"I'll see what's here," Ren said pretty quickly. Even if Sakura's clothes didn't look girly, there was still the thought. And it was the whole reason he'd avoided letting Phillip pick anything out at all costs.
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Ren nodded and followed along, trying not to trip over his own shoes. That was one of the first things he was going to have to look for--even a pair of sandals would be easier to keep on.
Reply
"Here you go! I don't know if there's anything in shoes for you. If there isn't, I'll ask around."
Reply
Ren dug into the clothes and immediately started setting aside anything that was a definite no: too small, too big, too girly, too boring--why were all of his clothes back home neutral-colored anyway? It didn't take long for the neat stack of clothing to, well, look exactly like what happens when a kid gets to it.
He'd finally pulled out a shirt and a pair of jeans he was okay with when he went to the box to check for shoes and repeated the process. Half of the shoes were left all over the floor, along with one of his own.
"Found something," he said, pulling out a pair of sneakers. "They're a little big, but they're okay."
Reply
She set a refolded shirt down, bending over to snag his shoe out of the jumble of the rest. "Let's make sure not to accidentally lose anything of yours you'll want back when you're back to normal." Foregone conclusion. If she said it enough, it'd be reality -- and not magically, but through determination. "There's no real changing area around here, but we can draw curtains around one of the beds if that sounds okay to you."
Reply
Ren headed off to change behind the curtain the moment Sakura mentioned it--which coincidentally meant that he didn't have to pick up the mess he'd made. After a few minutes, he pushed the curtain out of the way, dressed in much better-fitting clothes and with his normal clothes crumpled up under his arm. The necklace he always wore with his girlfriend's ring on it was out in plain sight, a strange contrast against the child.
"What now?" he asked.
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She glanced at his necklace, curious. "Feeling hungry?"
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"I guess," Ren answered with a shrug. He was trying not to show it, but he felt uneasy about everything. Lost memories, lost years, and no way of knowing when everything would be fixed--it made him feel like he needed more help and guidance than he'd ever admit.
Reply
Who knew if ramen even was appealing. It was a general overview of what Sakura had decided to stock up on while on planet, if she'd gotten a decent number of things with the intention of them being supplies for everyone at the house. "Or we can head home and decide things from there. It'll feel nice to get away from this atmosphere for a while."
Reply
"No slop, please!" That was one of the few things Ren could remember clearly, if only because it was impossible to forget how bad it was.
"Maybe it would be better if we go home," he decided. He was a little apprehensive about facing everything that was supposed to be familiar to him, but it was better than the medbay.
Reply
Sakura pulled the box of refolded clothing up, moving it back to where it had been before shed pulled everything out for Ren. "Home sounds like a good idea to me," she said amiably, picking up his former shoes. "I've got your old shoes. Did you want me to carry your old clothes, too, or have you got them yourself?"
Reply
"I've got them," Ren insisted. He hadn't had much of a problem with Sakura cleaning up after him before, but...well, when it came to clothes and underwear and stuff, he was a little embarrassed about a girl seeing them.
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