tabularasa_rp | open | i hit the bottom but I'm on the mend

[Before Damien can get to the bathhouses, Tifa spots him wandering through the streets of the tiny Sector, his face recognizable even in the wash of coloured lights that glow around them. She's manning the Korean barbecue stand alone today while Cloud is on the ground floor of the Void helping Aerith with her flowers, humming to herself while she wipes down the counters, looking just as at home as she did back at Heavenly Blanc.

Despite how lively Wall Market looks like it should be, it's quiet enough that Tifa's voice calling out to him could be heard several blocks down.]

You finally made it down here!

[Her head is poking out from behind the walls of the stand, hair draping over the counter while she waves him down.]

[Damien head snaps in the direction of the sound of her voice, the suddenness of it in the quiet enough to be startling. he relaxes again the second that he registers who it is, though, the second that he sees her, and he changes direction then, limping in her direction]

Finally. [he's not going to blame Kaiba for taking as long as he did, because he did in the first place, but] It's nice to see something other than the bar and the beach, for once.

I can imagine! Well, welcome to Wall Market!

[She gestures wide with her arms as she slides over the counter to the other side, and meets Damien halfway, and to urge him back to the stand with her.]

It's definitely a... different sight from the bar and the beach. [It isn't much, considering it's stuck down here in the caves, but maybe that's for the best. It always did look better at night... it's harder to see all the dirt and garbage when it's dark.] And welcome to Sector Six of Midgar, too! Not sure if anyone told you that.

They hadn't. [he glances up at the lights again, as Tifa leads him back to the stand, taking them in again, that in mind] Someone -- Ren, I think -- mentioned you had some new pet project, taking up most of your time, but ...

[but he didn't realize it was this. he didn't realize it was another piece of home and, potentially, one that hurts less, for what he knows happened to Sector Seven, how]

[rather than bring that up, however, when he returns his attentions to her, he leads with:] It sort of reminds me of Navy Pier, at night.

Yeah. Been spending a lot of time down here trying to get it off the ground...

[The closer they get to the stand, the more it starts to smell like barbecued meat. Even without anything cooking on the grill, the scent still lingers around the area with nowhere else to go. Not that she minds... especially with an endless supply of it to go around.]

The Navy Pier? [Her voice goes up with curiosity.] Doesn't sound like an entertainment district to me...?

[Once they arrive back at the booth, she pats a stool on one side of the counter. Take a seat, she's going to cook you a meal before you go to the bathhouse, Damien.]

Well, it definitely smells good.

[to the point where he wouldn't be surprised if his hunger went from zero to sixty, like he does here, at the smell. thankfully, after a few seconds, it becomes clear that the smell isn't going to turn out to be tempting fate, and a little relieved, he sits down at the counter, as ordered. he'll still eat, even if he's not stupidly suddenly starving]

As far as Navy Pier goes, though ... I don't think it was, originally. [he knows it wasn't. it was, as the name implies, originally used by the Navy] But at some point, someone bought it out, and now there's a few dozen restaurants and shops, a Ferris wheel, boat tours of Lake Michigan, the works.

It's all ...

[kind of magical, at night, all lit up, like Wall Market seems to him to be, now. rather than finish that statement, however, he simply shrugs]

[Firing up the grill, Tifa tries to imagine that in her head. Wall Market doesn't have the Ferris Wheel or boat tours, and to the outside eye, it looks completely harmless, so she can where he's made the connections—lots of restaurants, shops, and it looks like the kind of place that would be filled with people at night, which it is.]

I'd rather go there than Wall Market, to be honest. Sounds way more fun...! Wall Market might look nice, but they walled off the Sector for a reason. Pretty dangerous for women to go alone at night—outside of Shinra's influence, there's no one to keep an eye on it.

[But not wanting to turn this into another downer conversation about Shinra, she steers the topic by pulling some sliced meat from the fridge.]

Any preferences? I've got any kinda meat you can think of, and some veggies too.

More like the Wards, then, than the Mad Mile.

[there's a few good shops in the Wards, like Aiello's Bakery, still standing today -- a miracle, consider its sordid history with Capone in the 30s. but the Wards are also dangerous. lots of drive-bys, an astronomical chance of coming back to find your car on cinderblocks if you leave it unattended for too long, and so on. and then there's Rossi-Freemont at the heart of it -- a public housing project that's been taking over by one of the Club's affiliate gangs, the Black Viceroys -- and it, too, was outside Blume's influence, outside ctOS]

[the Mad Mile, on the other hand, is much nicer, but beyond that throwaway comment, he's not going to get into it. they definitely don't need another downer conversation, no, so instead, he's going to ask:] Something beef, maybe?

[a beat]

Chef's choice as to what kind.

[he trusts her discretion]

[Tifa considers his many, many options for a moment, and she disappears behind the counter while she rummages through the wide variety of sauces this world has provided her with, the only indication of activity being the clinking of glass bottles. When she rises again, her hands are full with a different bottle held between each finger.]

What do we do when the chef can't pick?

[He gets to try all of them!

She makes quick work of slapping different cuts of beef onto the grill, and the pieces sizzle happily when she drizzles the different sauces on, while the powerful scent of cooking meat fills the stall again.]

Sorry I dragged you all the way back here. You looked like you were heading somewhere.

[he barks out a laugh at that, but otherwise doesn't respond, content to watch her work. at the question, he leans forward a little, before finally:] I was looking for the bath house I've been told is here, somewhere. I imagine it'll still be there in -- however long, though.

[which is to say that he doesn't mind having been dragged over here]

What better way to top off a nice bath than with a homecooked meal!?

["Homecooked". It's as close as it's going to get, but this is what Tifa thrives at the most: providing for others, whether it's cooking for them, mixing drinks, or taking care of them. She's practically glowing as she lays on a thin coating of sauce on the thin strips of steak.]

That part wasn't there in Midgar. It's a lot cleaner than what I imagine one in Wall Market would look like, though.

[And skillfully, she takes a skewer stick and slides it through the pieces of meat as easily as sliding a hot knife through butter. She's clearly done this many times before.]

[he nods]

I'll definitely take it.

[he's been dreaming of the Korean BBQ he heard was here almost as long as he has the bath house. the fact that it's Tifa's just makes it all that much sweeter -- as does the fact that she's willing to cook for him, because clearly she knows what she's doing and is good at it. not to mention the fact that, secretly more selfish than he lets on, he enjoys being waited on]

[but anyway]

I've never been to a bath house, period. [a beat] The closest we have, I think, would be finding a hot tub at a hotel somewhere in the city. [somewhere other than the Merlaut. barring its appearance here, he hasn't gotten close to that place since Aiden botched that job]

[With one last final touch—a drizzling of bulgogi sauce—Tifa hands the skewer to him on a plate with some napkins, just in case.

She hasn't doused them in sauce like Cloud has before so there's no threat of it dripping onto his nice coat, but he's gotten better at it since their first go at the meat skewers. It's not a fair comparison to make, though. She has some experience under her belt, having cooked for the likes of Biggs and Wedge plenty of times before.]

This one's real nice. Like the traditional kinds you see in movies and TV shows! Just make sure you follow the rules, else you'll get kicked to the curb.

[taking the skewer from him with a word of genuine thanks, he starts to take a bite, then stops, as she mentions the rules, his eyebrows going up] I take it you mean that literally?

[he's not entirely sure how, but]

[Tifa's not entirely sure how either, but... her nod says it all.]

You so much as let a towel touch the water, you're out of there. Outside the front doors.

[She slaps a few more pieces of meat on the grill, either for him or for herself, depending on whether he'd like more, but she pauses to wave the tongs at him first.]

I am speaking from experience, in case you wondered.

[he blinks]

I would have believed you, even if you hadn't been.

[a beat]

Naked and all?

[because clearly, that's an important distinction to make. not that he's going to ignore the rules, now, if this place is so adamant about enforcing them, but he still can't help but imagine himself being poofed outside, in nothing but his towel. that would definitely be worse than the alternative]

Hmmm...

[Tifa hums to that, but her expression sure as hell gives an answer.]

Just make sure that before you go breaking any rules, you've got a towel on and secured.

[Thankfully, she did too, and it could have been much worse than it actually was. She could have also bumped into someone she knew, so she's grateful that it had the least number of awkward consequences!

But enough about that (her face is turning a light shade of pink), she gestures to the meat.]

Give it a go!

... right.

[so, that's fun. yikes. on the plus side, at least, him being very literally the last one in the pool here ups his chances of being alone in the bath house, so maybe he won't have to worry about his modesty. or anyone seeing the road map of scars that are his legs]

[either way, he shakes his head to clear it before turning his attentions back to the meat. he takes a bite, and after he's swallowed, he hums, pleased] My God, that's good. [and enough to get his head out of the horribleness of the magical enforcement of the rules much better than just trying to will it away. he takes another enthusiastic bite, that in mind, then]

Edited 2020-10-30 00:44 (UTC)

[She knew it would be delicious, but Damien's enthusiastic approval means the world to her right now.]

House special, [she tells him, anchoring herself on the counter with her hands, beaming at him with excitement.] Been waiting to hear that for a long time. Feels great.

[he takes another enthusiastic bite, apparently not just telling her it's good to spare her ego, and once he's swallowed:] You cook much, at home? Or is this something you picked up here?

open | i hit the bottom but I'm on the mend

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