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[starshower]

Who: Tifa Lockhart & Damien Brenks
What: Some secrets to share.
Where: Merlaut Apartments
When: When the thread happens
Content Warnings: N/A

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[starshower]

[It's been a little while since Tifa's made her presence known around the apartments—likely several days, after the more recent disappearances. She's tried to keep her head up and her spirits high, knowing full well that all of her friends, new and old, had gone home to do something much more important.

In spite of all that, it's been a touch lonely wherever she goes. At least she still has Aerith to keep her grounded, and to reassure her that things will be okay—that he will be okay—when she starts to have her doubts, but it's all gotten her thinking.

There's a light knock on Damien's apartment door, although tentative, and she calls from the other side.]

Hey. I brought some drinks. Thought we could both use them.

[Hope he's at home!]

[abeautifulgame]

[last time Damien lost someone he loved, here, he snapped a little, backsliding into something destructive, self-destructive. he'd started building a bomb made from bits collected from every computer in every empty room in the Merlaut, intent on taking it out to the shrine and detonating it. he doesn't even know if it would have worked, for all that this place didn't even understand fire, up until recently, but it had seemed the thing to do, regardless -- just like trying to scare Ren away by giving pieces of his truth away did]

[you can't get hurt if no one sticks around]

[you can't get hurt if no one sticks around -- and Ren didn't. oh, sure, he didn't flinch at his darkness, didn't run away, promised that he wasn't alone, but Ren still left him, in the end. Akechi left him, his boy. they're gone. he's alone again. everything is as it should be. so why does it hurt so fucking much?]

[this time, then, he's just numb. maybe later, he'll find his anger, that same anger that Tifa told him to hold onto, that Ren did, before he disappeared, but right now -- well, he's sitting at his desk when Tifa knocks, staring into some middle distance, a stress toy he pulled off the beach in hand. he glances up, at the sound of her voice, and for a moment, debates staying silent. maybe she'll go away, too. but then -- ]

.. you have no idea. [a beat, then louder:] It's open!

[maybe later, he'll claim self-preservation. god knows he doesn't want to start coughing up fucking flowers again, anytime soon. right now, though, he's not sure what possessed him to speak up]

[starshower]

[The door creaks open, and cautious footsteps enter.

Tifa's still not quite sure how to feel about everything, or if she's feeling much of anything at all, but she can sense the tension in the room as soon as she shuts the door behind her. Between the two of them, they could easily snap the stiff atmosphere clean in half, which gives her more reason to smile when she greets him properly.

Glass bottles clink against the kitchen counter, and the drinks fizz as she twists the lids off.]

Nothing too special, but I don't think you're that picky.

[And when she brings his over, Tifa sets it down with a sigh.]

How are you holding up?

[abeautifulgame]

[he leans forward to take the bottle from her with a muttered thanks, then gestures for her to sit down. she's welcome to take a seat on the bed, or he can wheel his desk chair over to the little sitting area he has, between the bed and kitchen, if she'd rather sit on the loveseat he had someone drag up here for him, once upon a time]

[either way, he shakes his head, and honestly, answers:] Not well. [a beat] This -- stings, on top of everything else. [more than. but he's too fucking tired to explain how this might make him more bitter rather than better, more resolved. maybe he won't find that anger again, after all, for better or worse]

[either way, after a drink from the bottle and a heavy breath out, he asks:] You? [he knows she and Ren were close, too. he doesn't realize she also lost Cloud]

[starshower]

[She takes the loveseat, slumping down but not getting too comfortable. She's on edge, and her posture says as much when she keeps her shoulders and back straight with feet planted firmly on the floor.]

Same as always. Trying to get through things one at a time.

[It's the only way any of them are going to survive this place. Without a solid routine, Tifa feels... lost.]

Cloud's gone too, so it's just been me running the food stands. Strife's Bites without the Strife... sounds kinda funny, doesn't it?

[Ren being gone is something she's been able to process to an extent, but Cloud? That's a whole other beast that she's trying to overcome right now. Every day, she's filled with worry about what he could be doing back on Gaia, and if he's okay without her there.

Before he can say anything to that, she adds on quickly:] I'm okay. We spent a long time apart. We can do it again for a while.