tabularasa_rp | (open) where have you been? been searching all along 𝅘𝅥𝅮

[Tifa shakes her head.]

They won in the end.

["They" being Shinra, and Don Corneo was just an associate in the big plan, sending his men to gather information on Barret and AVALANCHE... Justice wasn't served, and he's still out there in Midgar, running Wall Street the same way he always has. Men like Corneo make her sick to her stomach.

His day will come.]

So we've got Seventh Heaven, the church, and Wall Market... if a place like that showed up, I wonder what's next. Maybe one day, you'll get to see the pillar...

In the end?

(Was the fight truly over or does she mean it because she's here? Or was she not involved in this fight at all? There are many aspects of Tifa's rebellion that he was still trying to put together...

If there is still a fighting chance, then it's not over.)

We're assuming the bathhouse is ours. There is one very similar near LeBlanc.

[She laughs, although it's not a cheerful one. A scoff, more than anything.]

Funny, that your bathhouse got merged with another piece of our world. Wonder if that's a coincidence.

[Whether it is or isn't, it doesn't make her any more pleased to hear it. This world sure does have an odd way of picking and choosing what it brings along with them, and how it mashes them all together.

Tifa falls quiet, and she's starting to poke at her food with the end of her fork rather than eating it, contemplating on how she's going to say what she wants to next. Bringing up LeBlanc reminded her that there was something she needed to talk to him about. Eventually, she sets aside her food on the desk beside her.]

Ren. There's something I need to tell you.

I am not sure at this point. The bar and the café made sense... If this does too, it's not clear to me.

(The fact that they are two hospitality establishments acting as a hideout for authority defiant groups easily explained that meshing, but... What would a simple bathhouse have to do with red-light, inherently dangerous districts is beyond him...

Unsurprisingly, Ren starts to grow worried when the silence fills the room. From his end, surely it happens more often than not, but Tifa tends to be talkative and there's something heavy in the air that doesn't feel like comfortable silence in the slightest.)

What is it?

(Of course there's much concern in his voice and he too sets the food aside to give Tifa his full attention.)

[Now that she's brought it up, her mind goes blank. She doesn't know what to say, or how to say it with his full attention fixed on her. More silence follows, and it's only broken when Tifa lets out a breathy, nervous chuckle. It's silly, she knows, to feel nervous or jittery about these sorts of things—even sad—so she isn't sure why she's suddenly hesitating.

Best she just comes out with it, right? Rip off the band aid, as they say?]

I think I might need to leave Heavenly Blanc for a while.

[Before he can give her any reaction to that, she quickly goes on, trying to keep her voice steady throughout.]

Seventh Heaven was destroyed, the night before I came. Shinra dropped the pillar right on top of it... I was standing there when they authorized it, and I didn't even stop it from happening. I couldn't! I tried... All of Sector Seven was gone. People's homes, my home, the bar... [Her hands ball into fists on the desk, and she gives it a punch to level herself again.] I thought I could handle being in there, but... all it's done is remind me of that. The fact that I couldn't stop it, and seeing it gone... because of them...

(While he grows more anxious by the second, his face shows none of that. Instead, it's calm but eager to hear her. Finally, she says it and he perks up - that's most reaction he was given time to provide.

She never painted the picture of how it happened in detail, and Ren never pushed for it either. It was her information to disclose and an open wound that he would do his best to help heal, but he's not imposing it. He listens though, joining hands in the space between his legs as he thinks. It's unquestionably fair...)

I'm sorry about Seventh Heaven and your home. (He starts by saying it, because truly, he is and it enrages him how distortion is so rampant and present in her homeworld, and likewise, it's not like he could fix it, even if he really wants to. It's just heartbreaking to hear the story, but still, he fights whatever indication of upsetness. It's not what she needs.)

I understand. You can leave it to me for as long as you need. (Be it short, long, or permanently. Ren's voice is a strong resolve in tone and he nods.)

I'll still be here for you and I'll take care of Heavenly Blanc just the same.

[She's grateful for it, really. All of it. Reassurance that their small little bar and café would be in good hands is what she needed, and didn't bring it up to seek pity or sadness, but she had no doubt that the former would be true going into this conversation. She knows it'll be left in good hands until... if she decides to return.

Hearing that, she's able to smile again, although there's still a deep-rooted sadness in her eyes.]

I know you will. I never thought otherwise.

[Tifa hums for a moment, thoughtfully, before she kicks her feet under her and continues.]

I wanna go out and try some other things in the meantime. I never really got to do much back home, what with the bar. Gonna take Cloud with me, too... There's a cute little barbecue and sushi stand in Wall Market that might be kinda fun...

[She looks to him, searching his expression as if she's trying to read his thoughts on the idea.]

It'll be great, you'll see. (It's good that she's not quitting to just sit and let the sadness take over. Much to the contrary, she seems to be motivated to find herself in a new place, and what place would be better than one that literally just began? He beams at her resolve, taking back his curry into his hands and digging right back in.)

How is he? I haven't seen him.

(Because it's not like Cloud often stops by to drink a coffee and chat with him, which is absolutely fine! But out of the three of them, he's the one Ren has the least contact with.)

Cloud?

[She blinks in surprise by the question but warms up with an answer soon enough. Cloud can be a bit of a lone wolf sometimes... she had to push him to join the others on the AVALANCHE bombing mission, and had to pay him for it on top of that, but with time, he might just warm up to the idea of not being such a lone wolf.]

He's good. [She has a lot of troubles biting back the smile that appears every time she talks about him to the people here.] I had a really good talk with him about it before I made the final decision. He didn't say it outright, but pretty sure he's in for the plan.

[Tifa kind of made that decision for him...]

(Huh? He can see it, Tifa. There's warmth and endearment in her words, expressions, and the smile that she's fighting to keep from showing. Not that he hadn't noticed before, of course, but this confirms the suspicion further. Ren rests his cheek on his knuckles, legs crossing as he shows her a delighted beam. They're cute.)

I wish you two the best of luck.

(Ah, his curiosity speaks louder and he finally asks:)

What's the deal with the two of you, anyway?

[Between his comment and the question that follows it, Tifa had grabbed her food up again and is in the middle of scooping up another spoonful of the curry when she stops, the curry halfway to her mouth. She really shouldn't be surprised about being asked this, but no one ever has—people just assumed things without so much as a sideways look or a smirk here and there, Jessie especially, but never openly asking.

Not that there's much of an answer anyway.]

Huh? The deal? Nothing, really... [Except she's blushing and hiding her face behind her hair while she looks anywhere but at Ren.] Cloud and I have been friends for a long time, since we were kids. Grew up together in Nibelheim. He left to join SOLDIER seven years ago, haven't seen him since.

(There's more to this story, Tifa, otherwise you wouldn't be blushing so much. Maybe nothing had happened, but it's apparent from the general vibe that there are feelings involved. She must be aware, right? Otherwise, she'd look at him, not hiding with all the body language in the world.

The smile grows to the point it tugs too hard at his cheeks, but it doesn't cease anytime soon. Instead, he listens.)

What's SOLDIER? (It's his first inquiry. The next can wait a little.)

[If it weren't for her being a flustered mess, Tifa's energy might have dimmed at the question, but she's able to hide it behind her nostalgia, thinking instead about the night on top of the water tower when he told her his hopes and dreams, and they exchanged promises, rather than about the consequences of becoming a SOLDIER. The toll it was very obviously having on Cloud...]

They're a group of elite military back in Midgar. [Shinra's elite military rank...] The best of the best fighters. If you've never seen Cloud use that sword, it really is something to see.

Haven't had the pleasure. (Interesting. He probably could learn a fair share of things from Cloud, couldn't he? If only they hung out more often.

The sword is gigantic though and he gives an impressed nod to accompany the thought. To wield it must be a headache, no?)

Aerith, I assume she doesn't fight?

[For someone else, perhaps, but not to someone who's bathed in mako. There's a reason they call them super soldiers... Which is a whole other thing that Tifa takes issue with.]

She does, just not the same way.

[Now that she thinks on it, Tifa isn't sure whether or not Aerith's rod had come to this world with her. She hasn't seen it as far as she can remember, but a lot has happened since they arrived here together.]

Aerith's better with magic, same way Cloud's good with his sword. She can do all kinds of things that we can't, but unless someone figures out how to get our materia working again, then I don't think she can use it.

[There's a beat where Tifa waggles her finger.]

But don't think that means Aerith can't hold her own. Should've seen her when we were taking down Corneo's men. Smacked one of them over the head with a chair!

(open) where have you been? been searching all along 𝅘𝅥𝅮

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