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

[forethinking]

Who: renren and you!
What: a catch-all!
Where: bathhouse, hblanc, apartments, market place...
When: august-september
Content Warnings: none, but i promise nothing and will update this if needed! spoiler warnings will be on the top level or in the subject of the comment.

edit: remember when i said i promised nothing? there's people bathing in here

Comments

[starshower]

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...]

[forethinking]

(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?

[starshower]

[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.

[forethinking]

(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.)

[starshower]

[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.

[forethinking]

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?

[starshower]

[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!