A Few Tiny Wishes

      "Shouldn't I be asking you that?

  Sometimes it was a more considerable wait time than others for Tifa to be done with changing the shift at the bar over to Barrett, just to have a bit of time between them. It wasn’t a big deal, and Aerith was honestly more than happy to wait as long as it meant Tifa didn’t feel rushed or uncomfortable. The pink-clad girl would merely sit herself at the end of the bar, a ginger ale in hand, and patience on her expression.  The regulars by then knew who she was waiting for, and rarely interfered with more than an afternoon greeting. The ...well, more troublesome crowd didn’t, and after an hour or so of waiting that afternoon, she found herself outright accosted by one who plopped right down next to her with a hand immediately on her knee, and more than that invading her personal space. The response was immediate from behind the bar-- a sound warning of “Hands off!” before the man whipped his head with a dry sneer, inquiring simply, “Or what?”He didn’t even make the full rotation of his head before he turned his own cheek bone into Tifa’s fist, staggering back off of the stool. Raising a hand to almost stifle a laugh, Aerith gave Tifa a wry little smile.       “Did he just knock himself out on your fist?”

    “Mr. ShinRa, you need to get back to bed!      And--why did you do that?!”

(( 1. I AM NOT PERFECT I AM AN INNOCENT SPUD. 2. The Baerith is actually super calming to roleplay tbh? Like it’s actually really relaxing to get into her headspace and I think that’s just what I needed tbh.3. I... I CANNOT. D: Like I literally cannot pick favorites it makes me feel so bad aha. 4. Yesss!! I have a little old man 8 year old daschund/beagle mix named Krypto. He’s my tiny bab. <3 and v v orange.5. Uh. tbh probably boba tea ))

  After all, most tended to avoid Summoners. None wanted the responsibility of starting anything with someone who had decided it was their destiny and responsibility to fight. The young man was not to be dissuaded though, and after a long moment, had gone to throw his arm around her shoulder, only to quickly disappear. A blur of orange and yellow, nothing more, and Rikku seemed to be...standing on the poor kid’s head.       “I thought you’d left me to      become a shoo-puff herder...”

   Selling anything in the slums was dangerous. Living in the slums was dangerous. Being alone was dangerous, anywhere one went nowadays. Fortunately she’d never had the discomfort of having to confront anyone, and her reputation was well received and liked among the other merchants-- her business of selling flowers interfered with none of theirs, considering they hadn’t the time or patience to nurture luxury plants themselves. But Midgar was a big place, and not everyone was as nice as the small click of the slum market   The path she wandered that afternoon had taken her through a few of the upper plate streets, until she’d found herself a bit worn out; it’d been a long day and she’d actually made a few Gil, something pleasant to tide her over until she needed to buy more stationary to write her next letter. Resting against a wall and closing her eyes for just a moment, green irises flashed open again when a shadow blocked out the dim streetlamp of afternoon lighting, and she found herself face to face with someone blocking her escape.       “Do you need to buy a flower, sir?”      “Not what I had in mind, but I can buy something else?”    The exchange continued in shorter answers, until she found he would not let her move...until he was knocked clean to the ground, desperation flashing across her earlier, alarmed expression as she caught sight of the Turk that had all but knocked the man out in a single blow.        “-Tseng!”      The pure clarity of relief in her tone was clear.

          “I have someone I need to be-”  Surely this was the very statement that happened to fall on deaf ears as she tried bargaining with the particular villain who’d decided to stop by the Garden that particular day; it wasn’t terribly uncommon to get less than savory characters who had been cast from their worlds as well.    They stopped by, stirred up some trouble, and were usually sent on their way very quickly, though this one seemed to be getting a little up close and personal, and she frowned, trying to detach herself just in time to see the impact of a fist on the man’s knuckles, making her freeze, turning to her would be savior.         “Leon?”

   It had been...certainly unexpected when Meadowsweet had outright punched out the man who, after several days of consecutively stopping the two on their way to work, would aggressively proceed to flirt with Aerith on an increasingly uncomfortable level. She’d been just about to, in as blunt a tone as she could manage, tell him she wasn’t interested... before there was a flash of pink and the man was on the ground after he’d made a move to take her wrist.          “Meadowsweet! Are you okay--?”   Not if the man was okay, in particular, but ...well, surely something must have happened to set off her assistant, right? She was confused, and the health of the unconscious man would come second.

     “Wait! I’m not doubting you--      but you remember what happened      last time you tried to do it, right?”