Lone wolf.

          Her laughter, soft like wind-chimes fills the empty bar. For one night –just one night, she can strip her heart of its heavy armour. She can spill her secrets… The secrets hidden beneath pinball machines, the smell of gunpowder and smoke, the anxiety that numbs her body… All of that is washed away with every sip of her drink. Newfound courage allows him an honest glimpse of her, the real her –with her myriad of worries and all. And never once does he flinch, never once does he stop listening to her song of thoughts. Even when everything is blurred by the alcohol lingering upon her lips, she knows he’s listening. And she knows deep down, somewhere in his heart he cares for this old friend.

          And that’s all a girl needs, a friend who will listen, especially if said friend has known her for all her life. It is all but one-sided, for the moment the armour falls from her, she sees his hard exterior crack, too. She sees the curling of his lips, and a soft hum to agree with some sentiment she spills. Even when her senses are not at their peak, her mind can always find him even if he is ever so subtle. 

          Despite the silliness exchanged, Tifa is grateful for this unique encounter. They are on the brink of war, yet in this moment beneath this metal sky, two familiar souls can share a drink and laugh –even if she’s doing most of the laughing. Their situation is an ode to life, solid proof that around every cloud is a silver lining, or, given her current vision… there are two silver linings–

          “ Yeah… two Clouds are wayy too much. Barret’ll have’ta pay double. N he won’t want that~ ” She hiccups, not entirely registering that her hand is still warmly resting on his. When she finally realises however, the brunette pulls her own away and rests her palm upon cold wood. 

          “ No no I’m fine. ” She waves her other hand dismissively. She’s a stubborn girl, and no amount of tequila will change that. With a quiet groan, the brunette pushes against the table and finds her feet on solid ground. 

          “ ‘Kay, leave these here I’ll clean them ‘morrow. Need to turn of the lights, n’ lock up though. ” She speaks with a slow, uneven tone whilst raising one finger in the air as if to remind herself of her duties. 

       As the sun sets, its rising is already promised to the land, to the green shoots who wait in faith. Beckoned by the stars under the glow of a full moon, the night takes the reins and burns away the drabness of the day.

       He gives a nod and withdraws his hand in response. It was fun while it lasted. And tomorrow is time to get back to work. Everything seems to come to an end sooner or later. Time flies fast and before he knows it, he has more tasks to do and much more to bear. But he could only give that a frown and carry on without a complaint. It’s his style.

       “Good enough for me.” He jests about the double pay. “It also means I can take more breaks if the other me is willing to take turns.” That would’ve been great but he could only dream of that. But he’s not tired yet and will carry the weight on his back as long as his will power can handle it.

       He gets up from his seat and performs a stretch. There’s a small buzz in his head and his brows furrow. It’s only for a moment but as soon as his gaze meets the glass on the table, he assumes it’s because of the drink. It isn’t, however, the first time this has happened. His hallucinations are getting progressively more frequent. The problem with the hallucinations is their unpredictability. They are always the same thing showing up at a random time of the day. He almost slaughtered a person, mistaking him for his archenemy. If this keeps going, he could do more damage without realising.

       He braces himself for them to come but tonight he is spared and the buzzing stops almost immediately after it begins. It’s probably the alcohol then.

solostrife says: ☕ meme.  // accepting.

❛ heeeeey~ you are finally here !! took you damn long enough.  ❜ she lightly chuckles softly as she seen him step into the place called the leaf house. obviously, it wasn’t really an ‘ coffee ‘ house or really had spruced up any coffee but, it was nice for a meeting between the duo. most of the orphan children were outside playing or doing their check ups with the doctor.

she had recently made some herbal tea since — she was no fan of coffee and it was a good way to drink something more . . healthy in the sense. handing him the cup after he walked in, she heard the sound of the door being shut. ❛  i made you some so it’s still hot. be careful. i never thought you would ask me for uhh a coffee uh . . meeting. it’s almost like an date . . not !! ❜ in reality, aeris wishes to know as to why he wanted to meet up. guess it was a way to play catch up.

       The moment he steps in, Aerith’s voice meets him first thing. He accepts the cup of tea, not really questioning that she picked it over coffee. He doesn’t mind either and would assume tea is probably more her thing.

      “Sorry, I had to run some errands. It took longer than expected.” He’d been going back and forth, from person to person, taking down pests and whatnot. And it’s now when he could take a breather and time for himself.

       He holds the tea as careful as told, even though his gloves would most likely keep him from burning his hand. For now, he inhales the scent of it. He’s craving to drink something after breaking a sweat but he’s going to have to wait for a little bit.

       His focus averts from the cup to Aaerith, who was kind of tripping over her words. Cloud blows air through his nose, something like a hum. In all honesty, he only wanted to check on her. With all those ‘deathly looking phantoms’ and the Turks going on about, he can’t really be sure whether it’s safe to leave her alone by herself.

      “Call it whatever you want.” He boldly states, shrugging off the matter. After giving in to his thirst, he makes an attempt to take a sip from the hot tea.

[ cont. x ] || @solostrife

          A fighter stripped of her balance is akin to a bird stripped of its wings. She is flightless now, hindered by the illusions in her eyes. With each passing second, the ground moves beneath her, her seat a floating buoy in rough stormy seas. But she doesn’t mind. She has him here, by her side to catch her when she falls. She has him here, ready to keep her still when the ‘seas’ get too rough. Upon their little promise, she entrusts him with herself. What is there to fear?

          Truth be told, it has been a long time since the brunette has allowed herself to simply relax. To discard the weight of life and indulge in an evening of forgetfulness. With liquor as her dose of courage, she shares her thoughts with him. She shows him her heart and the fears that swirl within. And he lifts her, like the wind beneath a kite he lifts her higher and higher. Sadness and fear is washed away –even if temporary, as soft laughter fills the air. 

          She doesn’t know how he does it –how he makes her feel so safe without sparing many words. It is his eyes, she muses. It is definitely the way his expressions frame his eyes, and the way he looks at her as if he cares so deeply– 

          ‘ Yeahh… That’s probably the alcohol talking… Beer..goggles? No that’s the wrong word… Or words…? Gosh, she’s really tipsy. Is she seeing two Clouds? Does that mean she has two promises now? Woah. Cool. ’ 

          Giggling at her own incoherent thoughts, she somehow finds herself supported by him. She glances over at her friend, head tilting to the side as she offers her most genuine smile. Even in a moment of drunkedness, she still recognises him. She still understands how important he is to her heart, even if that shall be a little secret locked away for a long time coming. 

          Tifa reaches up, her hand finding his as she gives it a reassuring pat. “ Yeah, I’m finee, Cloud. But maybe we should go home. I’m startin’ to see two of you. ”

       Each drink offered seems like a better and better idea. The jokes get funnier, the worries vanish, and everything is taken lightly. Cloud remembers the first time he tried a hard one and couldn’t get up properly if at all after it. So, he is more aware of his dozes now. And frankly, he doesn’t remember much of that time he got that much drunk. That’s embarrassing enough, even further the fact that he doesn’t know how his behaviour shifts then. But so far, it’s mostly that he wouldn’t budge at all. But he could fall asleep much easier when his mind isn’t racing, so alcohol is a coping mechanism for him at times too.

       But since he is soberer than her, he could think through things and react faster. Part of him is glad that this time he’s not gotten over the doze he could tolerate. His mind drifts off and imagines what could it have been if he didn’t react fast. Tifa would have fallen off. Not only that but she would have landed right on him. The thought becomes even more embarrassing the more he envisions it. They both could’ve ended on the floor. Maybe the glass would have broken too. It would’ve been a mess. He can’t tell his emotions apart, which would’ve been embarrassing. Either Tifa falling on him or everything else. He shakes his head to keep his thoughts from flowing in his mind. That’s enough getting flustered.

        Sometimes he wonders what goes through her head. For example right now. He could only assume it’s similar things to what goes through his. Absolute nonsense. A smile starts to tug on the edges of his lips, seeming hard to resist how amusing this is. But more so that he enjoys seeing her this happy.

       “Is that so? Guess, we should.” he snorts lightly. Cloud could sense the hand upon his own, which slowed down his response to pull back. So, he waits on until she removes hers first. But then it becomes a hint of something that he should be considerate of.

@sweettifalockhart

       Cloud watches Tifa in her seat, seemingly absent-minded with the way she speaks and smiles so much. He has his own drink but he’s not had a few more drinks as much as Tifa did.  He doesn’t really mind the way she’s gotten more giddy and giggly, it doesn’t change a thing. Tifa is always the brighter one anyway and even when drunk she can keep a good look on herself. He would think he’s not the pleasant sight when he gets drunk. But he could, of course, take notice of the fact that she’s tipsy. Pretty normal.

       The blond picks up his drink to have another sip of its burning and vile taste, yet somehow appealing enough to have more of it. At the same moment, Tifa loses her balance that he is forced to put the cup down before he actually spills it from reacting by instinct. His gloved hands, now free, manage to grab the girl in place, keeping her from falling off her stool. There’s an obvious flustered look on his face but odds are that it wouldn’t be noticed. He sighs.

@sweettifalockhart​

       The remaining light was obliterated by the rapidly falling night. The once salmon and purple sky transformed into a vast expanse of jet-black that engulfed the town. A canopy of luminous stars materialised amongst the ocean of blackness.

       Instead of supposedly counting sheep, Cloud is counting money. Usually, when exhaustion reaches its peak, he easily crashes. But tonight, he’s going with the flow of things. As he doesn’t have the full pay, he is trying to be as economic as possible. Especially when he had to spend gil on potions and some vinyl records. Even though Tifa has been helping and he’s been collecting the rest of the money, he needs to keep a solid idea of how much he can spend.

       He’s been so focused that he’s not realised the brawler entered his room, or so managed to without much sound. He would’ve been alert by now. The room is his only safe spot that he feels content in, so it’s natural that he could take it easy only here.

       But the moment her voice is sound, his pupils dilate, and he squeezes the gil in his hold. He jolts and turns his head back to spot Tifa behind him.  He could feel the warmth coming from her hand onto his arm.

It seems the dust has settled once and for all –beyond the haze of fighting and fear, they’ve finally found peace; a truce of sorts with their fates. They’re permitted to move on now, to sift through rubble and gather pieces of themselves. Pieces of their past, present and future. Each piece of her has his initials carved into it. He’s been a part of her entire existence. 

And now he’s here, clutching the chocobo mug. He’s smiling, with his eyes. She muses. 

“Thanks, can’t see a difference between you and the mug.” 

The brawler hopes for the gaps to be bridged, and for the spaces between them to be filled with warmth. 

       Peace is more than the absence of war. When all actions are guided by benevolence that is not tainted with self-serving motives and does not cause harm, one will find the nirvana their soul craves. 

       He's still learning to accept his responsibilities for himself, for Tifa, and anyone else, and to the living earth with gladness in their hearts. So there is time, if one makes it, for something a little more positive. And he hopes Tifa would find time for them as well. They’ve got things to say to each other. But he takes it slow, doing his best to approach the topics gradually.

A chuckle, a hushed laugh upon hearing his words. The brawler taps her fingers idly against the counter. Cloud has his quirks –each new one almost as surprising as the last. But his preference in mugs isn’t hidden to their little family. He may have brought home four; one for each –but they all knew it’s because he liked having options. 

“Hmm? Go for it. But I’m calling dibs on the moogle one.” 

       “Great. Then I hosie the chocobo one.” He retorts, a light smile tugging on the edge of his lips. He moves away from the bar counter and turns to the cabinet where the mugs are at. He can let his guard down, become enthusiastic about the little things. Although, he remains as calm as possible on the outside. He wouldn’t admit it, but he’s grateful to share a moment like this with Tifa.