#razubomb

leans while trying to be sexy. leans too far. falls over.

                                              @razubomb

it's  easy  for  jessie  to  grab  his  attention  in  the  ways  she  often  shoves  herself  into  his  presence  ,  though  he  can't  say  he  particularly  minds  despite  how  the  act  ,  at  times  ,  stuns  him  briefly  .  even  now  ,  he  watches  plainly  ,  unimpressed  ,  as  she  asserts  herself  into  his  path  ,  observing  silently  as  she  plummets  toward  her  well  -  predicted  fate  .  the  ex  -  soldier's  arms  fold  over  each  other  ,  and  he  casts  a  quick  smirk  that  only  lasts  a  second  before  drawing  his  vision  elsewhere  :  the  familiar  walls  of  the  bar  .

he's  come  to  recognise  most  of  his  companions'  footsteps by now,  enough  to  discern  who's  sneaking  up  on  him  and  who  isn't. her  footfalls  are  lighter  than  most,  and  usually  with  pep  to  her  step,  but  at  this  hour,  understandably  lethargic. sunrise  is  still  a  way  off,  however,  he  knows  there's  no  going  back  to  sleep now.

the  shildra  inn  was  quiet  in  the  backdrop,  and  he  wonders  if  his  waking  had  unintentionally  woken  her. cloud  props  his  elbow  on  his  crooked  knee,  one  boot  dangling,  swaying  to-and-fro  over  the  edge. it'd  be  a  long  drop  into  the  canyon, a  light  shiver  racks  through  him. without  turning  his  head,  “   what  gave  me  away?   ”      

his gloved  thumb  digs  into  red  dirt,  and  her  footsteps  neither  retreat  nor  advance;  they  idle. she's  quiet,  abnormally  so. so,  cloud  turns  his  cheek  to  her,  catches  the  outline  of  her  figure  in  his  peripheral. she never seemed the sort to wait and ask for permission, unless she was routinely checking up on him as most everyone else did. he hoped not. “   may  as  well  catch  the  sunrise  everyone  keeps  raving  about,   ”   he  sighs,  tired; the locals had recommended waking early to witness the cosmo canyon's sunrise at least once, anyway. it was supposed to be beautiful.

they've  diverged  somewhat  from  plan  a,  cloud  and  jessie  now  split  from  barret  and  wedge  during  a  confrontation  with  a swarm of shock  troopers,  and  then  some.  sneaking  through  the  facility  would  be  easier  if  there  weren't  cameras  following  their  every  move;  despite  this,  they'd  advanced  a  floor  or  two  before  stumbling  upon  a  shinra  suit. a  stray  they  would  normally  overlook,  now  caught  in  an  avalanche. cloud  halts  the  man  from  fleeing  from  his  office,  buster  sword  outstretched  and  barricading  the  doorway. “   what're  we  gonna  do  with  this  guy?   ”  

the  man's  sweating,  panicked,  hands  clasped  together  in  a  plea  for  them  not  to  take  his  head. as  if  they  were  some  cold - blooded  assassins—

i  could  just  have  him  murdered.

jessie  appears  nonchalant  in  her  offer,  however,  when  cloud  meets  her  eyes,  he  notes  the  subtle  nod  she  gives  to  the  key card  caught  between  the  man's  prayer. bingo.

     denzel’s eyes focused on the contraption in front of him, & he scanned the metal & wires as intensely as he could from the distance he knew that he needed to keep. he’d been playing a silent game with himself, what was jessie building? though he had come up with many things—— anything as small as a brand new game system to things as big as a giant robot crossed his mind—— but he had a feeling none of his guesses were right.

     the only way he was going to find out was by asking. & though he was hesitant to interrupt, his curiosity was starting to get the better of him. 

     ❛ hey, jessie?  ❜  

     he kept his voice quiet, at least, little more than a whisper, as if that would interrupt her work a little less.

     ❛ what are you making?  ❜  

he’s  not  sure  how  she  roped  him  into  this.  sparring  was  beneath  him,  but  he  ought  not  look  a  gift  horse  in  the  mouth.  what  better  way  to  hone  one’s  skills  than  practicing  on  their  fellow  team  mate?  her  words,  not  his.  she’d  shushed  him  before  he  had  the  chance  to  object  and  ushered  him  to  the  vacant  training  yard  first  chance  she  got.

in  a  flurry  of  fists  and  a  flash  of  red,  cloud’s  back  hits  the  floor.  she  had  gotten  the  upper-hand,  and  briefly  he  thinks  he  had  been  foolish  to  underestimate  her.  in  a  daze,  he  doesn’t  realise  how  hard  he’d  smacked  his  head  upon  impact  until  he  opens  his  eyes  and  finds  not  one  but  two  jessie’s  floating  above  him.  fortunately  for  him,  the  floor  was  a  padded  gym  mat  and  not  the  cold  hard  concrete  underneath.  unfortunately  for  him,  it doesn’t stop the  searing  flash  of  pain  that  sparks  up  from  the  top  of  his  spine  and  fans  out  towards  his  temples.  he  groans  in  pain,  his  vision  blotching  and  gloved  fingers  pushing  through  his  hair  to  dig  into  his  scalp.  however,  as  soon  as  the  pain  gnaws  at  him  and  leaves  him  near  catatonic,  it  vanishes  as  if  it  never  existed  in  the  first  place.  as  always,  he’s  left  disoriented.

the  feeling  leaves  him  like  the  rush  of  pins  and  needles,  replaced  with  a  sudden  hyperawareness  to  that  of  jessie’s  weight  intimately  sitting  atop  his  lap;  each  leg  straddled  on  either  side  of  his  hips.  cloud  gasps  and  jerks  up,  his  own  weight  resting  against  his  elbows  in  an  attempt  to  escape  his  vulnerable  position.  “   h-hey!  what  the  hell–   ”   but  she’s  close  all  of  a  sudden,  so  much  so  their  noses  brush  and  he  blinks  in  surprise.  it’s  calculating,  the  stare  she  gives  him…  like  she's  assessing  him.  in  such  close  proximity  he’s  made  excruciatingly  aware  of  the  warmth  of  her  breath  on  his  lips  with  each  exhale.  the  silence  that  sits  between  them  is  deafening,  bar  the  loud  and  constant  pounding  of  his  heartbeat  in  his  ears.

gotcha.  that’s  one  for  me,  zero  for  you.  better  step  up  your  game,  merc.

she  shoves  at  his  chest,  pushing  him  flat  onto  the  mat.  he  finds  himself  exhaling  in  unknown  relief,  cheeks  a  dusty  pink  and  eyes  averting  defensively.

jessie’s  words  are  so  far  from  the  usual  flirtatious,  cocksure  demeanor  she  paraded  around  that  cloud  looks  up  from  his  lap  to  see  if  she’s  okay.  there’s  a  glimmer  of  something  genuine  in  her  eyes  when  they  meet  and  he’s  startled  into  a  deeper  silence.  he  had  a  well  of  troubles,  one  that  was  overflowing  with  no  end  in  sight.  the  thought  of  unburdening  himself  to  her  was  one  he  adamantly  refused  to  do,  especially  when  he  hardly  understood  it  himself.  she  had  her  own  troubles  to  deal  with,  no  doubt;  no  one  joined  an  eco - extremist  group  like  avalanche  without  a  story  to  tell.  

“   you  sure  you’re  up  to  that  task?  thought  the  only  silence  you  were  capable  of  was  when  you  have  to  pause  to  take  a  breath,   ”   he  teases  her,  because  it’s  easier  than  allowing  himself  to  be  vulnerable.  he’s  not  ready  for  that  just  yet.  they  weren’t…  well,  he  didn’t  know  what  they  were  exactly.