tifa lockhart. (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
starshower) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
songerein2022-01-02 09:38 am
starshower) wrote in songerein2022-01-02 09:38 am
Entry tags:
open 🌠you see the shadows
Who: Tifa Lockhart & you!
Which: Open log + interactive dream
Where: Around Reverein, Mount Nibel
What: Mount Nibel Incident dream, and a couple of dream board postings.
Warnings: N/A for now
✨ i. "the day mom died..." — interactive dream
✨ ii. freeloading reindeer
✨ iii. new year's noctaere
✨ iv. wildcard
Which: Open log + interactive dream
Where: Around Reverein, Mount Nibel
What: Mount Nibel Incident dream, and a couple of dream board postings.
Warnings: N/A for now
✨ i. "the day mom died..." — interactive dream
[There's a winding, rocky path overlooking the town of Nibelheim below, but where it should be clear, the mountain the path leads up is shrouded in a fog that only grows thicker with each passing moment, with what the eyes can see morphing and twisting in and out of view, almost as if the entire landscape isn't sure what it should be. There's an unshakable sound of static in the air, and a rumbling underfoot that isn't too threatening, but it's noticeable enough that it makes itself known.
On one ledge of the path up the mountain are four children. Three boys, whose faces fade in and out of clarity, and a girl with long, dark-brown hair, all looking up at the mountain as they talk, but their words are cut out by the static.]
"Mt. Nibel is scary. Many people have—there."
"—one crosses that—alive."
[The girl turns to face them all, revealing a much younger Tifa, not a day older than nine-years.]
"How about—died? Did—pass through—?" [Tifa wanders past the boys watching her, up the path.] "I'm—"
[Two boys follow while one runs the other way, threatening to bump into any dreamwalkers as he rushes back in the direction of the town. If Tifa is followed, they'll reach a bridge that she crosses fearlessly and without a word, but like the rest of the mountain, it fades in and out of view as well. There, the two boys who remain rush off, leaving Tifa to venture up the rest of the mountain alone.
...
But they stop upon seeing someone new. Someone who might be able to help?]
"Please, you have to stop her! It's dangerous up there! We're going to go back down and get Mister Lockhart."
[And off they go together without another word.]
** ( ooc: Because Tifa doesn't remember this event in full, I fully encourage anyone to have your character influence the setting as much or as little as you'd like! )
✨ ii. freeloading reindeer
[Having done some work on the communal gardens already, Tifa's grown handy with a hammer and nails. Not that she wasn't already proficient enough, but there's a difference between fixer-uppers around a bar that she knew like the back of her hand and building wooden flowerbeds and fences, and the latter has allowed her to at least learn some proper techniques in woodworking. Hell, she's even started learning how to sand and polish, so something like this should be a piece of cake.]
There. I think that's the last of it.
[She'd been hauling wood around all morning, the large planks thrown over her shoulder before she sets them down out in the middle of the farm where there's plenty of room to build out. It's nothing but a pile of wood and a bag of tools, and whoever else has come all the way out here with her, and around them, the reindeer will be grazing and curiously watching from afar, still not sure if it's safe to approach.]
So, it was a new stable for them and a fence, right? Gotta say, biggest thing I've ever built was a flowerbed so this'll be new to me.
✨ iii. new year's noctaere
[It is a little terrifying going up against the Noctaere, especially when she knows little of what to expect upon entering the dreamscape, but Tifa was never one to sit back or sit still for very long. Not when there were threats that needed to be taken care of. She might not be the most experienced partner in the dreamscapes, with her skills in dreamotion magic leaving plenty to be desired, but she can pack a punch when needed, and it has come in helpful in a lot of cases.
That isn't to say she's completely useless at magic, but she'd prefer to let her fists and feet do the talking if it came down to it. Which it will.
And just before stumbling into the dreamscape, she looks over to whoever has volunteered for the job with her, and gives a firm nod.]
You ready?
** ( ooc: if you have a preference for the dreamscape, then please let me know in the subject line! Otherwise, I'll randomize which one we end up getting! )
✨ iv. wildcard
[None of these prompts work? You know the wildcard drill! Feel free to leave something else below, or contact me via PM or @crystariums if you'd like to plot out something! Tifa can be frequently found at the communal gardens, at the edges of the forest training, and just in general wandering around Reverein, so she's easy to bump into. Also okay with any of the dream board postings!]
no subject
The words hang in his head, a weight sinking into his stomach. Given everything he's pieced together so far, the first thing he can think of is the one she's really waiting for, wishing it was someone else in his place. He can't blame her for that, for wanting her connections from home. And if he hadn't realized so many things by now, this shouldn't have mattered—all it should have roused was a sense of pity and sympathy. Instead it just sends those frayed threads spinning and tangling all the more, making him question and doubt what he should be doing. Enough to push away from that line.
But the sound of her sobs pull him back to it. It's just him and her in this space, especially now. And he could ignore her. Could just keep her like this and do nothing more, let her just cry it out and give the minimum comfort like this. In the past he could have done so easily, but now...
Without really thinking, driven purely by the sound of her cries and the flux of his heart, Eustace brings his hand to Tifa's tear stained cheek, thumb first brushing over them before he pulls her face up so that his lips lightly touch the tops of her eyelid and then to the corner, lightly kissing it. His fingertips brush against her skin to thread through her hair as he stares down at her, his eyes carrying a weight of unknown emotions.
And before she can question him, his lips find hers, pulling her into rough kiss as if trying to pull her away from everything, from everything that's plaguing her.]
I can't stop it. [His voice is hoarse whisper as he breathes her in, every chain of resolve he had tried to fasten breaking with every fast beat of his heart.] But I'll take you away from it.
[Even if it's just a temporary escape, sometimes even that much is necessary. To be forced away from the soul sucking pits they find themselves trapped in so they can try to deal with it again later. Or, in this case, possibly create a new one or worsen it. But if they do, he won't let her be in there alone.
And maybe he's out of his mind right now, losing his resolve to stand back. But how can he? How could anyone hold back when someone they care about is hurting so much? And perhaps, in the back of his mind, a voice that he's been trying to ignore whispers—
Why can't it be him?
While he would have some answers—excuses—later, right now he's not thinking about them. The only thing on his mind right now is the young woman in his arms and comfort her in any way he can.]
no subject
Her ears ring and her heart thunders in her head so loud that she barely hears his whispers, and when she inhales the air he breathes out, it's so dizzying that she leans in close, almost breaking his voice off to close the distance between them again, her hands wrapping around his neck to keep him in place as they drive their lips together into something deeper.
Tifa can hear those voices in the back of her head and those twinges of guilt that come with them. The voices that scream at her that this is wrong, that she shouldn't be handing him her heart when such a big piece of it still yearns for another, that there is no permanence to her time here... All of those doubts and fears that she harboured resurface, trying to fight back against that other side of her.
The side that he's so easily undoing under him. The side that takes him at his word. If he wants to help her bear that burden then that part of her wants to give it—wants to thrust some of that weight onto him so that they mare share it together, even if it is just for one night. To take him at his word that he can and will steal her away from all the troubling things that have taken root in her.
As if in a single breath, he does. There's that crushing wave that sweeps over her—of relief, and the fear that comes from actually... wanting more, and what that could mean. But does it matter? They've already taken that step into the unknown, and even if they wanted to go back, could they? Does she want to? Does he?
The thoughts drop into the back of her mind when she slips closer to the edge of the bed and closer to him, and Tifa allows herself to fall into whatever this is. As she slides her arms further around him to feel the press of his warmth against her, she parts her lips and draws back so that she can look at him, her own voice thick and her eyes saying everything that she intends to say but can't.]
Okay... [A beat.] Okay.
[For one night... It's fine if it's just for now, right?]
no subject
And when she she gives her consent one arm slips beneath her legs as the other remains at her back, his only answer given through another heated kiss as he lifts her, standing up before dipping her back down onto the bed so that he's now looming over her. In that one breathless moment he stares down at her, pale blue eyes darkened with an unfamiliar heat. The way she looks beneath him, her hair dark as the night sky and the last remnants of the falling snow speckling it like stars, it's beautiful as it is tempting. He reaches up to pull out the flower that had managed to stay tucked by her ear, glancing at it before setting it to the side so that it won't be crushed.
Only after that can Eustace no longer resist and once more he kisses her, hand cupping her cheek as this time it's a little slower and gentler, as if wanting to savor it. A part of him knows they don't need to go far, yet another wants to. The more he touches and tastes, the more he finds himself craving, as if something new has awakened within him. But he also knows that he can only give and take as much as she's willing. Not to mention this is an unusual situation...
But those are only thoughts in the back of his mind as his attention and focus turns to their physical presence, of the heat and ripples of pleasure shared between them.
And for better or worse, the corgis that had remained with them seem to have gotten the hint and are shuffling their way out and downstairs. Whatever ends up happening, they'd rather be able to sleep than be around.]
no subject
She's scared, and he'll be able to see it, but when he lowers his lips back to hers again, all that fear and doubt is swept back by the electricity his touches send through her, as if he were imbuing her with his magic. It's a feeling so faraway, but it brings her back to the moment they had shared in the cave, where the smallest buds of it had started—tiny traces of this intense heat that wound itself up inside her that are now bursting through her now threadbare conviction.
She held on for as long as she could, and maybe she could have a little longer, but the way her hands skim over the planes of his back, and how his lips feel on hers... Even the sturdiest, most determined souls can come undone by it. These more instinctual urges only make her want to take more and wish that he would do the same.
She does, for as long as their bodies will allow. It's gentle, tender, slow, but she can feel the gravity of those thousand unknown emotions weighing down on them both—that need for comfort and the search for something to fill those lonely voids, but there was something else there, too. Through all of those hardships and tense moments, between those lingering stares and stretches of silence, there had been something else that had built up—it was almost carnal in nature, heated but mesmerizing... Something that needed to be resolved in a way only being this close to one another could.
And still, Tifa remains so very careful about it. It's still delicate, and whatever there is that had grown between them could still easily be broken. Even if this is just a spur of the moment, one-time thing in a pursuit of comfort, she doesn't want to break that frayed thread that still somehow held them together.
How long had passed, she has no idea, but by the end of it all, her head is filled only with him. His voice, how his name had rolled off his tongue and his from hers, the trails of heat his fingertips had left, and the sound of his breathing as she lays her head down next to his at long last, her body sheened in sweat, and her legs untangling from his to wrap up in the messy sheets.
How much longer is it that she lays in silence to catch her breath, and it's then that she catches herself admiring him again. She looks away, her lips parting to speak, but...
What in the world is she even supposed to say now?]
no subject
But the longer they continue, the easier it is to forget all of it and just be lost in that moment. And even he, someone who can usually keep his reason, falters and finds greed the more he touches and tastes, his mouth leaving her lips to explore and take every inch of her soft, sweet skin. How he can feel the light trembles and shivers as he moves; her soft, alluring voice that hits deep into carnal instincts; the heat formed between them almost burning; and her pulse—the quick, steady beats that reaffirm that yes she's alive. It sends his mind racing to those heart stopping moments from the lake to living it through her nightmare just moments ago. He would of course fear losing anyone close to him, but it's Tifa that shook him the most. So it's this sound—the sound of her heart—that grips his own, dictates his actions, going beyond what he ever imagined or intended.
And the more she allows him in, the further he goes, lost in that need and desperation. It's such a raw, wild feeling, one he's never experienced before—one he will later regret once it's over.
With ragged breaths he stares back at her, his eyes unconsciously flicking down to see the numerous marks he's left on her, including on the scar on her chest. How at the time he had wanted to imprinted himself, that moment, this night over the pain it haunted her. But now with their heads cooling along with the air, he wonders if he went too far.
No, they did go too far. It's one thing to give physical comfort, but this... Knowing he's the older one and supposed to be more responsible and mature and the less emotionally compromised one of the two, he should have stopped it several times. Instead, he almost feels as if he had taken advantage of her, especially when he's the one who instigated it, and it sends an ill feeling to his stomach.
Yet at the same time, he can't say a part of him doesn't regret it. Not when he sees her looking at him and that little familiar flutter of amusement forms briefly. But she's likely thinking and feeling the same. Even if she had consented and their thoughts and feelings likely mutual... He's fairly certain they skipped a giant step. That step being, what in the world do they even want from each other? How far should they really be going? What should they do from here? Questions they need to answer, and answer soon, but... Have they been through enough for now? Should it wait? For how long?
And does he want to risk breaking something that seems so tenuous and fragile right now?
After the silence stretches a little longer, he slowly brings his arm around her and moves closer to her.]
I guess I did a good job if I made you speechless.
[Said in a very dry, languid, and somewhat teasing tone. They have serious matters to discuss, one that could either result in them having more moments like this or this being their last. But as his own thoughts rest heavy on his mind, he'll try to alleviate hers a little.]
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The question remains of whether she wants to, because the moment she does, Tifa knows that they'll have to talk about this. She's afraid of what she'll feel when she comes down from that high, and what he might say, or where it might lead after. If this is what makes or breaks their friendship, then she'll have plenty to regret, but... she doesn't find herself feeling those annoying pangs of it yet. Guilt over taking advantage of the situation to do something uncharacteristically selfish, to use him to run away from all of the heartache, even if it was for just a little while?
Those are things she'd rather not think about as she lays here, still enveloped in his warmth. The silence persists, weighing heavier on them with each second she gives herself to piece together something... Even if she might come to lament over this later, right now, her body refuses to let it go.
Once she's caught her breath, she lets out a small exhale over his skin, and this is the first time she's noticed the twinkling lights over their heads—the same ones as the little stars that lit up the air around the tree when they had watched the snow fall. Through it all, she can at least smile up at that, understanding where they'd come from now, and her voice is quiet, but pointed when she finally sighs.]
... You did something.
[Still a little speechless. That, and she still doesn't know the right thing to say given the situation.
Another pause before Tifa is lifting her head just far enough to look up at him.]
How are you feeling?
[It seemed the most appropriate thing to ask after all...that.]
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Fine.
[Which is true. A little tired, sure, but otherwise he does feel fairly invigorated after it all. It's only hampered by the black cloud of questions that hang over them....
....
A black cloud that actually forms a over them, casting a shadow and obscuring the twinkling lights. Glancing up at it, he sighs.
They can't delay it any longer.]
...But I am wondering this is something you actually wanted or if I pushed you into it.
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She should have expected it—that they would talk about it, and she wasn't going to sleep tonight without it, but so soon? She's hardly had time to process what's right in front of her, let alone what awaits them tomorrow, and all the days after that.
However, there is one thing she is sure of, that she doesn't need time for.]
You didn't push me into anything.
[She had been a willing participant as much as he had, and if anyone had pushed them further over the edge, it might as well have been Tifa. Whether she had been thinking straight when she did is another question... for later.
As for what it was she wanted...
That's a question that's harder to answer, and it's one she hopes her actions had spoken for her. Whatever that meant, and whatever feelings lay beneath those urges, there was no denying the fact that they've uncovered something much deeper. Tifa doesn't know if she can say the same for him, but... for her, at least, it had meant something.]
Did you think you did?
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In some ways. ...I can't say I acted with wholly pure intentions and you were more vulnerable and emotionally compromised. I should have had better control of myself.
[Even though he did genuinely want to comfort her, there were so many different ways he could have done so. Ways that would have been more "chaste" and not devolve in them completely losing themselves. At the same time it hadn't been wholly physical—there was a fair bit of emotion that transferred between them, unspoken messages that hint at their true wants that they still can't bring themselves so say.]
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Their fault for what, though? At the time, he seemed so sure that he wanted it, and she was certain she did too, so why is she suddenly thinking like this?
Of all the things to come out of that, it shouldn't be this.]
You didn't do anything wrong.
[Neither of them did... or so she'll try telling herself.]
I...
[Wanted it, too. That small part of her that held her gaze on him whenever he wandered too close, or that had her linger in his presence a little too long... That part had seen and felt something with him. It was at the tree, when he couldn't place her, and when he started to disappear right before her eyes... It was then that she realized that he had become someone special...
But she can't say that, can she? Because did this even mean anything? Through all the emotions that they exchanged tonight, can they say that it was anything more than just two people seeking comfort in each other?
It's probably better this way.
She breaks off the thought with a shake of her head, and rolls away from him, her head falling back against the pillow instead of his shoulder. Tifa feels as if she's imposing on him again, pressing further than she needs to.]
Me too. Both of us... but... [He's so much better with words than she is right now.] I know I was vulnerable, and there were a lot of emotions, but I think we both knew what we were getting into.
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She thinks he's so great with words, but really he doesn't know how much he should say. How much he should tell her. If he should ever tell her. In the end he just resigns to himself and stays where he is.]
But I don't think we were ready for it.
["It." "This." Whatever the hell "this" is now.]
no subject
I guess not, but we did...
[Her voice is even and quiet.
Whatever "this" is, she can't say it was ever going to be something they would have been ready for, or if they would have even pursued under any other circumstance or later down the line, so how could either of them have ever prepared themselves for something they didn't know was coming?
She asks this as if they had no control over themselves. They knew exactly what they were doing and did it anyway.
Which begs the question...]
Eustace. Do you...
[No. That's not right.
Now she shifts to turn to her other side, her back facing him.]
Did that mean anything to you?
no subject
Did it mean anything to him?
And if it did, what?
Does he know the answer? No—does he want to admit it?
There's a long stretch of silence before he slowly starts speaking, each word carefully measured, and quiet.]
...For a while now... I've been wrestling with how I've been thinking...and feeling towards you. Especially after what happened at the lake, the thought of losing you...
[The more he speaks, the more he wavers. Things he had intended to keep closed are trying to pry themselves out. He could still keep the lid on it, but... Seeing her back, feeling that distance.
He hates it.
He doesn't know what he wants from her, from them, but he knows this much. He doesn't want that gap to widen.]
Even now I'm still trying to wrestle with it, so I can't give you a clear answer. But I can tell you this.
[Eustace finally shifts closer to her, his hand reaching out take her shoulder and pull her back to him so that she can face him. As she turns, that dark cloud will start to clear, a few of those twinkling lights returning. It's not completely gone, the uncertainty a looming shadow, but she can at least now see the sincerity in his eyes.]
It wasn't empty. Being with you... [He falters for a moment, as if trying to find the words.] It's genuine. Even if I sometimes think it would be better if I keep my distance, I can't.
[...Annnnnd now he feels a little embarrassed. Isn't this almost similar to a confession??? He ends up withdrawing a bit and muttering under his breath.]
What am I saying...
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That was all she needed to know—that this night wasn't wasted on something hollow and superficial. That their actions did have some meaning, even if neither of them can figure that out.
And when he turns her over to face him again, he'll be able to see her eyes glisten again with tears underneath those sparkling lights. It's complicated, and she hopes he doesn't ask what they mean. Having to explain to him the amount of relief and shame she feels right now wouldn't come easily, and she has faith that she would only make it messier in trying, but as much as she wants to turn away from him and refuse Eustace the opportunity to ask, her eyes lock onto his upon seeing the weight of his words within them.
Which is why it's almost a relief when he shrinks back.]
Me too...
[It didn't mean nothing to her, either. She has her doubts, and reasons for thinking that this could never work, but what happened tonight—it wasn't all for nothing. She felt the gravity of it, those emotions she poured into him with every touch, and every kiss, and it was more profound than she imagined it would be when she made that move towards him.
She loses her steadiness, and the next breath she lets out is shaky as she pulls the sheets up closer to her face.]
Why's it always you... [She repeats the words again, laughing quietly to herself at how much truth there is to them, especially now.] You're always there when I'm in trouble. Always there to help fix my problems, or get me out of a pinch. It was so much easier when it was just me...
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He doesn't realize how tense he had been until he first hears those two little words, and then it melts completely when she hides herself and laughs. His muscles relax so much he actually slumps forward, head hanging as his long bangs hide the slight smile that had unknowingly formed.]
I could say the same to you... As troublesome as you've been, I've caused you just as much grief.
[From the very first day they met, to that Halloween dreamscape, when he lost his memories, the box during Christmas— She's saved him as many times.
He slowly reaches out to touch a strand of her hair and pull it back, as if trying to reveal a little more of her face despite the sheet pulled over it. And then a question forms on his tongue, one he hesitates to ask. But it's been a question that's plagued his mind. That's made him think he needs to hold back.]
...Would you rather if I wasn't around? Or...it be someone else?
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[Her answer comes in a single breath, before he can finish asking his question.
The hair he pulls back only falls back over her eyes again, covering them as they blink back to the past, and more frustrations resurface. Different ones than what she felt coming out of the dream, but ones that she carried with her everywhere she went—even beyond the boundaries of a universe into another.
Memories of a blond-haired boy with bright blue-green eyes, who she missed more than she could put into words. It had been so long since she's seen him, and even when she had the chance to back in Camelot, she ran away from the idea of it for fear of what she might find—that he wouldn't be the Cloud that she remembered. Her Cloud.
In the process of all that running, she crashed into someone else.]
You know... [she begins, a hand reaching out to touch the side of his face, a smile warming her expression. It's a brief gesture, and it falls back to curl around the sheets again.] Back in that other world, we spent a lot of time together. We got into some weird situations, but never anything as bad, but you always had my back, just like you do here.
[When no one else did.]
no subject
...
Truthfully he's not sure how to make of it, just like he was never sure what to make of her having memories of him in another world. Could he even think of himself as the same? So there's a slight disgruntled look as he considers the laughable idea of him getting annoyed of himself.]
So you're pulling me into trouble no matter what world we're in. Should have known.
[But then he wonders. Wonder if in that world they would have been on the same track or if things could have panned out differently. Of course neither of them knows and...really he doesn't care. He's here, not there, and the same is true for her.]
Just don't compare myself to the other one.
[...
Primals he really is getting jealous of himself what is wrong with him—]
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What do you mean, "the other one"? There's one you.
[He's the same person, through and through. Tifa might not have known him for very long back in Camelot, but in the time they did spend together, she's never been more sure of anything. That this Eustace and that Eustace are one in the same, with the only differences being their memories.
Although... she'd have to reconsider that... after tonight...
Still, her amusement remains, helping to lighten some of the heaviness that had lingered.]
You have nothing to worry about, I promise.
[If anything, shouldn't Camelot's Eustace be the jealous one?]
no subject
if onlyHe still looks at her as if not convinced... But he also knows he's being stupid so he lets it go with a sigh, flopping down on the bed and rubbing his eyes.]
...You're the only one who can drive me this crazy and get hung up over useless things.
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I'm sorry.
[This is what it should be. Even if they are laying in bed next to each other, and a thousand other thoughts are running through their heads right now, this is what Tifa had wanted from the start. It feels just like how it had been back in Camelot, where she could so easily laugh in his presence, even when he was being a grouch over the most unimportant things.
How he'd frowned at her from across the bar when they made the decision to move elsewhere, mumbling all the way to that little animal café just down the road, and somehow, she managed to convince him to join her. And how he looked at her when she invited him to the movies... When she'd suggested the date to draw out that woman and how no amount of grumbling could change her mind.
It's how it should be.
Truly though, she is sorry. She never meant for this to happen... Everything leading up to tonight... Any of it.]
... I missed this.
[She says it so suddenly, after a short stretch of silence, but she doesn't backpedal, nor does she move away embarrassed. Instead, her eyes flicker up to him, watching him in the dim light.]
no subject
But just as he's settling back in, he hears those words and reflexively glances over at her. It's then that he realizes that they've relaxed and had fallen into more of a normal rhythm where they weren't so hyper aware of each other, not dancing around each other and trying to keep distance while at the same time wanting to be close.
So he stares at her for a moment before he rolls onto his side to face her.]
...It's been difficult.
[Being tossed in one direction and then another, hardly having any time to breathe.]
no subject
I never liked it... how things always were.
[Just when they thought they could move past the last incident, they would just find themselves in a new one, and it was starting to become this unbreakable cycle. No matter how much she tried to pretend things were normal, that was always just out of her reach every time. They are both partly to blame for that, but how much of it can they put on them when it's this world that keeps finding new ways to keep them on their toes, so to speak?]
Promise me something?
[She turns on her side so that they're fully facing each other now, so she hopes he can sense the magnitude of her wish.]
That things will be normal tomorrow. We can figure the rest out, but we can't keep doing that.
no subject
...It's hard to run away and ignore things now.
[A small exhale as he reaches over and pulls her to him.]
There are a lot of things we'll need to discuss, but... I'm tired, and I know this is what I want right now.
[Just. Holding her. Nothing more, nothing less. To feel her warmth against his, to know she'll be right there. Is this something he'll want more of the in future? ...Probably. And maybe they've already figured out that this is what they want. But this isn't the right time to decide, not with everything still raw and confusing.
And even if for some reason things don't work out, at least they had this chance. Chance to give in and be honest with each other. A chance to be selfish in their wants.]
no subject
And it feels... nice. To lie there next to him and just... be. She can't remember the last time she's felt like this, or if she ever has. It's different, but it's calming. Whatever comes of this tomorrow, she'll at least take this for what it is. She'll accept his comfort, and return it in kind, because in the end, that was what this was all about, right? Everything else was just a surprise.
She buries her face into his chest and closes her eyes, amazed at how quickly she feels the sleep come over her, even when she had been so afraid of it before. Even if the nightmares do come back, Tifa can sleep soundly knowing that he'll be there should she wake up in fear, or if she needs to be saved again. The same would go for him too, if it ever came to it, but she prays it never will.
No matter what happens, he'll be there in the morning, and nothing will change this time.
Her arms slide around him and squeeze.]
Thanks again, Eustace... for getting me out of there.
[And before she can say goodnight, she dozes off into the deepest, dreamless sleep she's had in a while that it feels like a blink before sunrise.
...
Is that... barking?]
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Always.
[He's always been loyal, but when it comes to her, he feels it even more strongly. So strong that he can't help but hold her a little tighter as she drifts to sleep, and it's not long after that he follows.
And he would be the first to rustle awake as the barking grows louder before he feels something wet and cold touch the back of his shoulders. It's enough to make him jerk slightly and then click his tongue when he remembers he has Tifa in his arms.]
...Dammit I should have locked the door...
[But it's too late. The bed is surrounded with some hopping up to Tifa's side to bark oh so happily and hungrily while nudging her. One is even going to jump onto the end of the bed, not caring that it's already full enough as it is.
Are they not even going to have a sweet morning cuddle???]
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