fifteenth shot ⊗ closed log

[flamekthunder]

Who: Eustace and Tifa
Which: Closed Log
Where: Eustifa House...and then somewhere
What: Just a place to dump some closed threads for the two
Warnings: Lots of fluff...and then suggestive stuff.

Comments

dreamscape tour

[flamekthunder]

[As he had promised, Eustace was ready to give Tifa something like a "tour" of his world via dreamwalking. Prior to this night he had practiced a bit on his own, focusing on what places to go to, how long and how much he can depict without exerting too much energy. After several trials and errors, he's finally reached a version he's satisfied with, so as he cuddles up with Tifa, wrapping her in his arms, he lightly kisses her forehead.]

Ready?

[starshower]

[If only she had known that he'd been practicing on his own in his dreams...

But she lays there, curled up on his chest, eyes already starting to close when she feels him press a kiss to her forehead, and his voice rumbling gently in her ear. She had just been about to doze off, so his prompt has her giggling quietly, a finger reaching up to tap him on the chin.]

I am, but we have to fall asleep first.

[... before she's leaning up to kiss him, her lids already heavy with the sleep she feels quickly coming over her after another long day of prepping at the café.]

Sweet dreams?

[flamekthunder]

[He had to make sure it was perfect okay. He can't just show her a weird fragmented dreamscape on the first go! Which is exactly what happened so honestly he was glad he was able to practice this.

He just smiles against her.]

Sweet dreams.

[And only the sweetest for her. Whether this will be one...well, given the two of them, probably it will.

Now, normally he waits for her to sleep first, preferring to watch and listen to her peaceful form and letting her quiet, soft breaths lull him to sleep. Even now...he sometimes still has a little trepidation that he might lose her. Fortunately it's not as often, but it does still remain. However, since he's the one needing to create this dreamscape for her to enter, he settles down with her, closing his eyes as he holds her close in his arms, her warmth and beat of her heart enough to put him at ease.




And whenever Tifa next opens her eyes, she'll find herself greeted first by an expansive blue sky. One so bright and wide that it seems to stretch on forever. She'll then be able to hear the wind rustling quietly around her, the hum of the engine and creak of wood and sails alerting her of the airship she now stands on. It's flying high, so high up in the sky, yet it's not too cold and the air is clear to breathe. Should she look over the railing, she wouldn't see any kind of surface beneath her. Just endless blue skies and white clouds. Only in the far distance would she be able to see a land mass floating in the sky.

And Eustace? He's nearby, but he's watching her from behind first, waiting to see her reaction.]

[starshower]

[It doesn't take her long to fall asleep — she had already started to doze off before that when the day had finally caught up to her, but having him here to hold her, and listening to his strong, steady heartbeat and the way that his breathing evens out along with hers, it's enough of a lullaby that as soon as she lays her head down, she's gone. Gone first into a dreamless sleep, one that's so peaceful and quiet that she feels like she's floating...

And then she is...

But it's now with wind brushing cool against her face and in her hair. There's the rumble of something under her feet, but she doesn't open her eyes just yet as she lets the dream materialize around her first. Eustace is here somewhere, she knows, but she simply stands there and allows herself to feel the breeze. It's unlike anything she's ever felt before, and the air smells so fresh and brisk and clean...

Even if she's been away from home for this long, it's still a shockingly stark contrast against Midgar.

It's only as that thought occurs to her that Tifa blinks open her eyes, and is immediately greeted by skies so blue and so vast that she could drown in them. If there are any clouds in the sky, they rush by, and she's stuck in complete and utter awe as she looks out. It may be nothing to someone who has seen a sight like this before, but for her... for someone who had spent many years staring up at a steel plate, it's been a long, long time.

Her fingers reach for the railings, and she leans over them slightly, and her stomach does a nervous, scared flutter when she can't even see the ground from way up here. She backs up a little with a gasp and a laugh, dropping back onto her feet so that she can do a quick excited bob on them.]

Eustace!

[She finally calls out, and Tifa looks over her shoulder for him as the wind whips her hair about. And as soon as she finds him, the brightness and the love for him in her smile is unmatched.]

Come look!

[As if this is something he's never seen before... but if she's going to experience this, then she wants to do it with him tucked at her side.]

[flamekthunder]

[Watching her so excited, the marvel and awe in her eyes and her voice... It makes his own heart flutter in such a way that its reflected by the way the wind ripples through the sails, the sunlight brightening just a bit more, almost like a spotlight on her as he smiles. He knows she's spent so much time under that city... To let her to see the sky at its most open, to let her be able to touch it, fills him with immeasurable joy.

So he remains where he stands, wanting to capture this moment before he finally steps towards her.]

It's your first time so high up, isn't it?

[Even higher than the hot air balloon ride or the pegasus flight. Higher than the dragon island.]

[starshower]

[She reaches out to grab his hand when he's close enough, immediately threading and locking her fingers with his and smiling up at him before she even thinks of turning her attention back out to the skies.]

Yeah. It is.

[Feeling daring, Tifa peeks over the railings again to the soft clouds that the airship glides over, and once more, there's that terrifying but exhilarating flutter in her stomach that has her backing up against him.]

Never high enough that I couldn't see the ground anymore. Only other times were... the pegasus, and the hot air balloon? Not even back home.

[flamekthunder]

[As she leans over, he moves to be more behind her, an arm around her waist to give her more security as he watches her.]

In my world, the surface is too far for anyone to see or reach. It's still unclear as new information and discoveries are still being made. But the current lore and accounts suggest that something devastating happened thousands of years ago that made the surface inhospitable to any living creature. At some point, the ancient dragon god Bahamut appeared and created the Sky Realm over it. Bahamut created, or perhaps raised parts of the surface, large islands in the skies, and that is why everyone lives here.

[starshower]

Wait...

[Tifa peers up at him, the wonder shimmering bright in her gaze. It's one thing to be up so high that she can't even see the ground below, but to live up here?]

You mean that there's nothing all the way down there? That everyone lives in the sky?

[She supposes that the dragons on the island live that way too, but it hits a little differently when it's her husband's own world.]

So, this is normal for you...

[flamekthunder]

Mmm... Well there are the Otherworldly Beings that exist down there, but we still don't know that much about them other than that they are hostile and constantly trying to invade the Sky Realm.

[There's a light frown as he thinks about them, and how they are now the current focus for his group. But he doesn't want to think of such serious things—this is a dream date after all.]

But it's difficult for them to traverse through to reach us and we are capable of defending against them.

[starshower]

[He'll feel her hand give his a light squeeze when she sees that frown trickle into his expression. She knows that parts of this won't be easy, but she appreciates that he's trying at all. It doesn't look like he even wants to talk about them, so she's going to try too.]

Well then...

[Tifa lifts herself up on her tiptoes and crinkles her nose at him with a smile before she wraps her arms around him.]

I won't have to worry about them with you here, yeah? You'll protect me?

[Not that she needs it, nor does she think it will pose a problem at all since this is his dream and not reality, but the thought is nice.]

[flamekthunder]

[He smiles as he sees her catch onto what he's trying to do.]

Always.

[And he can't help but lean down and seal that "promise" with a soft kiss on the lips. Their first under this bug, blue sky... Even if it's just in this dream, he can't help but feel happy about it. If only he could really have her in his world... Let her see all there is to it...

On the other hand, perhaps she's safer in their dream world, away from the constant conflicts and threats that seem to plague the Sky Realm.]

What would you like to see first?

[starshower]

[It's such a high, and she chases it a bit, that kiss lingering, and the breeze seems to pick up just a bit as she holds onto it for a second longer...

His question sets off all kinds of emotions in her, though. He asks it as if he could show her anything in the world that she wants to see... Anything in this life of his that he had lived before she knew him. The thought is overwhelming, but exciting all the same, and she takes a moment to consider her answer.

She has a few, but a few things stick out first.]

Are there any big cities up here? Besides Midgar, I've never really been to any others...

[As much as she hates Shinra and everything Midgar stands for, there's no denying that it is an architectural and technological marvel, especially compared to the small town she grew up in. She imagines that whatever he can think of up here will be far more impressive and beautiful.]

Even just to see it.

[flamekthunder]

[Hm...

He looks up in thought, considering her question.]

We don't have any large cities as advanced as yours... However we do have more industrial cities and kingdoms that could be comparable. The Valz Duchy is one, the Erste Kingdom another. The Society headquarters is also sizable with its own military base. We could fly over them.

a bleeding heart, day zero. (warning for some suggestive/spicier stuff ahead...)

[starshower]

[It had been a long night, but not necessarily all bad. A night that started out great but had quickly begun to go downhill when the two brooches that Tifa had pulled from the bowl were fate's way of laughing in her face. Things had been too calm, too peaceful, too good for her for too long, it seems, so it only seemed fit for the universe to shake things up for her and Eustace, didn't it? Eustace had done wonders to ease the tension that had found its way into her shoulders and calmed her nerves—as he so easily tends to do—after she had found both Cloud and Zack, but there was still something pricking in the back of her mind.

Something misplaced. Something she only just barely notices as they leave the castle together with Lyria before the clock can strike midnight. She's felt it since the moment she spotted Eustace dancing with a woman—or rather, with Cloud as she later discovered, but at the time, she had no idea who she was. It isn't like Tifa to feel something so visceral, something so vividly hot like jealousy. Sure, it can make her uncomfortable and awkward at times when she catches someone latching onto her husband, but this time, it had been like a violent tide in her chest. It was unlike anything that she's ever felt... and all it had been was a dance.

And it still is. It's like someone's set the smallest kindling of a fire alight inside her, or like someone is holding a hot iron rod near the back of her neck, waiting to press it to her skin. It's a distant feeling, but an unfamiliar and uncomfortable one that keeps her quiet for most of the journey back to Reverein. She hoped that the feeling would subside, especially after Eustace had been so supportive of her, but it's still there, lingering in the furthest reaches of her mind, but not so far that she can completely disregard it. It hadn't been so bad before, but the closer they get to their home, the stronger it starts to become.

It could just be that she's tired... It could be that she just needs to sleep it off and she'll be fine in the morning. She has been on her feet for a lot of the night, and after seeing Cloud and Zack, both for the first time in what feels like forever and having to break the news to him about her marriage, maybe she just needs to loosen up a little.

Yeah, that must be it.

She's overthinking it, like she overthinks everything.

Yet, after they say their goodnights to Lyria and head upstairs to their room where it's a little cooler, Tifa's already starting to feel oddly warm. Her face flushed, she slips off her shoes with a sigh as she leans against the doorway of their room in the silence while she tries to shake off the feeling.

Though, Eustace may already have noticed that she's avoided eye contact with him since they arrived home.]

... Did you have fun tonight?

[flamekthunder]

[The whole ride back was...not necessarily tense, but there was definitely an air of discomfort. Although they did most of the conversation back at the castle, those feelings and thoughts still lingered. At least Cloud's appearance came at a..."better" time for them where he no longer feels uncertainty. It's unfortunate—once again, although they didn't know each other at the time, it seems he could get along with the younger fellow well. And he could never ignore or discount Tifa's own personal past. But his old thinking of possibly letting Tifa be with Cloud no longer exists, and he hopes he was able to reassure Tifa back then.

However...he still notices how she's been distancing herself a bit from him. It's understandable—she likely has a lot on her mind and he wants to give her all the space she needs while also keeping close in case she needs him. That doesn't mean he can't worry a little bit, but...well, there's no good in pushing or pressing things right now. Not yet, anyway. As a little uncomfortable as it is, he can understand, so he just remains by her side the whole time even after they return to their room.

He's in the process of loosening his tie and undoing his cloak when he hears her question, glancing at her.]

...Mm. It wasn't too bad.

[.....Okay, what happened in the end aside, it is a very typical Eustace answer. And it's honestly about the best he'll say about any social party—the world would probably break apart if he ever said a loud, social party was "very fun." There were certainly highlights, but overall he's just glad to be in the quiet of their home, Cloud or not.]

You?

[starshower]

[His solid, sturdy presence is reassuring all on its own. Even without words, Tifa knows that she can trust him. She knows that if she needed the time or the space to work things out in her head, and to work through the shock of it all, that he will give it, all while remaining there when she needed him. What's surprising, however, even for her, is that she doesn't find that she does want that space. Doesn't want the time.

She doesn't want to think about it at all.

Tifa has spent the better part of the late night doing nothing but, and she should feel herself wearing down underneath it all. That anxiety and pressure of feeling like her entire world just turned upside-down onto its head should be weighing on her shoulders as it tends to do, but... instead, she doesn't feel any of it.

Which is both a relief, and also terrifying. And incredibly confusing.

She finally looks at him for the first time since they've arrived home, though the meeting of their eyes is brief.]

It had its highlights.

[There's a light, crooked smile there as she remembers their dance that started it all off. And even their time in the fountain was nice, too... despite what had happened. She wasn't going to let her night be completely ruined.

Still, she feels like she owes him more than what she's giving him right now, and to continue where they'd left off before the quiet carriage ride back. So, with quiet footsteps, Tifa pads across the room to him, her dress dragging along the floor, the stars still glittering with every sway of her hips, and when she reaches him, she's gentle as she helps to undo his tie. In that moment, the scent of his soap fills her head, and she closes her eyes to breathe it in.]

Dancing with my prince, especially.

[flamekthunder]

[Hearing her approach, Eustace finishes hanging the cloak and waits until she's in front of him, her hands going to his tie. He doesn't wear them often, only when he somehow finds himself in this kind of formal affairs. But every single time since they've been together, she would always approach to help. He doesn't need it, really, but he lets her, anyway. He finds it cute. Endearing. More little things that remind him how much of his life is shared with her. And while he can see her trying to put things behind her... He can sense and see her complicated thoughts still plaguing her.

Normally he'd coax her to talk it out more, but they already had their discussion back at the castle. There is most certainly more that could be said, but... Maybe there also doesn't. Not right this instant, anyway. He doesn't really want to talk about, either anyway.

What he wants is for the most precious person in his life to be rid of these feelings, if only for a moment.

So he remains silent, his eyes watching her, until the tie is completely loosened. And that's when a hand covers hers, the other reaching up to first gently cup her face before he's leaning in to close the distance and gently kiss her. It's a soft kiss, different from the more passionate ones they've already shared that night. Reassuring.

Reminding her of where she is and who she is with...and how much he will always love and want her.]

[starshower]

[It's exactly the sort of kiss that she needed, and as soon as she feels the press of his soft lips over hers, Tifa instantly melts. All of the tension in her body leaves her as she falls into him, using him to support her as she lets it all fade away, like ice being thawed out under fire. He knows just the right things to do and say, just the right way to kiss her, and a soft, grateful noise leaves her as she circles her arms around his shoulders.

She knows. She knows who she's with, and how much he loves her and wants her, but... does he know that she feels the same? With Cloud here now, does he know that regardless of the storm of emotions that rages inside her now, Tifa still knows exactly what she wants? Who she wants? So much so that she felt the sharp pang of jealousy in her heart when she thought that he had chosen another woman to dance with?

She'd like to think that if there was anyone who needed to know that message tonight, it would be him... but there's something small lingering in the back of her mind that makes her want it. A thought that she doesn't want to humour, because it would mean breathing more life into those terrible, complicated feelings she felt earlier.

And yet...]

You...

[The one thing that fills her head, and she realizes how much she needs it, too. Just free her mind from it.

It's all she can murmur against his lips before her hands slide down from his shoulders to slowly undo the front of his vest first, and then his shirt, button by painstaking button until it falls open, and she can scrape her nails lovingly over his skin...]

[flamekthunder]

[He captures her lips again, the move a little more forceful than before as he feels her blatant need and desire. After hastily removing his gloves, his own hands match hers, sliding down and around her exposed shoulders, suggestively down her side and near her front to push down the fabric of her dress, thumbs brushing and pressing against her soft curves before snaking around back to first undo the clasp. The sound of the small zipper that follows is soft yet so striking in the closed space of their room. Already the rustling of vines, leaves, and flowers can be heard in the background as they cover the windows and walls, curling around the door to seal it shut. What he doesn't notice, however, is there is a darker tint to a few of them...

No, he's too focused on his lovely wife who clearly needs him—and he's more than happy and willing to oblige.

The moment he feels his shirt and vest loosen, he immediately shrugs them off before he's pulling down the rest of her dress, mouth leaving hers only to go to her neck and down to her shoulders...and then descend further down.]

[starshower]

[The sound of the zipper has her breath catching, the sound a hint of things to come, and so soon. The dress tumbles away easily, the light fabric fluttering to the ground like a flower might as it crumples at her feet, leaving her standing before him in her lacey undergarments, dark blue to match the dress. The moment his lips find her neck, she lets her head roll back with a blissful sigh, the feeling so, so welcome after everything.

It helps to chase away those thoughts, those feelings that sunk deep into her heart and muscles, and he'll feel her relax as his kisses descend lower.

Her fingers comb through and gently grab at his hair when he reaches her collarbone, and she slowly guides him back up to meet her desperate lips again for what may be a brief kiss, but it's no less needy and passionate than the last.]

Eustace, I need...

[You. She needs him. In more ways than she could ever convey with words or actions. Physically. Emotionally. Right down to the deepest reaches of her soul... Tonight, of all the nights.

But first... She pulls back so that she can meet his gaze, her own already darkened with her own fiery desires to match the darker red starflowers that have begun to bloom.]

I need you to know... I'm yours forever.

[No matter who is here or who isn't. She needs to be sure that he remembers this.]

[flamekthunder]

[He stares down at her, that flame fully ignited. By now the lights have dimmed, and with hand on her hip the other gently cups her cheek.]

I know.

[Although a little heated, his voice is firm, unwavering, and his eyes reflect the same.]

I am yours...and you are mine.

[It wasn't so long that he reiterated those words to her, and he will say them over and over again.]

And even if there was ever a question...

[There's a slight flicker in his eyes before he suddenly scoops her up into his arms and slowly starts carrying her to the bed, the lights dimming further with each step.]

I would remind you of every single vow we've made...from that night one year ago...

[He drops her on the bed and immediately looms over her.]

To our wedding day. I am your husband, and you are my wife. Nothing and no one will come between us.

[starshower]

[His words are like air stoking a flame—her flame—making it grow brighter and hotter for him. She's heard them a thousand times, she's felt the depth of them so much, but hearing them again here makes her blood run hot. When he scoops her up and lays her on the bed, she can't take her eyes from his, the blues capturing her like a cerulean pool that she could drown in. Her hair fans out, her chest rises and falls as she tries to keep up with her heart, and as he utters those last words, a low noise of approval tumbles out of her, and the moon still dangling around her neck shimmers, like it's just captured that feeling inside.

Nothing. No one will ever come between them. No matter how many forces this world tries to put between them, there is nothing that could ever tear them apart.

It's the exact thing that Tifa needed to hear. She needed to be certain, without any doubt, that Eustace knew where she stood with him. And as he looms over her, trapping her flushed body beneath his, as she gazes up and sees the conviction and the promise in his gaze, she knows.

But... that knowledge is also the very thing that creates the fear that lingers. Except she doesn't want to think about that tonight...

Tifa's arms circle around his neck so that she can tangle her fingers in his hair.]

No one.

[She pulls him down for a soft kiss, but it's followed by an assertive little nip across his bottom lip.]

Remind me, then. Those vows...

[flamekthunder]

[He's more than willing to oblige, more than ready to take the plunge back into their intimate throes. And he easily could, too. However...

...However, he wants to once again show and prove to her how much he loves and treasures her. Not just their physical intimacy, but the entirety of her person. And if he's going to go all the way back from the beginning... From that fateful night a year ago...

He stares down at her first, dark blue eyes sinking into those darkening reds, and his hands slowly moving with one sliding down her side to her hip as the other goes up to her chest. As fingertips slide over and press against the soft curves, his lips lower to lightly brush against hers as his voice is soft and low.]

...You know I want you.

It's not a secret I try to hide.

[A light smirk as he watches how she reacts.]

[starshower]

[It isn't what she's expecting, but it's a welcome surprise, and he'll feel her smile and exhale with a laugh as his lips graze over hers. For all the tension tonight had wrought, for all the chaos and turmoil it caused inside of Tifa, there were those pockets of joy in between, all of them with him, as they reminisced and revisited the night they spent together one year ago. How, even if the night had ended on a strange note, this was still the happy ending that their story should have had in that dreamscape.

When he utters those words, her chest rises with a breath, that strong surge of emotions coming over her. That song bears so much meaning—more than, she's sure, anyone else could ever comprehend. It carried their intentions, said them in a way that they were both too afraid to say out loud. It confirmed everything that they felt for one another when they had been scared to take that step into admitting that it was true.

That they were falling in love. Again.

And now here they are, in their bed, under the starflowers that shimmer across the ceiling like stars. With him filling her view, however, she doesn't notice the darker ones that gleam among them. She doesn't think much of the way they glow a deep, deep red, deeper than the rubies in her eyes.

She can feel the beginnings of tears starting to burn, but they aren't sad or angry tears. They are tears of joy and relief that even when she doubts herself, that they can still end up right here where they belong.]

You think it's easy...

[She sings along with him, not continuing his part of the song, but starting with what she had sung. Although her voice is barely a whisper, it crackles a bit under those feelings.]

You think I don't wanna run to you...

[flamekthunder]

[He can see how his words, his call back to their song has once again deeply affected her...and really, it still affects him, too. A song so perfect for them, that had encapsulated everything about their wavering feelings...of the challenges they face. Truly, they could be considered as star-crossed lovers, a fate indeterminate and indiscernible.

And yet—]

What if we rewrite the stars?
Say you were made to be mine...

[His lips lightly brush against the corners of her eyes where those tears threaten to form, his voice so soft and light as he continues to quietly sing to her.]

Nothing could keep us apart...
You'll be the one I was meant to find.

[—no matter what "fate" might have, Eustace is prepared to do whatever it takes to make their future theirs. To rewrite the rules of this world if necessary. Maybe he'll fail...but he'd rather give it his all and have that chance than to sit back and let it all slip through his fingers without trying.

And he knows she'll be with him every step of the way, sharing in those same wants and feelings.]