floresco | overflow/open

[cntd]

It hasn't even happened yet and you've already ruined ladies night.

Edited 2021-12-07 01:29 (UTC)

[cntd]

That - might be a little too obvious. We could make a few trips, or I guess we grab what we can carry and run for it?

His father was very clear that Rufus only had two options right now- he could go along with this 'experiment', for the lack of a better term, or simply be sent off under indefinite house arrest. Really, after the whole incident with Avalanche and the attempt on the President's life Rufus was lucky. He knew Heidegger had been pressing to simply have Rufus shot and be done with it but there seemed to be some sort of twisted sentiment in President Shinra still given his willingness to spare his son to this degree.

Rufus loathed Hojo, he had heard the noises that came out of those labs, and being involved in one of them made his skin crawl as his father and the scientist explained their intention. But the alternative was house arrest, far from where he needed to be in order to carry out his coup. So he had agreed, this was the only thing he could do in order to buy himself time to make sure he had the allies he would need when he took out his father.

The day came for him to meet the Ancient who had been brought in by the Turks- he knew nothing about her, all that he knew about the Cetra were from the brief notes he had been allowed to read from Hojo's research. No doubt she had already been put through many of Hojo's experiments, he had to endure his own examinations to make sure that they would be at last basically compatible.

There was no going back now as he was led further into the dark labs. His skin was crawling by the time he was shown into a room, Hojo practically giggling as he opens the door for Rufus. "I'll give you time to ...become acquainted while we finish our final preparation," and with that Hojo is gone, shutting and locking the door behind him.

The first thing Rufus struck by is that this room is definitely not a lab with the colorful mural across the bedroom wall but his gaze doesn't linger on that as he looks at the girl sitting at the other end the room. If he didn't know she was an Ancient he would have just assumed she was as normal as anyone else but he's not sure what he had expected to find. "You must be Aerith then."

[CNTD]

Ugh! Reno!

You made it weird.

[CNTD]

That makes us even. I'd rather cook dinner for you than a shed.

[CNTD]

THAT'S CUTE!!!

HMM. He's a tough choice. Are there songs about someone who gives you hair goals but otherwise it's complicated?

Edited 2022-03-27 01:15 (UTC)

[CNTD]

[ It's obvious from the way she gasps that Aerith was not expecting the incorporation of confetti, and the sight of it leaves her grinning widely while she nods over Mal's shoulder as the annoyed, and slightly perplexed looking man who'd left the bar to look for her. ]

I'm not! I have plans!

[ With her drink in one hand, Aerith steps up beside Mal, taking her arm and both indicating that this is what she means by plans even as she tugs the other girl away from the bar and further down the street. ]

Come on, come on, I think he got the hint! We should go eat.

[ Lacing her arm with Mal's Aerith manages not to spill any of her drink while ushering them both towards the BBQ place in question. ]

[ CNTD ]

So you just want to watch? What are you going to do?

Edited 2022-06-19 06:08 (UTC)

[ CNTD ]

Do you want me to be your leaf princess?

Edited 2022-06-19 06:09 (UTC)

[CNTD]

Since you're involved that is very believable!

[CNTD]

[ Mal's response to Aerith's question keeps her smiling widely when in lieu of replying she temporarily lets her phone drop into the basket hanging from the crook of her arm.

Once she's done tying the flowers that remained from the day out together into a cute little bouquet Aerith sets it back in her basket and takes her phone back out, glancing around at her surroundings before she responds. ]

I'll be knocking in thirty seconds!

Twenty!

[ And then, she does. ]

[ CNTD ]

The same could be said for you! Once you involve your booty there will be no stopping you I think!

[ Siegfried is the prideful sort, but even he has to admit when something is beyond his body's capability to heal naturally. Even with Fafnir's blood coursing through him and allowing him to heal quickly, the axe that had inflicted the wound on his torso possessed some sort of magic. The type of magic that ensured its target wouldn't heal naturally.

So he's grateful that Aerith has taken him in; he's witnessed enough of her work before to know that he was in good, capable hands. And that she'd help him, or anyone who needed it.

Even if it does hurt his pride, a little. He gives her a small smile of gratitude. ]

Thank you again, Aerith. I hope I don't take up too much of your time or energy.

[ He shifts to try and remove the blood-stained linen shirt he's wearing. ]

Ah, how would this be easiest for you?

[ Should he sit? Lay down? Stay where he is? He's not used to letting others heal him. ]

[ CNTD ]

I didn't trust myself walking over with a plant, but I did bring the rest of this bottle I've been drinking!

[ That's a lie. She brought him flowers too, but for the sake of not getting him all ruffled again, she'll just leave those behind when she goes. ]

[ CNTD ]

And the lobster? It feels correct that Reno did that.

[CNTD]

Why?

Edited 2022-10-01 03:20 (UTC)

[CNTD]

AWWWW YEAHH

[CNTD]

An expert on cute guys?

[ She has to give him a hard time, at least a little. ]

why is my apartment covered in mistletoe???
you could have stopped at one
or even just the doorways

It was a pretty gnarly stump. Deep roots, lots of shooters. Took about two and a half hours of digging first, and then would have been easier to pull if there was a truck and a winch involved.

Luckily, Krauser himself is practically a truck these days.

An hour later the stump lies defeated in the garden, and the buff, sweaty soldier takes a seat on one of the impossibly delicate little wrought iron chairs, wiping his hands and forehead with a damp rag and waiting for Aerith to reappear to survey his kill.

"Done."

[ Sunlight falls through the broken rafters of the church. Somehow this day always brings pleasant weather. Similarly, there's a hint of warmth in the curve of his mouth.

Except for in that first year—the very day marred by Tseng's appearance at her door—she received something small on every birthday. Shinra's emissary came bearing carefully curated gifts to keep the company in Aerith's favor. Trinkets that never ended up anywhere around her house, and books that Tseng never saw her read. A clockwork ritual of diplomacy wrapped in ribbons and polite smiles. Until at some point, he better learned her tastes and came into his own within the company, choosing the gifts. She reads the gardening handbooks and wears the work gloves... sometimes.

Her presents haven't been from Shinra in a long time, in that sense. No velvet-covered leash of corporate interests ties it up now. Tseng stands under the fractured light, looking from the wrapped, pale violet box to her. He holds it out. ] Happy birthday, Aerith.

[ Tifa never minded when the teams split up, especially when she was paired with Aerith. They hadn't really known each other that long...couple of weeks, really, though she had a sneaking suspicion time just didn't move the same in situations like these. It felt like they'd known each other forever. Fast friends. Instant comrades. BFFs, as she'd heard other people say.

Tifa hadn't had a lot of friends, not really. Losing Jessie and Biggs -- well, she was holding on that much tighter to the people she still had. Part of why she didn't mind being paired with Aerith was she knew she could protect her. Of all their abilities, Aerith's made her the most vulnerable; casting and praying required stillness, openness. Tifa could be useful, and Aerith never fought her on it.

Today, that teamwork led them into the jungles near Costa del Sol. It was hot. Stick hot. Tifa was glad she never wore anything that wasn't breathable, but thoughts of being stripped down to her bra and bike shorts play in the back of her mind. Hell, she'd take a swimsuit. Or just being naked, if there was anywhere she could do that that people wouldn't be wildly weird about it. Some of the fancier hotels probably had private breezy outdoor space. Not that Tifa really supports the franchised hotel and Shinra money here too, but Johnny's place sorely lacks and privacy for nude lounging.

A fact that normally she wouldn't notice, the same way that right now, she doesn't notice it's odd she's having it.

Instead she tilts her face to the mix of sky and lush foliage, inhaling deeply. ]

That smells amazing. You know anything about tropical plants?

[ There's no way it's anything else. Floral, bright, peaceful. Only the Planet can do that. ]

@renogade

@petitepistol

Arranged Marriage AU

@reno4prez

@chainstrike

@elena marie

@once_reborn