002

[fightforastar]

Who: Tifa and anyone
Where: Middle district shop
When: Afternoon
Style: I'll match
Status: Open!

Sometimes it was the little things that did it.

Tifa had done her best since her arrival to distract herself from the situation back home. There was nothing she could do about it until she found a way back, so worrying just wasn't practical. She'd volunteered almost immediately to help look for answers in that lab on the island. When she wasn't doing that, she'd had plenty of the bubble to explore and familiarize herself with. There'd been all the necessities of living to see to, people to talk to, and she'd even tried going to that ball last week.

She could feel it pressing on her, like something closing in out of the corner of her eye. It was pretty common for conversations to turn to home, or for people to bring up things that reminded her of it in spite of herself. The past few days had been the worst of it. Someone murdered, Rinoa's best friend disappearing...

But she'd forced everything out of her mind then, and she managed. It was the little things.

She was out shopping. As uncomfortable as it was taking things for free, she'd been here for weeks now and she could use more than a few changes of clothes. And there was one shirt, hung up in the wrong section, that looked so very much like Cloud's uniform.

That was all it was. Just a shirt. One stupid, unexpected little thing that made her think of him.

She didn't know where he was. Her whole world could be coming to an end, but what got to her the most was that her best friend was missing. Probably he was dead. And she didn't even know, maybe she never would know, if he was really Cloud or just some science experiment who'd tricked the both of them into thinking he was her childhood friend. She wouldn't know if it made a difference in how she felt.

She was crying before she realized it. Crying there in the middle of the store over some stupid shirt.

Comments

[fightforastar]

"I..." Tifa stopped and managed a little smile at his suggestion. Her tears were slowing, but he was right, it wouldn't help anything to stay. "That's.. probably a good idea."

She looked around, having forgotten where the exit even was, and then started towards it, head down to avoid looks from anyone else in the store.

[keepsthefire]

Rin nodded, and followed her out, trailing a step behind her but with the sole purpose of shooting dangerous glares at anyone who gave them strange looks. Even if she kept her head down, at least they were silently warned away from the staring that would make her more uncomfortable.

Once out, he looked around for a second and pointed to a cafe with outdoor seating that was still available even with the chill of fall settling on the city.

"C'mon..." he said, motioning with a jerk of his head towards it. Even if the server saw them, at least they would be mostly free from the prying eyes of other customers.

[fightforastar]

Tifa followed his gesture with her eyes and hesitated. It was still a public place... But it was an off-hour and no one was sitting outside for now.

With a nod, she walked over to the cafe, locating a corner table and taking a seat.

[keepsthefire]

It was that or the host club, and even if it was off hours for everything else it was almost always busy there.

"You want anything? Somethin' to drink might help a little..."

[fightforastar]

She let out a little laugh that sounded more like a sob and waved her free hand.

"No... No, that's fine. You don't have to stay either. I just... I just need a few minutes."

[keepsthefire]

"Tch. And just leave a girl cryin' and upset? I may be a jerk but I ain't completely heartless," Rin scoffed. He muttered 'hang on a bit' and vanished in to the cafe, returning a few minutes later with two cups of water. Even if she didn't want anything, she could still have that at least.

"So, yeah... uh. Right! How long have you been here?"

[fightforastar]

Concern for a total stranger invalidated any claim he made of being a jerk in her opinion; it just wasn't the sort of thing you saw somewhere like Midgar. In the few minutes he was gone, she managed to get her tears mostly under control, and sat with his scarf pressed to her lips.

She looked up at his question and shook her head a bit. "A few weeks, that's all."

[keepsthefire]

That was just how Rin's mind worked, and knowing what he did about himself, it only worsened how he thought of himself. He would always be a jerk, or a punk, or a no good half demon, but damned if he didn't try to better himself.

Besides, no guy should leave a girl crying alone. It was just not something you do.

"Oh... geez, you were with the new arrivals last month, huh?" Rin scratched the back of his head a bit. He remembered clearly, just how those first few months had been for him. "It sucks... I ain't gonna lie, bein' here away from everyone you know really does suck. And you'll probably never stop missin' the people that aren't here. But you'll make new friends. Hell, I did!"

He even had a girlfriend. Go Rin.

Also he was totally missing the point of what was going on with her, but he was trying at least?

[fightforastar]

"It's not that."

He thought she was just homesick, didn't he?

"I've been trying... all this time to figure out how to get back, and I don't even know what there is to get back to."

If Cloud was gone and Meteor was coming, what reason did she even have to try to go back? She'd just been trying not to think about that, and instead cling to the tiny hope that he wasn't dead, that somehow everything would turn out all right. Things would work out if she just got back home. But, that wasn't very likely, was it?

[keepsthefire]

Rin blinked a few times, quietly wondering if she was a case like Alister where going back home meant, well... being dead.

But he didn't want to just ask that right out so he instead asked, "What do you mean?"

[fightforastar]

"...I'm afraid... there won't be anyone there."

Not just anyone, but someone very specific.

[keepsthefire]

Rin's brows furrowed at that.

"Why wouldn't they be?"

[fightforastar]

"...if they're dead."

Her voice was quiet, and finally she reached for the glass of water he'd brought. Her throat felt tight.

[keepsthefire]

"... o-oh..."

Well. Now it made sense.

"... you don't know for sure if they're not... ?"

The last thing he wanted to do was try (and fail) to give her false hope, but if she wasn't completely sure there was always a chance, right?

[fightforastar]

Tifa shook her head.

"But the more I think about it... the less likely it seems." That was why she'd been trying so hard not to.

[keepsthefire]

Rin fidgeted noticeably across the table, looking a bit uncomfortable. A part of him wanted to blurt out that even if her friend was dead there was a chance they could still show up in Vatheon, but that wasn't the kind of false hope he wanted to give. Especially when it still meant being dead if they were returned.

Just like Alister.

Or Shirou, if he ever came.

He suppressed a shudder he could feel starting, and instead just gave her an awkwardly sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry..."

[fightforastar]

She noticed his discomfort and managed a tight smile.

"It's all right... You don't even know me and here I am dumping this on you."

He was just a kid, too. Well, as much as she'd been when she'd first been on her own.

[keepsthefire]

Rin shrugged at that, relaxing a little. She had stopped crying at least so he had to have done something right.

"I don't mind. Sometimes you just gotta get it out or else you never wind up feelin' better."

[fightforastar]

"You think so...?"

When was the last time she'd done something like that?

"Hmm. Well, I'll just owe you. Whenever you need someone to listen."

[keepsthefire]

"Ehh? You don't have to do that!" Rin shook his head frantically, looking legitimately surprised that she'd offer something like that. Granted it wasn't like she'd offered some kind of payment for his help, but he still felt bad that she would feel indebted to him in any sense.

[fightforastar]

Tifa looked surprised in tern at his vehement response, but it didn't change her mind about it.

"I want to," she said, sounding firm even if her voice was still a little raw.

[keepsthefire]

"... okay."

He knew better than to argue with a tone like that.

[fightforastar]

"What's your name anyway?"

She should probably know that if she intended to return the favor.

[keepsthefire]

"Huh? ... Oh! Rin. Rin Okumura."

[fightforastar]

"I'm Tifa." 'Nice to meet you' didn't quite seem appropriate here considering, so instead she offered, "Thanks for bumping into me."