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

[keepsthefire]

It was pretty common for Rin to not really pay attention to his surroundings. Unless he was in a fight, he tended to be rather oblivious and in his own world. As such, he didn't notice the person who was so obviously crying when he came around the other side of the clothing rack and promptly bumped in to them.

He turned around quickly with a bit of a flail, intending to apologize, only to stop and... well. Stare

Crap.

Crying girl.

What do.

"Sh-shit! I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?!"

Because of course it had to be his fault if some girl was in tears, right?

[fightforastar]

Tifa's hand fell from the shirt as someone bumped into her. She turned to see the boy there staring at her, and... Gods, now she was making a scene, wasn't she?

Hurriedly she wiped at her cheeks, though fresh tears followed. Her voice came out a little choked despite her best efforts.

"I'm sorry, I'm fine, really."

[keepsthefire]

"Y... you don't look fine..." Rin pointed out. Even he could see that, absent minded as he could be sometimes. He hadn't hurt her at least, but that didn't assuage his worry any.

"Uhm... here..." he dug around in his pockets for a second before finding one of the plain white headscarves that he would wear at work sometimes. He handed it to her with a slightly awkward expression.

"What's... got you cryin' in the middle of a store, anyway... ?"

[fightforastar]

She didn't think anyone had ever offered a handkerchief (even a makeshift one) before, and it threw her off momentarily. She didn't usually break down in front of people either.

She took it, using it to wipe her face again, for all the good that did.

She was about to say it was nothing, but that would be as obvious a lie as saying she was fine.

"I... was thinking about home. It's stupid, I didn't mean to... to start crying like this..."

[keepsthefire]

Oh. Homesick. Rin knew that feeling well. It had faded in recent months, more so since his brother and familiar had arrived (and yes, even Mephisto and Amiamon to a small degree), but there were still pangs of it when he remembered stupid things about the cram school and the friends not there.

"... how long you been here?" He asked, then stopped and added, "A-actually... do you wanna get outta here? It's probably not helpin, all these people around and stuff..."

[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.

[aim_exorable]

"Miss Tifa?"

His voice, quiet and heavy as usual, slips around the corner and then he slips over to her side. His own reason for being in the store is trivial, really, and unimportant. (Particularly with Gamzee's own relaxed apathy about his clothes which just couldn't keep up with his growth.)

Darkleer doesn't say much besides that. He simply pulls out a handkerchief from somewhere and offers it to you.

[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 glances up at the voice, and then drops her gaze, perhaps more embarrassed to be seen by someone she knows than by strangers. Seeing the handkerchief only out of the corner of her eye, it takes her a moment to register it. Then she accepts it slowly and wipes her eyes.

"Thanks," she mumbles.

[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."

[aim_exorable]

"Think nothing of it." He keeps his hands to himself, pretending to inspect some of the clothing. No one wants to be seen at their weakest and most vulnerable, at least not with someone not close to them. He waits until she's done before he thinks it safe to speak again.

"Rough day?"

[fightforastar]

"Not at all." She sniffs, trying to get herself under control. She must look so pathetic, crying over nothing like this. It's not like anything has changed since she got here, and she was managing before now.

[aim_exorable]

A nod of his head. "I see." Translation: it's really none of his business and he won't poke. If she wanted to tell him, she would have. "Are you particularly busy right now, Miss Tifa?"

[fightforastar]

"No." She wipes at her eyes again and risks a glance up at him. "Did you need something?"

It would almost help if he did. It would give her something else to focus on.

[sorcery_fledgling]

[Shopping therapy. That's what Rinoa had been going for when she walked into that shop. Get her mind off of Squall leaving for a little while and -

...someone was crying?

Rinoa stepped around the displays until she found Tifa, crying in front of some shirt. But it didn't matter where she was at the moment.]

Tifa?!

[She immediately came to her side, her face wide eyed and worried.]

What's wrong?

[aim_exorable]

"Of a sort." He nods to the clothing. "You can finish up here if you would like to. I will go wait outside."

Besides a slight furrowing of his brows when he initially came upon her, Darkleer's expression is still patiently neutral so far even as he turns to leave.

[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?"

[lucentpalisade]

Sophie really isn't supposed to be out by herself, but she'd promised Asbel she would go to the store and get some seeds and come straight back, with no detours. ... Being that Tifa was on in the store while she was going to get said seeds, this isn't really a detour, now is it? She stops a short distance away, staring at the sight of the other woman crying.

"Why are you crying?"

[fightforastar]

Tifa nods and lets him go on. It takes her some minutes to calm herself down, and when she does eventually exit the store after him, her eyes are still red and a little glossy. She has the handkerchief in her hands, but isn't sure about the protocol for giving it back. It's pretty damp, after all.

She gives him a wavering smile. "Sorry about that."

[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."

[fightforastar]

[Tifa gave a start on hearing her name. Seeing Rinoa there, she quickly turned away so the other woman wouldn't see her face. Hurriedly she tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. No one was supposed to see her like this.]

It's nothing.

[fightforastar]

Tifa looks over at the girl and then ducks her head to scrub a gloved hand across her face before answering. Now she's getting children worried about her?

"It's complicated." Is it? She just doesn't want to explain it, doesn't want to say it aloud to anyone. "You don't have to worry about it, o-okay?"

[aim_exorable]

His waiting stance is much like that of a soldier's, told to wait at ease, but he seems to relax a bit once she appears. His head tilts at the apology. "It's just a handkerchief. I have more at home." Mostly used to clean the oil off his hands when he's working and less for tears, but still.

"Follow me." He sets off at a slow enough pace consider the length of his stride, and it eventually leads to a small out of the way cafe. There's an outdoor section filled with tables that Darkleer glances to, but then he says, "You can pick any seat you prefer. I am not considerably picky."