#;timeline:postac

[paddraprincess-deactivated20141]

Yeul shook her head and smiled at his statement of looking ‘weird’ "You do not look weird, you just appear so serious, I have never seen you smile." she said while smiling, hoping that he would mimic her, or something would break his seriousness.

[strifuu]

{☣} ||        S m i l e ?                     --------No one hardly ever does it with sincerity anymore, and if they do so, they would only end up lying not only to others but mostly with themselves. Somehow, its essence had been lost; he could find himself questioning its necessity more often than not.

     “ Ah. I get that a lot. ”   His shoulders relaxed in sync with his more casual tones, mouth parted as if chuckling soundlessly--even though he doesn't give off a smirk that she wishes for, the geniality in his eyes says it all.                                   “ How about now? ”

[hallothiel-deactivated20250916]

”Hey, how have you been? I hope work hasn’t been too demanding,” She took his hand between hers. ”You know I don’t like seeing you exhausted.”

[strifuu]

{☣} ||     He held his breath at the feel of the    w a r m t h    from her hands, slightly surprised at the gesture that he doesn't receive all too often. And work? It's fine. Sometimes she does worry a lot, but in her own way.

     "No, not at all. Just wingin' it." Cloud shook his head and let out a small sigh as he remembered how to breathe again, "Do I look that bad...?"

[strifuu]

lizchan1993 ||

{♣} ||     --------Several footsteps from behind had taken his attention away from gazing at the yellow flowers mildly swaying in the breeze. Cloud's instincts told him to grab First Tsurugi's hilt, and as he moved, Midgar's image reflected on the sword's surface.

     An abrupt movement and he was facing the new comer with a tight expression in his face, although not hostile. "Yo," He said, letting their stares connect. "Uh... do you need something?"

[moirai-lockhart]

Reconvene || moirai-lockhart

{ ❀ } ┉┉• For a moment, a tremulous emotion shot through her, causing her muscles to quake, and her lashes to flicker down over her maroon orbs in a rapid blink. 

              { o n c e }                                    { t w i c e }                                                       { t h r e e } times she blinked.

Three times her eyes disappeared behind the darkness of a blink and when they opened again, became aware again, Cloud still stood before her. 

       He hadn’t left. He didn’t disappear. She didn’t imagine it. He was real, and he was there.

    •   { ☼ } •   The woman returned him smile with a warmth she could only produce around those few, precious people to her. Her contradictory petite, yet powerful gloved hand slipped into his own and she used the leverage to pull herself upward. 

                                                       { he was always so strong; so sturdy }

     ”Well,” she began on a breath, “nothing— except,” She gave him a grin, “I think you’ve forgotten—-A week ago, remember? I asked you on a date.” By ‘date’ she meant she asked him to go shopping for supplies for the bar with her, something she was sure he probably wasn’t very enthusiastic to do. “You aren’t planning on standing me up now are you?” 

——+    She tilted her head to the side and gave him a small smile, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

[strifuu]

{☣} ||     If anyone were to ask him if he and Tifa were a   c o u p l e   (one of the undying questions of the bar guest who had their eyes set on her beauty),  Cloud would have to reward them with a shrug of denial and the blankest of his expressions, opt to detach himself along with his thoughts no matter how straightforward the answer was.

                         N o,   o f   c o u r s e   n o t .

     They weren't, in any way he looked at it; a couple would entail a mutual association, sharing the equal efforts, bearing the same burdens in almost an identical trail of experiences. Togetherness. Happiness. And even if they had been under the same roof ever since the crisis had only been manifesting as a mere aftermath, Cloud couldn't think of it as a binding commitment--

          Because as far as he knows, he had been nothing but a failure for Tifa; she had been putting herself through a lot and many of those were for his sake. That is the reason why the genius in him had always thought that  he didn't   d e s e r v e   her, or anyone else for that matter.

     However, if anyone were to ask him what is she to him, he could give them a concrete response.

            "Aah. Yes, I recall." Her warm hand was on his and it unconsciously lingered there for a while before he let go to answer her endearing smile with a subdued one of his own. True, it was something that was out of his interests. He couldn't care less if bourbons are different from whiskeys or would an added vermouth would taste better, but if it meant spending time with the person who had always been there--like a thin but inseverable thread that pulls him back to sanity--he would take it to make himself useful.

     That and she is important to him. Beyond words. Cloud strife just sucks at expressing himself so bad that it's frustrating.

           "Nah, if I wanted to, I would have escaped at first sight." The other hand ran on his wild frills, a corner of his mouth twisting as if he had been holding back amusement.

     "...And I happen to know you punch harder than Vincent does, Tifa."

[xjustapuppetx-archive-deactivat]

The cat was one stubborn little furball, but he had two kittens of his own. He knew how to deal with stubborn kitties. And with much coaxing and effort, he finally convinced the thing to come to him and was now currently carrying it back down the tree in one arm until he was safely back on the ground again. With a deep sigh, he handed the cat to the little girl. “Here… Got your cat. Might wanna put a leash on that thing.” Watching her saunter off happily, he caught her calling thanks back to him and waving before she disappeared, leaving him alone.

He sighed deeply and leaned against the tree, running a hand through his hair and leaning against the trunk, eyes falling closed. That was probably the most exciting part of his day today.

[strifuu]

 {☣} ||     There was no mistaking it, this was Kadaj--his brother or so he was told that odd day. Voice, gestures, appearance, everything seemed to point to that guy, all but one: he did not strike Cloud to be someone who's operating under the ill wills of Sephiroth. Not one bit.

     "Kadaj." He repeated as he stepped closer, gaze never faltering in case the other decides to unveil his true intentions (despite his presence was never acknowledged). For some reason, his stance was more relaxed. A bit of trust? That's not it. Maybe the remaining thread of connection that was deeply rooted in him.

     "What are you doing here?" Cloud took a long pause in consideration, giving that one little possibility a chance. "No... excuse me. But... Are you even him in the first place?"