Lilium Derived from Latin lilia, which may have come from a corrupted pronunciation of a word from an extinct Eastern Mediterranean language Humility, devotion, restored innocence after death
"Lovers used to give these when they were reunited."
[ he is a little sick of smoke and fire, cloud thinks, rubbing soot off a spot in his arm. it's always fire.
(lucas died but nothing like that matters here, so it's fine. aerith's there in front of him, dirty and burnt but okay, so it's fine.) ]
You don't want to go first? [ he could also go to his apartment. there's not really any need to take turns. he's got a key and everything, but. he hasn't used it yet, and maybe that's weird, but aerith hasn't wanted to be alone and cloud hasn't wanted to leave her alone, so here they are. ]
[he really could go to his apartment, and she thinks maybe she should encourage him to do so...but yeah. as weird as it is that cloud's been here for about three days now she still doesn't entirely feel like telling him to leave still. she's gotten used to him being around.
and at the same time...she feels gross. and kind of grimey in a way that's not comfortable so she wrinkles her nose in thought.]
Yeah, s'fine. It's your room. [ and he defaults to using his soldier outfit because it is, at least, mildly more damage proof than aerith's cute dresses. it doesn't make him less sooty, so he leans the sword against a wall and settles down on the floor to not get anything dirty ] I'll wait.
[her eyes are on the buster sword for a moment before she smiles a little. at least he's considerate to not tracking dirt and soot.]
Okay. [she crosses the room, passing by a dresser on the way to pick out some clean clothes at least before wandering off to clean up. on the bright side, cloud won't have to wait for long, maybe fifteen minutes at the most as she's mostly focused on washing away soot and getting some of the smoke scent off of her. it means that when she exits the bathroom again she's changed into something more comfortable. it's not pajamas, exactly, because it's still cloud but it's a lighter and slightly shorter dress. her hair's still wet and down, but she's running her fingers through it to try and de-tangle it to pull it back again.]
I grabbed some stuff for you, too. [gestures to a drawer in the dresser.] Doesn't make sense to put your uniform back on until it airs out, right?
[does not specify at all when the fuck she got clothes for him and why she has them, but okay thank you aerith.]
[ i'm not going to say he sits there disassociating a bit on the floor as he waits, we both know he does. but he perks right back when she comes out, turning to look at her, so it's not anything obvious. the way he stares just a little too long at her loose hair might be, though.
she does not specify when and why she got clothes for him, and he definitely looks as surprised and confused as he feels about that, but he stands up and goes to look in the drawer anyway. he is half expecting to be confronted by a dress. ]
Guess not. Thanks. [ he'd already taken the gloves off because they were leaving sooty marks around so the drawer can remain Clean ]
[yes. this is why she is putting it back up. she would normally leave it down a little longer but she has enough awareness that he's still a little triggered by her hair being loose.
luckily for cloud there is not a dress! it is possible there's one for him in the closet but that's for later and more as a joke. instead he is confronted with....pants and tank tops, it looks like. basic forms of his soldier outfit, honestly, but more comfortable. there are likely other clothes for him, too, but the drawer she indicated has a few sets of comfy clothes.
in the meantime she's moving to settle on her bed again, watching him putter around for the moment.]
...water's not bad here either. But I think after weeks of not having a real bathroom at all we can't complain that much anyway. [she does not mention there's already soap and shampoo from the pharmacy in the shower, she trusts him to figure that out himself.] Towels are on the rack inside.
[ it's weird, a little, seeing those clothes in aerith's drawer. aerith's room. he doesn't know how to describe the feeling. maybe... domestic. warm. but. a little like he's encroaching, too.
he grabs the first set of clothes with a soft hum, closing back the drawer. ]
It's not like the slums had great water anyway. [ not in a mean way, but he remembers selling water filters to get rid of the sulfur smell in sector seven. ] So long as it runs, it's alright.
[ he lingers near the bathroom door a second, like he wants to say something else before he settles on: ]
Be right back. [ which is obvious, really, and he feels silly saying that so he absconds to take his own quick shower. which will be quicker than aerith's because he does not have four feet of hair ]
Yeah, true. It runs fine and it even turns off easier. [there's a little noise of acknowledgement and she waves him forward. go be clean. it means she'll curl up into a corner of her bed to wait and have her own moment of disassociation.
maybe it is, and maybe it isn't. she's not sure what the line is between what cloud's willing and wanting to do versus what she wants from him and will do for him and where that all started getting muddled together. encroaching might not be the word though.
it's a little new for both of them to share a space like this, but aerith knows cloud enough to realize the man won't bother really doing things for himself and she's pretty sure the clothes she has (and the few clothes she'd picked out for him the first time they had the island, back when they lived in the church) are his only alternate choices. in the nature of sharing a space right now and not separating, it just made sense to keep some of his stuff here. there's nothing forward about it. it's something for ease and comfort.
...thinking about it, it's been a while since she's had a guy in her room to begin with. which is a funny thought but she doesn't seem bothered by it. if anything, cloud's likely going to be the embarrassed one if she ever pointed it out. maybe she shouldn't point it out. or think too long about it. anyway that's sort of what she's thinking about while waiting for cloud to come back, but she does take the time to put her hair up into at least a ponytail.]
[ it really doesn't take too long for him to come out. he is just washing the grime and smoke smell off, same as aerith. the clothes are similar enough to his soldier outfit it's not a huge difference, but it still feels a little weird to step into a room that looks so much like aerith's actual house in midgar wearing something more casual. just the loose tanktop and pants. his hair's still a little wet but he got impatient, so here he is, still toweling it dry as he steps out.
aerith's hair is in a ponytail when he comes out, and he's briefly staring a little dumbly for a different reason now. it's not like it's that different from the braid. but it's different. not in a bad way. she's...
maybe he inhaled too much smoke. ]
You feeling better? [ now that she's cleaned. he could've asked that earlier, but he can't pretend he doesn't, so. he's asking now. ]
for aerith, she's pretty content to be on the bed and waiting for him, but she looks up when the door opens and watches him appear. looking at him toweling off his hair makes her think she maybe should have dried hers a little more, too, if only because it might get both of them a little wet. but that's the the ponytail's for and she thinks it's high enough to avoid being too much.
nevertheless there's a little nod with the question.]
Think so. A lot better than how things were that first week when the swamp was on fire. [and they didn't have showers...she does have a few burns on herself from earlier, but they're treated and they really aren't too bad. she doesn't seem uncomfortable or anything, just a little more relaxed.] Hopefully Iwatooshi's taking care of himself, too.
[ his brain is fine, GOD. he leaves the towel around his shoulders as he walks back inside the room properly. ]
Yeah. You fell in the swamp then, too, on top of it. [ it is rude to remind her, but he's just thinking about how fucking terrible it was to try to wash off back then. maybe being dead is better. except not really; they've both got some burns and should probably not inhale smoke again and he would still prefer that then having more people die in a fire. ] Iwatooshi'll be alright. Nehan had him.
[ ...at least physically, anyway. he seemed pretty fucked up about lucas even if the guy is coming back. well. the aside; ]
And yet we still don't know who that hand belonged to. But if what the others said is true, it was probably just a decoy to throw off the cult themselves. [it is rude to remind her, but it's fine. she's also currently in a place where she's trying to decide if being dead is better except it's really not. then again, it's just another thing she has to remind herself that she's not alone in. cloud's with her. that's enough for now.] I know you're right though. But I'm worried he'll still kind of blame himself anyway, even knowing it was probably too late.
[but yeah. what now...she looks at cloud for a moment, glancing at the towel around his shoulders and tilting her head a little in thought.]
...dunno. What do you want to do now that we're here? [it's occurring to her that since they've met, they haven't really had that much downtime to just hang out. they were always traveling, or in the middle of a job, or at a tourist-y location that kept them busy.]
I've been trying to forget about that hand. [ he chose to carry it around because it was better than aerith, but he was still stuck with a fucking hand? horrible? let's never think about it again. ] Maybe. Might be better if he talks to Lucas himself and find out what happened.
[ [lucas voice] nothing i hate you aki. cloud doesn't know this yet so all he does is stare back when aerith looks at him and then blink a little owlishly at the question.
"what do you want to do" isn't that big of a question, but he's bad at not having... goals. jobs. something. they already looked around yesterday, a bit, so now... now... what do they do? ]
Didn't exactly have any plans before... all this. [ and now after that he's a little tired, already, of everyone. well. not aerith, but that's different. there is probably stuff to do if he thinks about it. he does not really feel like doing it after the fire. ] We...
[ ah, give him a goal and he's fast to figure out what to do and go for it, but this kind of just living thing. he's not so good at. but also it's alpha week so after a second he just shakes his head and admits, ALPHALY: ]
I don't care so long as I don't have to deal with anyone else today. You're the only person I want to be around right now.
[ALPHALY...but yeah. she's not entirely up for doing anything else either, but she knows cloud needs direction sometimes. so she's giving him an equally owlish look back when he actually admits that he wants to be around her, like she has a reason to be surprised.
so. she pats the spot on the bed next to her. come sit.]
Door's locked so it's not like anybody can come in anyway. But...we don't have to deal with them anyway. We can just talk. [maybe that's not an option he wants either, but it's what she's offering. and it's kind of what she wants anyway.]
[ ... it's alpha week he can do this he can actually sit on the bed next to her without hesitating!!! he even lets it be close enough their knees are touching!!! fucking incredible. he still feels a little awkward because she looked so surprised though. idiot. ]
Sure. [ he's not under any impression he is good at talking, everyone knows this, but he's not against it. ] Was there... something you wanted to talk about?
[ he's fine if there isn't, but. he is also very aware she is holding back a lot. ]
[their knees are touching and she doesn't seem to mind this part, relaxed and body language more open as they settle in.]
Oh, I don't know. [which is true, but it's also true there is a lot she has not talked about and a lot she's holding back on.] We haven't really had a lot of time to ourselves in...a while, have we?
[ hmmm. he supposes the gold saucer doesn't really count, since everyone else was also there, just doing their own thing. same with everything since they've set out. he looks down at his lap as he frowns in thought.
he doesn't know if that date was real. in--she called it her dream. but he's not sure aerith knows it. and it wasn't... it probably doesn't count either. ]
... Depends on how you count by ourselves. [ he settles on that first, but: ] Might've been back when I first fell in your flowers, if you mean without anyone else nearby.
That sounds about right, I think. At least for a time before things were a little more complicated. [between everything happening, she means.] And then I took you home with me, and you tried sneaking out.
[that's probably a good idea but also aerith likely would not be surprised. so she shrugs.]
Not really. Just as long as you don't think you'll ever get away from me that easily. [a light joke, and maybe, uh, a little morbid now considering they quite literally followed each other into death.]
[she should not give him more to stress about. and yet...she is trying a new thing where she actually...talks about...stuff she wants. not just the silly superficial things, but the more serious ones with longevity she's not even sure she'll get. it's like 1/3 trying to be more selfish for herself, 1/3 aerith's actual personality and 1/3 alpha week that means saying the important things.]
...a little, yeah. I don't want to lose you while I have you.
[ it's an easy thing to say. and he even sort of believes it, despite the fact that they both died, despite the fact that he's not completely sure when the degradation will take him-- he at least believes in it enough to say it with certainty when he's replying to aerith. ]
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residentflorist) wrote2024-06-08 12:51 pm
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(lucas died but nothing like that matters here, so it's fine. aerith's there in front of him, dirty and burnt but okay, so it's fine.) ]
You don't want to go first? [ he could also go to his apartment. there's not really any need to take turns. he's got a key and everything, but. he hasn't used it yet, and maybe that's weird, but aerith hasn't wanted to be alone and cloud hasn't wanted to leave her alone, so here they are. ]
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and at the same time...she feels gross. and kind of grimey in a way that's not comfortable so she wrinkles her nose in thought.]
...you mind? It won't be long.
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Okay. [she crosses the room, passing by a dresser on the way to pick out some clean clothes at least before wandering off to clean up. on the bright side, cloud won't have to wait for long, maybe fifteen minutes at the most as she's mostly focused on washing away soot and getting some of the smoke scent off of her. it means that when she exits the bathroom again she's changed into something more comfortable. it's not pajamas, exactly, because it's still cloud but it's a lighter and slightly shorter dress. her hair's still wet and down, but she's running her fingers through it to try and de-tangle it to pull it back again.]
I grabbed some stuff for you, too. [gestures to a drawer in the dresser.] Doesn't make sense to put your uniform back on until it airs out, right?
[does not specify at all when the fuck she got clothes for him and why she has them, but okay thank you aerith.]
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she does not specify when and why she got clothes for him, and he definitely looks as surprised and confused as he feels about that, but he stands up and goes to look in the drawer anyway. he is half expecting to be confronted by a dress. ]
Guess not. Thanks. [ he'd already taken the gloves off because they were leaving sooty marks around so the drawer can remain Clean ]
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luckily for cloud there is not a dress! it is possible there's one for him in the closet but that's for later and more as a joke. instead he is confronted with....pants and tank tops, it looks like. basic forms of his soldier outfit, honestly, but more comfortable. there are likely other clothes for him, too, but the drawer she indicated has a few sets of comfy clothes.
in the meantime she's moving to settle on her bed again, watching him putter around for the moment.]
...water's not bad here either. But I think after weeks of not having a real bathroom at all we can't complain that much anyway. [she does not mention there's already soap and shampoo from the pharmacy in the shower, she trusts him to figure that out himself.] Towels are on the rack inside.
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he grabs the first set of clothes with a soft hum, closing back the drawer. ]
It's not like the slums had great water anyway. [ not in a mean way, but he remembers selling water filters to get rid of the sulfur smell in sector seven. ] So long as it runs, it's alright.
[ he lingers near the bathroom door a second, like he wants to say something else before he settles on: ]
Be right back. [ which is obvious, really, and he feels silly saying that so he absconds to take his own quick shower. which will be quicker than aerith's because he does not have four feet of hair ]
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maybe it is, and maybe it isn't. she's not sure what the line is between what cloud's willing and wanting to do versus what she wants from him and will do for him and where that all started getting muddled together. encroaching might not be the word though.
it's a little new for both of them to share a space like this, but aerith knows cloud enough to realize the man won't bother really doing things for himself and she's pretty sure the clothes she has (and the few clothes she'd picked out for him the first time they had the island, back when they lived in the church) are his only alternate choices. in the nature of sharing a space right now and not separating, it just made sense to keep some of his stuff here. there's nothing forward about it. it's something for ease and comfort.
...thinking about it, it's been a while since she's had a guy in her room to begin with. which is a funny thought but she doesn't seem bothered by it. if anything, cloud's likely going to be the embarrassed one if she ever pointed it out. maybe she shouldn't point it out. or think too long about it. anyway that's sort of what she's thinking about while waiting for cloud to come back, but she does take the time to put her hair up into at least a ponytail.]
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aerith's hair is in a ponytail when he comes out, and he's briefly staring a little dumbly for a different reason now. it's not like it's that different from the braid. but it's different. not in a bad way. she's...
maybe he inhaled too much smoke. ]
You feeling better? [ now that she's cleaned. he could've asked that earlier, but he can't pretend he doesn't, so. he's asking now. ]
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for aerith, she's pretty content to be on the bed and waiting for him, but she looks up when the door opens and watches him appear. looking at him toweling off his hair makes her think she maybe should have dried hers a little more, too, if only because it might get both of them a little wet. but that's the the ponytail's for and she thinks it's high enough to avoid being too much.
nevertheless there's a little nod with the question.]
Think so. A lot better than how things were that first week when the swamp was on fire. [and they didn't have showers...she does have a few burns on herself from earlier, but they're treated and they really aren't too bad. she doesn't seem uncomfortable or anything, just a little more relaxed.] Hopefully Iwatooshi's taking care of himself, too.
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Yeah. You fell in the swamp then, too, on top of it. [ it is rude to remind her, but he's just thinking about how fucking terrible it was to try to wash off back then. maybe being dead is better. except not really; they've both got some burns and should probably not inhale smoke again and he would still prefer that then having more people die in a fire. ] Iwatooshi'll be alright. Nehan had him.
[ ...at least physically, anyway. he seemed pretty fucked up about lucas even if the guy is coming back. well. the aside; ]
What now?
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[but yeah. what now...she looks at cloud for a moment, glancing at the towel around his shoulders and tilting her head a little in thought.]
...dunno. What do you want to do now that we're here? [it's occurring to her that since they've met, they haven't really had that much downtime to just hang out. they were always traveling, or in the middle of a job, or at a tourist-y location that kept them busy.]
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[ [lucas voice] nothing i hate you aki. cloud doesn't know this yet so all he does is stare back when aerith looks at him and then blink a little owlishly at the question.
"what do you want to do" isn't that big of a question, but he's bad at not having... goals. jobs. something. they already looked around yesterday, a bit, so now... now... what do they do? ]
Didn't exactly have any plans before... all this. [ and now after that he's a little tired, already, of everyone. well. not aerith, but that's different. there is probably stuff to do if he thinks about it. he does not really feel like doing it after the fire. ] We...
[ ah, give him a goal and he's fast to figure out what to do and go for it, but this kind of just living thing. he's not so good at. but also it's alpha week so after a second he just shakes his head and admits, ALPHALY: ]
I don't care so long as I don't have to deal with anyone else today. You're the only person I want to be around right now.
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so. she pats the spot on the bed next to her. come sit.]
Door's locked so it's not like anybody can come in anyway. But...we don't have to deal with them anyway. We can just talk. [maybe that's not an option he wants either, but it's what she's offering. and it's kind of what she wants anyway.]
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Sure. [ he's not under any impression he is good at talking, everyone knows this, but he's not against it. ] Was there... something you wanted to talk about?
[ he's fine if there isn't, but. he is also very aware she is holding back a lot. ]
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Oh, I don't know. [which is true, but it's also true there is a lot she has not talked about and a lot she's holding back on.] We haven't really had a lot of time to ourselves in...a while, have we?
[like. maybe literally when they first met.]
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he doesn't know if that date was real. in--she called it her dream. but he's not sure aerith knows it. and it wasn't... it probably doesn't count either. ]
... Depends on how you count by ourselves. [ he settles on that first, but: ] Might've been back when I first fell in your flowers, if you mean without anyone else nearby.
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That sounds about right, I think. At least for a time before things were a little more complicated. [between everything happening, she means.] And then I took you home with me, and you tried sneaking out.
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[ a little flustered but he is not about to out that elmyra basically told him to get the fuck away from her daughter asap. ]
Yeah, and you caught me. Does it matter?
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Not really. Just as long as you don't think you'll ever get away from me that easily. [a light joke, and maybe, uh, a little morbid now considering they quite literally followed each other into death.]
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I know you're not. [anymore. it is a little about that, but not the full picture.] Don't worry about that.
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Think you're the one who's worried. [ it falls flat as a tease, and he grimaces a bit as he realizes it after it comes out ]
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...a little, yeah. I don't want to lose you while I have you.
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[ it's an easy thing to say. and he even sort of believes it, despite the fact that they both died, despite the fact that he's not completely sure when the degradation will take him-- he at least believes in it enough to say it with certainty when he's replying to aerith. ]
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