ffvii open post

[lukoi]

AERITH GAINSBOROUGH
JOURNAL: inheritedearth
VOICE: ★★★★★

RENO
JOURNAL: emcharge
VOICE: ★★★★✩

BIGGS
JOURNAL: leafhouse
VOICE: ★★★★★

RUFUS SHINRA
JOURNAL: shinralegacy
VOICE: ★★★✩✩

code credit

Want to play with any of the above? Leave a comment with their name in the header and a prompt or a starter and I'll get back to you! ➝ AUs welcome! Otherwise, all characters are available from various canon points: OG, Advent Children or Remake. ➝ Some memes for ideas: caught in the rain, soulmates, body heat, otherworldly, deserted island, and of course random scenario. Feel free to make up your own! Hell, you can even just text them, they've all got phones. ➝ Other old muses (Cloud, Cid, Yuffie) in need of dusting off are tentatively available for tagging out later on!

Comments

[leafhouse]

[He lets out a low growl of frustration, brief though it is— he doesn't like the idea of turning his back to this thing, not when it has plenty of guns of its own, but he doesn't have the luxury of risking being caught in the blast, either. He ceases fire at her insistance, taking one last look back before he pushes off and follows, heading down that corridor hot on her heels with his gaze fixed on the door at the far end.]

Seven, six— almost there!

[kisskissboomboom]

[ She skids through the doorway on four, spinning around and gesturing hastily for him to cross those last few feet.

The moment he's in the corridor she slams the big metal door shut behind him, hearing the safetly locks - the ones they'd so painstakingly disabled earlier - latch back into place. ]

Two...

[ Boom!

The whole building around them shakes with the force of the explosion, dust and a little rubble raining down around their heads. She's still crouched against the door, eyes clenched tightly shut.

And praying she hadn't overdone it in her haste and brought the whole building down around their heads. ]

[leafhouse]

[He hits the ground the moment the door slams closed, and while he doubts the locks will be enough to stop their mechanical friend should things go further awry, he hopes the door will be enough to shield them from the worst of the blast. His hands cover the back of his neck as he ducks, bracing himself for the impact of the explosion— and right on cue, the entire structure shakes as if threatening to break apart. The walls surrounding them stand firm, however, and in the distance, beyond that closed door, he no longer hears the ballistic beat of gunfire— though that could just be the ringing in his ears.

For a moment, he's silent, straightening up to cautiously take in their surroundings. They both seem to be in one piece, and when he's certain that the room isn't about to collapse on them, he sits back on his heels and laughs, the sound reverberating as he reaches to rub at the back of his neck.

Shit. That had been way too close for comfort.]

Nice work, Jess.

[kisskissboomboom]

[ She's still crouched against the door, hands clinging to the handle in a white-knuckled grip, her eyes tightly squeezed shut.

At the sound of his laugh, she slowly peeks one eye open hesitantly. ]

Are we... alive?

[leafhouse]

Yeah, think so— thanks to you.

[He grins, reaching out to clap a hand against her shoulder.]

It was real close, but we made it through. Probably shouldn't hang around for long, though.

[kisskissboomboom]

[ Her breath whooshes out of her at that and she staggers for a moment, falling backwards on her ass and looking a little dazed. her hair is covered in dust from the falling debris and there's a streak of dirt across her nose, which wrinkles as she tries to will her racing pulse back to something closer to normal. ]

I can't believe that actually worked!

[ ...Oops, maybe she shouldn't have just admitted that out loud... ]

[leafhouse]

You know, I really hate it when you say things like that.

[He pushes himself to his feet, though he finds his legs to be a bit unsteady in the process, but once he regains his balance, he reaches out to offer her a hand up.]

I'm sure as hell glad it did, though. You're a lifesaver.

[This, however, was proof enough that they really needed to get some additional help for the missions to come.]

[kisskissboomboom]

Oops? Sorry...

[ Her face crinkles up as she shoots him an apologetic glance, but is grateful for his hand up all the same. She grasps it, letting his strength help heft her to her feet, even though she sways for a moment before righting herself. ]

I'm really glad it did too. [ She gives the door a speculative look. ] I really hope that worked. But I'm not about to try and look to find out. Should we go?

[leafhouse]

[He waits until she's steady before retracting his hand, nodding as he casts another glance towards the metal doors, now bowed inward from the explosion.]

Better to take this one on faith, I think. Let's get out of here— we got what we needed. No reason to tempt fate.

[He doesn't want to find out if there's another of those mechs anywhere nearby. He starts to retrace the route they'd used for their initial entry, beckoning for Jessie to follow him as he hefts his rifle in front of him to remain on guard.]

[kisskissboomboom]

[ She's got her pistol in her hand, covering his back now as they creep back out the way they'd come. Although as they approach the main entrance, she taps his shoulder to stop him. ]

Side entrance over that way might be safer. Gotta take a few back stairs down to ground level, but that explosion is sure to draw some unwanted attention.

[leafhouse]

[He stops short, immediately nodding in agreement with her suggestion.]

Worth the extra effort to avoid any heat. Let's go.

[He takes a hard right, turning their course away from the main entrance— and not a moment too soon. In the opposite direction, he can hear footsoldiers beginning to mobilize, though fortunately not close enough to cause any serious alarm. As long as they're careful, they'll get out safely.]

[kisskissboomboom]

[ She waves him through an adjoining office towards the back entrance, stopping to slide her slicer tool into the keypad by the door. ]

Keep watch a second, will you? I'll just make sure they can't follow us for a bit.

[leafhouse]

On it.

[She doesn't have to ask twice. He turns her back to her to watch the door behind them, ears straining to pick up on any movement that might be coming their way. It's still distant, but he's not convinced it will stay that way, and as he quickly glances at their surroundings, he takes note of a nearby camera and raises his gun to fire at it, just once, leaving the lens to shatter.

They don't need more attention than they've already gotten, and they don't need anyone to be able to ID them on sight.]

How's it going back there?

[kisskissboomboom]

Almost... just a little more... there!

[ The keypad turns red, now on lockdown, and she shoots him a thumbs up as she bounces back to her feet again. ]

That should buy us some time. Let's go.

[leafhouse]

Nice work!

[Not that he's surprised, but her thumbs-up is met with a broad smile of approval.]

Lead the way— only a matter of time before they figure out what happened and head this way!

[Even so, he's already in motion. No time to waste.]

[kisskissboomboom]

[ She takes the lead this time, keeping low and maneuvering her way through the office corridors until she comes to the side exit and the set of railed stairs that descend the building on the outside. Opening the door, she leans over the railing to peer down below, relieved to find the alley below them still empty and quiet. ]

All clear so far. Book it.

[leafhouse]

[He follows suit, grabbing hold of the same railing and leaning over beside her to get a good view of the area beyond for himself. He nods, confirming, and there's nothing more to be said— they both book it, eager to put as much space between themselves and this place as possible before anything more is said.

It's not until they're a block away from the facility that he ducks into an alleyway to catch his breath, grabbing hold of Jessie's arm to make sure she follows along with him.]

Alright— think we're in the clear. Nobody in pursuit. You doing alright?

[kisskissboomboom]

[ She slumps against the wall beside him, letting her forehead thump against his shoulder as she takes a moment to catch her breath. ]

Well. That was certainly more excitement than I'd been anticipating... Are you alright?

[ She had almost blown him up... ]

[leafhouse]

[He exhales a laugh, one that's just a little bit strained even as he slings an arm around her shoulders, leaning back against the brick wall behind him.]

Think you might have shaved a few years off my life, there, but we got out in one piece. That was some quick thinking.

[Not that he's surprised. Jessie has always been sharp.]

We cut it close, but... still a success.

[kisskissboomboom]

[ Another thud of her forehead against his shoulder before she picks up her head and grins at him, bright and mischievous. ]

So. Is Barrett gonna be proud, or kick our asses for this one?

[leafhouse]

[He huffs a little, shaking his head for a moment.]

I'm going to go with 'a little bit of both.' I recommend we put a drink in front of him before we give him all the details, though.

[kisskissboomboom]

Probably a smart idea. I could use one myself.

So. What was your plan for getting back home? Or are we improvising?

[leafhouse]

Improvising?

[Come on, Jessie, you know him better than that.]

I planned ahead. Pretty simple this time, there's a late train that will take us down to Sector 6— we'll have to walk it the rest of the way, but it's a straight shot back home from there. Considering its destination, security should be light.

[He's no fan of Wall Market's Don, but his status meant that Shinra took a largely hands-off approach in his territory, at least for the time being.]

[kisskissboomboom]

Perfect.

[ She grins and twines her arm with his, tugging him away from the shadowy wall and down the alley in the general direction of the station. ]

Better get a move on in case they try to search the trains or something. The longer they're stuck searching in there for us, the better.

[leafhouse]

[At least he doesn't have to tell her to pick up the pace! They both know damn well what needs to be done. Fortunately, it seems like they're in the clear for now— they'd made enough of a ruckus inside the facility that nobody has made it this far to look for the offenders just yet, giving them a clear shot to the station. Even so, he's careful to keep an eye out as they run, occasionally ducking behind cars or into alleyways and beckoning for Jessie to follow as he does so, just to make sure they don't draw any undue attention.

The station is busy enough as they close in on it— the Sector 6 slums never sleep, and so it makes sense that people would be heading down there at all hours. He drops an arm around her shoulders when one of the guards looks their way, seemingly uninterested once he decides that they're just another couple headed down to Wall Market to get their kicks. Nothing unusual about that— not around these parts.]

Just act casual.

[His voice is low, but he knows she'll pick up on exactly what he means. Jessie's sharp. It'll be easy for them to blend in here.]