#ok i'll shut up now KJGF hi mika i hope CCR is treating u well

[kuhatoarchive]

“hey! are you alright?” rushing to her side, his hand hovers just over her shoulder. “that was a close call.” / cowgirl nibelheim shenanigans round 2 sliding back in your inbox like a dollar bill under a closed door <3

   unprompted.   ♡  * always accepting !  @sicsemper​.

   she knew that, as soon as the flap of wings could be heard, it was already too late. needle kisses liked to stab more than they did scratch, and, worst of all, they moved in groups. if something was timed right, more so than her gasp after dodging the thrusted beaks and tripping, it was zack’s instinct. no blows landed on him, but it felt as though the wounds she should have gotten were someone else’s. from the confinement of his blade’s shadow, everything seemed to slow down, even her unrest, that low simmering frustration at what felt like a defeat, a failure on her end.

   in truth, tifa thought she had dreamed about this, once. she thought she would be happier– if she should be happier, still. the heroics were not lost on her, nor his title, the achievements behind it which she could only speculate of. a perfect image and skill to match, only second to sephiroth’s for all she knew. 

   and yet.

   longing for heroes meant reinhabiting the loneliness after the boys’ departure. a harsher truth: longing or not, the loneliness would be there, overgrown now as a second stomach, albeit managed. their absence bred another hunger, she supposed– the beginning of digging inwards, only to be met with the realization that waiting idly meant atrophy. at worst, it meant nothing. the drift of days without an end in sight, or a feasible alternative. the body was all she had, ultimately. even so, looking back, she found her eyes wandering away to nibelheim’s entrance. waiting, hoping. always in that order. the ache of her limbs didn’t seem so worthwhile then, and that scared her above everything. 

   zack’s approach, the dry impact of his sole against his earth, reached her before his voice did. touch, however, was halted, suspended in the air just above her shoulder. “y-yeah, sorry,” she stuttered out, biting down a wince from the small scrapes atop her knees as she stood. “and here i thought i was being careful.” patting down herself, she breathed out tension, letting the chilly air sweep it down the mountain. her feet were already moving, gaze cast forward when she hummed, “...thanks, mr. hero.”