{004: Respite

[zerosuitjill]

Who: Jill (zerosuitjill) and you~
When: Present
Where: God of War's Lair, Tiffauges Castle (Neutral Territory)
What: Otherwise restless, Jill checks out one of the newer territories.
Type: Starting as a log, but either's fine.
Notes/Warnings: None.

Comments

[bsaa_ace]

Chris was never the type to be happy couped up in one space for too long. As such, he'd taken to wandering around rather aimlessly for a week or so. Luckily he hadn't run into anyone - despite some close calls with certain Chaos warriors nearly discovering him - while looking for the hostages. Now, however, he was relieved to find a Chaos warrior, or rather this one.

"Good to see you in top shape," he said with a smirk as he leaned on a corner wall. It'd been far too long since they'd talked.

[zerosuitjill]

Jill smiled before she even turned around, and then the expression grew when she caught sight of Chris. "Good to be in shape again," she replied with a slight shake of her head, automatically making her way towards him. "Funny how different the world looks when you don't need a shoulder to lean on every few minutes."

[bsaa_ace]

Chris just smiled, all the worry he had been holding in just sort of melting away. She was fine. Better than fine, really. That took a lot off of Chris' shoulders, and that probably showed with just how relaxed he seemed to be.

"Yeah, I hear that. Damn it's good to see you like this." He walked forward, clapping Jill gently on the shoulder, the conversation he had with Tifa still fresh in his mind.

"So... how's things on your end?"

[zerosuitjill]

Jill caught that relaxation in his poise and was glad for it, even if it gave her a small pang of responsibility. It didn't show.

"As well as I can hope for," she replied, shrugging lightly. "That whole stunt that Dooku and the others pulled... I'm just glad it ended well, more or less, from what I can tell. Other than that... it's a little too quiet, you know?"

[bsaa_ace]

"Yeah... I hear that. But hey, at least we can enjoy the moment right?"

Normally Chris wasn't much for open shows of affection, but this was different. As such, he pulled Jill a little closer, slipping an arm around her shoulders.

"No matter what happens, you know I'll be there for you, right?"

[zerosuitjill]

Both the gesture and the question took Jill by surprise, even if she didn't mind the former; the latter had always been implied, a mutual thought and commitment that ignored the everyday fact that either of them could die all too quickly in their line of work. Mostly unspoken, it was a dedication she hadn't questioned in a decade--more than a decade, really, because the moment she'd met Chris in S.T.A.R.S., he'd stricken her as the warm hero type, the caring leave-no-man-behind fighter who'd stand and fight and die before turning his back on a comrade, whatever the risks.

The kind to consider trading the world for the sake of one person.

"Yeah," she agreed after the briefest moment, having to tilt her head back nearly onto his shoulder to look up at him. "That goes without saying." Unable to help searching his gaze almost curiously, wondering if something was on his mind, she only added, "Both ways."

[bsaa_ace]

Chris just gave Jill a slight squeeze before averting his gaze. There was something on his mind alright, but it wasn't anything bad, that was obvious enough. Just, awkward. He'd always felt the same way about Jill really. She was always there when he'd needed her the most, be it in the Arklay mansion, or just helping him and Claire deal with the loss of their parents. She'd been the one to keep him sane this long, and he wanted to adequately express his feelings, but the words always kept getting caught in his throat.

"Yeah... just... wanted you to hear it too..." Chris never had been good at hiding his thoughts, and even complete strangers were able to read his face like an open book. It would be all too obvious to someone like Jill, who knew him better than anyone else except for maybe Claire, to pick up on his struggle to find the right words for the occasion.

[zerosuitjill]

She didn't need to see his face to catch it. Slipping out from under his hold, Jill stood in front of him, her expression curious and lightly concerned. "Is something wrong?" she asked, touching the top of his arm gently.