[OPEN] I'm still carrying a little hope,

[thishealingwind]

Characters: Aerith (thishealingwind) and OPEN~
Location: Watch HQ
Rating: G/PG
Time: November 20th, between noon late evening.
Description: Aerith's busy at work doing clerical things. Come bother her~

Comments

[blue_darkslayer]

[Despite being more than a little preoccupied with current DCFC plans, as a Zone Leader it's Vergil's responsibility to ensure that his district is running smoothly. Ordinarily he would check in on every shift briefly but time has not been in abundance, so the easiest means to make sure everybody is accounted for now that they should have returned to work is to check the payroll.

That's how Mustang had caught him working multiple shifts all those weeks before, after all.

Having returned from handling his own shift, he decides to swing by the Watch's office afterward. He doesn't make a habit of coming any more than absolutely necessary, which is never, so he glances about inquisitively before entering and making a beeline for the front desk.]

Hello. Could I- [And then he notices who the clerk is.

Shit.]

[thishealingwind]

[And in walks a certain very tall, quite handsome young man that she just so happens to recognize. It's been quite awhile since the last time they'd spoken, and a smile lights up her face easily.

Apparently, he recognizes her too. Which is amusing, since he seems to halt his train of thought halfway through speaking.

Cute~]

Hello, Vergil. It's been awhile~

[She puts one elbow up on the desk, leaning her cheek into her hand.]

[blue_darkslayer]

[Oh yes, he most certainly recognizes the girl. He's only talked to her once since her return, and even if she looks older now, she's one person who has a profound affect on him on sight. He's avoided her like the plague up until now and with good reason - Hi, you don't remember me, but I once told you my life story and may or may not have been romantically stupid over you.]

[Inwardly, he winces.] I-Indeed. [Glancing away quite resolutely for a moment. Dammit. He can already tell this is going to be less than pleasant on his part.]

I'm- [Pause, while he remembers what he came here for. Frantically.] -looking for a copy of the payroll. For the Shopping District. Last two days or so. [Trying to get this over with as quickly as possible so he can get the hell out.]

[thishealingwind]

[She chuckles aloud, amused by his reaction. It's not too often she makes boys nervous, and this one wears it on his sleeve like a neon sign. Something happened between them that he simply won't tell her about, and someday, she might press the issue. But she knows better, given a few key pieces of information that have been floating around the network.

She'll get to that later, though~]

Yes sir! Shopping district, right?

[She pulls open one of the desk drawers, pulling out the appropriate binder, before placing it on the flat surface in front of her, leaning on it with one forearm so he can't grab for it right away.]

You know, I can't help but feel like you're avoiding me. [She doesn't sound insulted by this, she just pleasantly states it.] I thought you said we were friends~?

[sparklingmanly]

Armstrong, was, of course, in the office as soon as the morning's training was done with - there are always things to do in the Watch, and with the Colonel still resting he needed to organize the stuff that he needed to hand over to the other once he was back. It had been a hectic bit of work while the other alchemist was gone, but... well, at least the Colonel was back; that was the most important bit.

The organization took quite a while - mainly because there was so much to cover (BREW's theft, the invasion and several other things like updated rosters and the like) and it was around noon by the time he was out of the office again. Lunch was nearly here, and Armstrong figured he had better get something to eat. Leaving the office, the man started to make his way out of the building in order to get food, passing by the front desk while he was at it.

[thishealingwind]

Aerith glanced up from her desk as Armstrong made his way toward the exit of the building. She hadn't seen him yet since arriving for today's shift, so she gave him a smile and a friendly wave as he passed by.

"Good afternoon, Alex," she said happily. "I bet you're glad to hear that Roy is back."

[sparklingmanly]

Armstrong paused in his tracks when he passed by Aerith, hearing her greeting as he turned back to incline his head back at her respectfully and returning the gesture likewise.

"And the same to you, Miss Gainsborough," he replied. "Did you just arrive here?"

[thishealingwind]

Aerith nodded. "About 10 minutes ago. It's just a bit after noon."

"Is there anything in particular you need today?"

[de_faulty_hero]

Cloud hadn't spent much time in the headquarters, usually finding it too full of people or busy or just plain annoying. He went there because he had to and for no other reason, especially when he didn't have to give too much detail about his work. After the attack, it wasn't like anything exciting happened aside from helping with the clean up effort.

So, when he entered into the open door and scuffed his boots against the entrance carpet to remove the sand on his boots, he stopped short at the sight of Aerith. He blinked then stepped back to make certain that he was on the right premises before staring at her again.

"What are you doing here," he finally blurted, heading over to the desk that she was obviously in charge of. As if it were his business, he started to snoop around at the papers there without asking. "Aren't you supposed to be tending the gardens?"

[thishealingwind]

Aerith glanced up as the door opened, ready to greet the new arrival as usual. Her bright smile turned into a grin of amusement as she realized it was Cloud, and that he clearly hadn't expected to see her here. The expression on his face was priceless.

"I'm working, silly," she said, as if that were perfectly normal and obvious. She crossed her arms over the desk, leaning forward on her forearms.

Aerith didn't mind him looking at the papers; they were most just timesheets and the like. "I can't work on it all day, you know." She'd been slowly restarting her garden in a different location since Kadaj had destroyed the first one. "Besides, I think it would be better if I moved out of the Casualty Communal." Which took rent money.

[de_faulty_hero]

He didn't remember hearing that she had been hired on here. Actually, now that he thought about it, did that mean that she was part of the Watch, just in a peaceful capacity? He eyed her for a moment, trying to decide if it was worth prying about; he had been down and out for awhile after eating that Kishin Egg.

"Yeah well... seems like a lot of work to get one started," he murmured, sad that the previous one had been destroyed. He had no where to go and sit now, which upset him even if he wouldn't let it show. He had liked the garden and all the peace that came with it. "Guess you are confident it doesn't need you all the time."

His brows knitted together at her words before nodding in understanding. "If you need any money, I can help you. I don't do anything what what I earn," he murmured, looking at the time slips without fear.

[thishealingwind]

Cloud shouldn't worry, she'd only started working here the day before the attack. He didn't really miss it, since she hadn't been particularly open about it~

After all, though not the main deciding factor, being here during the day was safe. And she wanted to help out somehow. Flowers were nice and uplifting, but after everything that had happened, she needed to do more.

"It's started," she assured him. "Tilled and planted. They need time to sprout again, though." Aerith still had her mornings for that.

The Cetra shook her head. "I like being here, and I don't want to take what's yours," she said. "It's no trouble." She regarded him thoughtfully for a moment. "It'll put me a little farther from you, though." And, thus, Sephiroth and Kadaj. It was a predicament.

[thewarisover]

After spending the entirety of the other night and the first few hours of that morning gunning for Death City with kishin eggs hot on his and Kerrigan's tail, after meeting with Spirit and discussing battle plans, after stumbling home and barely remembering to shove some food down/take a shower/attempt to take some coffee and vaguely wondering why Dojima was cold while actually knowing the reasons why, it was only too easy for Roy to pass out the moment his head hit his pillow. He didn't dream - he was that tired. He woke up tired, even.

Still, the Meister was pushing the door to his office open, cigarette on lips, eyes focused on the old network posts he was going through. He couldn't afford to take that much of a break, not while he knew what he knew, not while he had been out of the loop for so long.

One only slept when there was no other option, and at the moment? Roy had plenty.

[thishealingwind]

In one fluid movement, Aerith glanced up from the desk with eyes that immediately lit up, and in the next moment she was on her feet. Her hand rose to her forehead in a military salute that she had seen some of his other subordinates give him in the past, an amused smile on her face as she did so.

She'd been looking forward to this since his return. She'd deliberately neglected to reply back, knowing that the less people he needed to talk to, the sooner he'd sleep. Knowing he was here and alive was enough then, but as he walked through the door, when she saw him for the first time in far too long, she could no longer hold back her happiness.

"Hello, sir," she said, before dropping her hand, relaxing into her usual calm posture with a chuckle. It was too stiff, and not enough like her. This would be much better:

"Welcome home, Roy."

[thewarisover]

There's a brief flicker of surprise before he chuckled at the salute. It was just like Aerith to greet him that way...

"When did you start working here?"

And hell, was it good to see her! He had been wondering what she was up to, when they'd be able to talk.

[thishealingwind]

Aerith didn't hesitate and she didn't wait as she neglected to answer his question for a moment. She lightly pushed her chair out of the way with the back of her calves, stepped around the desk and over to him, and slipped her arms around his torso as she pulled him into a gentle hug. Her eyes stung at the corners; she hadn't known anything, and she'd been so worried.

Breathing in, she noted that despite his shower, he smelled faintly of the desert.

She released him a bit a moment later, her hand coming up to affectionately brush at the hair hanging in his eyes. She'd missed him.

"Four days ago, I think. Right before the attack."