[She feels it, that light tapping, and she knows what it means. And it's that small gesture that allows her to relax further, falling into the bed with the cat still curled on her chest. She can finally feel the sleep taking over her, even if images of that small Eustace in the mirror flash on the insides of her eyelids, a small figure in the dark, lost and afraid, but she can sleep well knowing that right now, he has nothing to fear. None of them do.
Even as she shuffles a little further away, giving them both the space she thinks they need, before she finally gives in.
It feels like only minutes have gone by before the sun is peering in through the windows of her room, casting her vision in its red light before she blinks her eyes open. It's uncharacteristically warm, and her fingers graze against smooth, relaxed muscles, and it smells a lot like vanilla and lavender...
Sleepy eyes look around as everything comes into clearer view, and it takes her a moment to realize where her head is. Taking up her vision is a head of thick, white hair messily brushed back, and in her peripherals, she can see the steady rise and fall of his chest. His arm is around her, cradling her head and stretched across the length of the bed, their legs tangled up with one another's among the sheets with Clover still asleep at the end of them.
It takes a little longer for it to fully register, but much to her own surprise, she doesn't feel the need to yelp and shoot up or shove him away. Her body stiffens, and she doesn't move as she holds onto her breath. Perhaps she doesn't want to disturb the harmony, or maybe... it's something else.
Maybe there's something about how peaceful he looks sleeping like this, or the way the sun casts its light on his face. Or how his hair, being brushed aside, reveals the eye he keeps hidden beneath it and it feels like his entire soul is bare for her to see. It's like time has frozen for them and them alone, and tampering it would mean shattering whatever reality this has turned into...
For a moment, Tifa feels... happy... content. At ease. And still, she can't quite put her finger on why, or where that flutter in her chest comes from...
Of course, all of that is broken when Clover stirs at the foot of the bed and she breaks into a wide, long yawn that's accompanied by a mewl, before she's blinking her yellow eyes at Tifa.
...
....
They stare at each other for a long while, and she can see it coming. Don't you dare, Clover. Don't do it.
MEEEOOOOW.
"Wake up! Where's breakfast?"
Tifa freezes again, waiting to see if that will be what wakes Eustace... Please, Shiva, please no. Not like this...]
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Even as she shuffles a little further away, giving them both the space she thinks they need, before she finally gives in.
It feels like only minutes have gone by before the sun is peering in through the windows of her room, casting her vision in its red light before she blinks her eyes open. It's uncharacteristically warm, and her fingers graze against smooth, relaxed muscles, and it smells a lot like vanilla and lavender...
Sleepy eyes look around as everything comes into clearer view, and it takes her a moment to realize where her head is. Taking up her vision is a head of thick, white hair messily brushed back, and in her peripherals, she can see the steady rise and fall of his chest. His arm is around her, cradling her head and stretched across the length of the bed, their legs tangled up with one another's among the sheets with Clover still asleep at the end of them.
It takes a little longer for it to fully register, but much to her own surprise, she doesn't feel the need to yelp and shoot up or shove him away. Her body stiffens, and she doesn't move as she holds onto her breath. Perhaps she doesn't want to disturb the harmony, or maybe... it's something else.
Maybe there's something about how peaceful he looks sleeping like this, or the way the sun casts its light on his face. Or how his hair, being brushed aside, reveals the eye he keeps hidden beneath it and it feels like his entire soul is bare for her to see. It's like time has frozen for them and them alone, and tampering it would mean shattering whatever reality this has turned into...
For a moment, Tifa feels... happy... content. At ease. And still, she can't quite put her finger on why, or where that flutter in her chest comes from...
Of course, all of that is broken when Clover stirs at the foot of the bed and she breaks into a wide, long yawn that's accompanied by a mewl, before she's blinking her yellow eyes at Tifa.
...
....
They stare at each other for a long while, and she can see it coming. Don't you dare, Clover. Don't do it.
MEEEOOOOW.
"Wake up! Where's breakfast?"
Tifa freezes again, waiting to see if that will be what wakes Eustace... Please, Shiva, please no. Not like this...]