bridgescribble | brought some corn for poppin'

[OOC: I am still new to Zack, and only pulling from CC, not Reunion, so come at me!]

[Aerith never really has dressed for the weather, or perhaps she's been so accustomed to her wear that she's willing to brave the elements. Or what's more likely is that she's intended to take advantage of the situation, though that might be a bit more than what one would expect of Aerith.

In the growing of the cold, Aerith takes a moment to eye the sky, wondering just how much worse the weather is going to get. It makes her think of the scent of evergreen trees and frosty mornings, where the chilling embrace kisses upon the cheeks. The bite of wind amplifies the cold and after a sharp intake of breath, she decides to stop braving it. Closing the door after herself, she makes certain it's nice and secure.]

Uhm, Zack? I don't think we're going anywhere anytime soon.

[Tseng's probably going to have a problem with that. Seems like every time they get an opportunity to be together, he's quick to draw them apart. Except that probably won't happen this time. She can't decide yet if that's a good or a bad thing.]

[As a jungle boy, this isn't really something he's comfortable with, but being stuck in a cabin the middle of a storm that isn't really looking like it's going to give up? With Aerith? Yeah, he's not about to say that's a bad thing. He's been through a lot with the Turks and other SOLDIERs, but he feels okay that he managed to get her to leave Midgar for once. The fact that this is the worst snow storm that's been seen in this part of the world in a while?

He'll still take it, because he's here with Aerith.

He looks up from where he's doing squats to keep himself warm and burn off some excess energy while she looked outside of the cabin as she shuts the door.]

Honestly, I don't really care if Tseng or Lazard or Sephiroth get mad that I'm stuck here. They'll just have to deal with that.

[Every time he's been away from Midgar has been the fault of the three of them. Sephiroth doesn't want to go after his good friends, so he's dumped a lot on Zack over the years. He probably deserves a break, right?]

Besides, it's not like this is the first time I've gone on 'vacation'. It's just the first I didn't go with a Turk escort.

[Setting her back to the door, distantly she has her own concerns. How is her mom handling things back home? Probably worrying, and she has every right to worry. But in the company of Zack, it's very likely anything will go too awry. Maybe... just a little awry?

She tries not to sound too uncertain by his input. Zack can, at least sound confident enough for the both of them. Besides, to be fair, they're a little strapped for alternatives. Who's going to go trudging through the cold and the snow to find either of them?

(Honestly, where there's a will, there's a way. Better not to tempt fate.)]

You really think they're not going to send someone out to look for you? You're important to them, Zack. I don't think they'd just let you out of their sights.

[This also, isn't really a vacation, but leave it to him to think that it is.]

[He's going to try his damnedest to make sure that nothing happens to Aerith while she's with him. The cabin is small, but the fire is roaring and there's enough wood to keep them warm for a while. There's plenty of food too. Since, you know, he was supposed to be keeping this place up as a safe house, just in case. There's a part of him that worries if something might happen to her mom back in Sector 5, but he knows that Tseng will keep an eye out for Aerith's mom, even while he and Aerith are missing.

He just doesn't know if Genesis or Sephiroth are going to be okay with him gone. Or Cissnei, but that'll be something that he'll have to deal with later.]

I know that there aren't a lot of SOLDIERs left, but Lazard could stand to send Sephiroth out more, and not just to get me back. [He's not really the type to really complain, but he's not happy with being the one sent out to clean up this mess with Genesis and Angeal because Sephiroth refuses to go out and fight his friends. None of this is easy for Zack either. He never expected he'd have to keep fighting his mentor and best friend over and over just to get his position.] Besides, from the looks of things, not even magic or technology is going to get them through this storm for the next few days.

Might as well take advantage.

[He sobers up and looks her over, trying to see if there's something he's missing (which is often the case a great deal of the time.)]

Are you okay about this?

[As she listens, Aerith wears a thoughtful frown. Her thoughts on SOLDIER have always been a bit complicated. Beyond being frightening, they seem dangerous. Zack is the first she's met that hasn't felt that way. If anything, he seems to contradict everything she's ever thought about them. It seems like each time he's willing to share information with her about them, it doesn't sound very pleasant.

She feels then, as she has several times, that she is woefully out of place. That she knows so little outside of the house she lives in with Elmyra. She learns bit by bit, but so much of what she learns feels surreal. That she's even standing here right now feels a bit like a dream.]

That's true. It looks pretty bad out there already. It'll probably just get worse.

[He asks of her and she straightens herself up, loosing a breath, before she offers a nod quickly.]

Yeah! It should be okay. We have lots of firewood, so we're not going to go cold. There's food here. [She's pretty sure there's food here.] Sorry for the trouble, though. I'm sure this isn't what you were expecting on our little outing.

[He knows she's not crazy about the fact that he's a SOLDIER. He's not exactly sure why, but she's got something against ShinRa that goes beyond growing up in the slums. He doesn't like that he doesn't know but he knows that there's a lot of stuff that he can't tell her, mostly so that she's safe.

And her being safe is what's most important for him, even above his own safety.

He does feel guilty for her getting caught up in this snowstorm. She never would have been here if he hadn't been so pushy about her leaving the city and coming out to see more of the world with him while he had some downtime. But he'd be lying if he said he wasn't happy to be alone with her for a bit.]

Good thing I listened to all those survival training modules I had to take.

[He gives her a smile and then comes over to take her hands in his. There's a bit of excitement that rushes through him as he touches her, same as every other time he's been able to do so before now.]

You're not trouble. I know this isn't what you were expecting when I said I had a surprise for you, but, I'm sort of happy that we'll be alone at least for the next day or two.

[He smiles, and just like every other time he has, it's infectious. Spreads right along her like a warm flame. It's almost as if each time he smiles, he's really just telling her that everything will be okay. That everything will find a way to work out. She doesn't feel nearly as nervous when she's faced with it. Aerith wishes she had the confidence to feel that way, to not be as apprehensive as she sometimes can be.

Distance closes and so easily he takes her hands into his. A subtle flush touches the height of her cheeks and for just a breath or two, her chin dips. Abashed, perhaps. More shy than she wishes she was. Or rather, more shy than she wishes he could see. She feels so transparent with him, as if she's not particularly good at even putting on a brave face, though she tries to in many ways.

Sometimes she has wisdom for him, but most of the time, she thinks she lacks that.]

I would be kind of impressed if you had that kind of control over the weather. [She teases him with a softer reflection of his smile.] It is a little ironic that we're going to be alone, though. Seems like every time we are, something comes by and interrupts. Now that we have that chance, I almost don't know what to say.

[Looking past him for a moment, it doesn't take her long to put green eyes onto his of that piercing blue she's grown so fond of.]

Is there anything I can do to help out around here?

[He looks down at her and gets lost in those green eyes he really can't get enough of, especially when they're paired with that shy smile that haunts him when he's away from her. When she dips her head with a bit of shyness that he loves, he takes one of his hands and tips her face back up so that he can continue to look at her.]

You're so pretty.

[The words are out of his mouth before he can stop himself, but he's not even going to attempt to take them back. They happen to be words that Zack wishes he'd told her long before now.

Not only is she outwardly beautiful, but there's a kindness and sweetness, even under all the teasing and poking she does, that just shines through and draws him in.]

If my phone does manage to ring, I'll throw it out in the snow.

[And he might just, if she continues to look at him like that. But she keeps talking and he stops thinking about what it would be like to kiss her. At least for a moment.]

No, we're pretty set up for the time being, unless you're hungry. There's nothing fancy, but we've got enough food for a few simple meals. Are you hungry?

[When he's so direct like that, she doesn't have a place to retreat to. She feels like her heart just might drop right out of her and she wishes she knew how to handle that better. He doesn't give her an out for long either. Instead, directing her gaze right back up to his. She could get lost in him in those moments, thinking she's never seen anything that looked that blue, that deep, that enigmatic.

It wouldn't be the first time that there's been a subtle tension lingering between them. Nerves, perhaps, coming from both for two different reasons. Aerith has a certain delicacy about her that probably makes it difficult to approach. A bit like wildlife who just might go darting off if she isn't met in just the right way. Being on the receiving end of that is likely very challenging.

But like the other times where that same tension has been present, it's broken. Not surprisingly, by something she says. She seems to have a penchant for that. She'd have the time to comment about the idea of him tossing out his phone (which he's going to need later on), but she's already thinking about food. They might have to ration that kind of thing out depending on how long they end up stuck in here.

It could be worse.]

Hmm... [She begins thoughtfully.] I don't think I am just yet. I don't need anything fancy, though, when we do eat. I was thinking I'm a little cold. [Her hands lift and with some care, she splays fingertips against his chest.] Do you think we could just cuddle for a little? You could tell me more about places you've been to. Maybe Gongaga?

[Would he be him if he wasn't direct about everything but his job? Besides, why wouldn't he be upfront about the fact that she is the most perfect person he's ever seen? He still hasn't changed his mind about her being an angel.

She's just probably his angel. And he'd like to keep it that way. And the longer the tension goes on, the more he wants to kiss her. And if the weather keeps up like this, they'll be unable to get away from each other. That... Might work in his favor, actually.]

Well, I don't think we're getting anything fancy. It's better than rations I eat out in the field, but there's nothing like what we'd get back in Gongaga, or even back on the Plates of Midgar. [And then she touches his chest and it's like wildfire coursing through his body from the pinpoints of the tips of her fingers.] You... you wanna know about Gongaga? What about it?

[She can't think of many times that she's had fancy food, honestly. The thing about not having much means she never really knows what she's missing out on. That comes with the naive mindset, however, only exposed to one specific world, one specific place, one specific routine. There are likely many things she hasn't considered without Zack's input.

Aerith nods, though thinks he shouldn't need the reassurance. She isn't the sort to ask out of being polite. She is, however, naturally curious with a sliver of apprehension that sometimes gets the better of her. When she's around him, however, she doesn't feel as worried or anxious about the unfamiliar things she comes up against.]

Of course I want to know. It's your home, isn't it? I've never seen it or been to it. You don't have to tell me everything. Just... whatever you're comfortable with, okay?

Genesis was starting to think that Angeal's 'cold' had been feigned, all in an attempt to get away from his pup and this mission. Which had, of course, been cursed from the word go. Genesis loathed missions on the Northern Continent, and of course Angeal's little puppy could never be trusted on a solo mission to take out the Snow that had been tormenting the Icicle area.

Why Genesis had been deployed with someone else's mentee was a whole other question of course. And he was grouchy with it. Especially because the pup's delaying them several times with other small helpful tasks had meant they had not returned to Icicle before a great winter storm had hit.

At least there had been a cabin, Genesis had told himself when they had found it in the snow. But that had been hours ago, and right now he was seriously considering his fire materia.

"Will you stop those squats? What purpose do they serve?"

When he was told that he'd be going out on mission with Genesis, he was excited. Probably not as much as he'd be if it were Sephiroth, but including Angeal, the three First Class SOLDIERs were the goals of all the lower ranks. So, being sent out without Angeal was okay with him. Although, he's not so sure that that is the case with Genesis, where he's involved.

Of course it might be the fact that they're not safely on the way to Midgar and are stuck here in Icicle. If he's honest, he'd rather be back in Midgar too. There's a cute girl that grows flowers in the slums that he wants to get to know better, but he's here.

When the older man's voice rings out, Zack pauses mid-squat to look over at him and gives him a confused and blinking expression. "Uh, they keep me warm and burn off extra energy. I think better when my body's moving."

"And what, pray tell, do you believe you need to think about at a time like this?" Genesis demanded from where he was shivering under a threadbare blanket.

He hated the cold. Gongaga might be a jungle-swamp, but Gongaga had been tropical in temperatures, and thus this cold was particularly offensive to him. And he dared not use his fire materia here to warm hismelf.

"I got lots of things on my mind." Zack looks over where the other man is lying under the blanket and feels for him.

"I mean, I might be a country boy, but I'm not an idiot." And he might've been poor growing up, but he was loved and never really had to second guess what was going on with his parents. "You could always try moving around. It'll help."

"If I were to move around, then I would be surrendering what warmth I have given to the blanket and that it traps around me," Genesis countered. That seemed rather foolish to consider. "I will be content here, watching you freeze."

brought some corn for poppin'

SNOWED IN

Zack Fair 🌟 Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core 🌟 OTA

ON IT. No idea where I'm going with this, but IT'S A THING.

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