OTA Log: Sometimes People Hide

[plate_builder]

WHO: Reeve Tuesti and You
WHERE: He Row Soup Lies
WHAT: Avoiding the storm, tending to others
WHEN: November 6th-11th
WARNINGS: N/A

The Strangest Stuffed Animal

Not all of the stuffed toys lying around amid the blanket are just what they seem. One of them a bipedal, black and white tuxedo cat with a green cape, striding across the room toward the nearest person in a blanket. Somewhere in the background a man in a torn up suit, no doubt messed up by the crash, watches the stuffed animal approach, but doesn't say anything for now. Instead he watches with concern over how the doll moves, limping to whoever is there and reaching out to pat their arm with a pudgy paw.

There there, the doll seems to say. It just wished to provide comfort.

Hot Chocolate and Hiding

He hasn't been outside for days, not since he got here. It had been a burden, it had been a mess, it had been a whole thing. And Reeve, once he'd arrived, had found a place far from the door, sat down with a mug and Mini-C nearby, and watched the door.

It took a lot for him to even consider tearing his eyes from it. Outside was… too dangerous. He couldn't risk it. He had seen his own fears out there, and he didn't wish to face them again.

Reeve sips his cocoa and then jumps to his feet when he sees someone come in. The cocoa is passed off to Mini as Reeve grabs a blanket and heads for the door, ready to throw the blanket over the arrival.

"How is it getting out there? Come, let me get you a bowl of soup and some cider."

Comments

[in_extremis]

Tony was left feeling chided anyway, not for how he treated himself in his work but for lingering so long on what was ultimately a small problem, with a whole planet in crisis outside of this safehouse. He did know that, it wasn't that Tony was avoiding it, it was just-- really awful out there. Taking a deep breath, he let Mini slip down back to where he had climbed into Tony's lap before, where Tony could bow over him to offer a hug for handling his surgery well, and to say his goodbyes with only a few minutes left on his excuse.

"Making a kid happy can help the world," he suggested as he searched the soft pile for the pieces of Reeve's communicator to put back together, but it wasn't exactly a passionate argument, already moot as long as they were stuck in this desolate city.

[plate_builder]

"Making kids happy is the main way to help the world," Reeve says.

But making them happy can be complex.

"But of course I want to make the world happy. More than anything. You know that."

Or he thought Tony knew it. That said, he downs to see the man seemingly preparing to restore what he took apart.

"You can stay here. In the safety of this place. I can go out.

Into the fear and uncertainty. To the memories of Sephiroth and Meteor, to watching his own body break down and fail him. But for Tony to get rest, he would do it.

[in_extremis]

The communicator was coming together as quickly as Tony had broken it apart, even with Mini between Tony and his rapidly working hands, he just needed that pin back from Reeve. He was glad they agreed on the fundamentals and his smile was feeling less difficult to maintain, only for Reeve to make his baffling offer. The worked stopped for Tony to search Reeve for the context he had clearly missed, and still had to ask, "Why--where?" Reeve had made it sound like he had been here for a while before Tony showed up, and hadn't mentioned so far that only one of them was allowed to stay. That wouldn't have been a problem anyway; Tony hadn't intended to end up here. "I'm almost done, here, just let me finish this."

[plate_builder]

There isn't a rule that this should only have one person, but...

"No, you should stay and eat. Please, rest. The storm makes people scared, Tony. Or full of fear. I don't know. But you shouldn't be out there. Not yet. Give yourself time."

No one listens to Reeve when he really just wants to help people. It just doesn't make sense but he doesn't know how to make it clear.

[in_extremis]

That didn't explain why Reeve thought he should be the one to go, and it really didn't help convince Tony to stay--not that he wanted to go back out there, and he looked warily toward the door again, not quite believing that it was a secure barrier between them and the storm, but because he really, definitely shouldn't have left Cal alone. "You can fix the ship..." he was willing to concede, because where Tony had failed Reeve must have easily been able to see the solution, but this was muttered mostly to himself as he pushed the communicator aside again, suddenly not trusting himself. Did Reeve already know that was where Tony was going, did they already talk about this? Tony sucked in a breath, much more sharply than he had intended, and bowed over Mini again to put his head in his hands this time, pressing the heels to his eyes to try to focus. "I left Cal out there," he said, which Reeve might have already known, now he wasn't sure, "But now I don't know where he is, I don't know where the ship is. I thought I could come get some supplies, and then I started walking, and, u-um..." That was supposed to come out much steadier. Reeve was probably right; he usually was. Nobody should be out there.

[plate_builder]

Fix the ship? Reeve considers the man with a frown. Which ship? With what parts? But if Tony asked it... Oh if Tony asked it he would try. Especially with Cal requiring help.

But with the news, Reeve sighs.

"Then we'll go find him. Cal. We'll bring him here to safety. We'll go together."

To keep each other sane?

[in_extremis]

That was the problem, Tony was trying to ask for help, but he wasn't particularly good at that when he had his full faculties, and it had quickly turned out to be an entirely unreasonable request if Tony didn't even know what direction to point them. With concentrated effort, he dragged one hand away from his face to restlessly scratch through Mini's fur again, not finding it quite as comforting as he was hoping given what he was about to put the doll through. "Yeah," he agreed, not sounding nearly as positive as he should have, "yeah, we can find him, we'll go."

[plate_builder]

At least the doll would be safe outside, even if it had its own fears that might manifest. At least Mini's were simple. Being cut. Being torn. Being crushed under rocks. Losing Reeve. Simple.

"Eat first," Reeve insists as he moves around to collect a few things. Blankets mainly, to hopefully grant them some comfort from the storm. They deserved blankets.