Welcome Back

[plate_builder]

WHO: Reeve, Poe Dameron, Rufus Shinra, Open
WHERE: Temba Restoration Coordination
 (Yellow 5), The Deep End (Orange 13)
WHAT: Event Fallout for Reeve, His Boss Arriving, Hiding Out at the Bar
WHEN: June 7th to 12th
WARNINGS: CW: Implied past sexual situation in thread with Rufus; Drinking at the Deep End

1. Talking About What Happened Closed to Poe | Evening of the 7th, Reeve's Office
Reeve hadn't really been big on the idea of sticking around in the Waiting Room when they had awoken. His memories of being stuck in Calibrations were not hte greatest, and he had decided he wasn't going to risk sticking around there. He had grabbed Mini up and headed right out, not daring to question, not waning to linger. There were memories and a life to process and he didn't much like it.

It wasn't until later that night that he reached out to Poe with a message. After quite a bit of thought he had known what the truth was. They had to talk. So he'd sent a message, asking for Poe to meet him in his space. They had to figure things out. He had to figure whether Poe might forgive him for what he'd apparently said and done there.


2. Welcome To Temba, Your Timing Sucks Closed to Rufus | Morning of the 8th, Reeve's Office
The meeting hadn't been a bad one, in Reeve's estimation. Poe was a wonderful companion and he quite liked his time with his boyfriend. A nice talk, a lazy morning afterward, and Reeve had been happy to send the other man off in the morning. He had happily watched Poe slip out after morning coffee together, sitting at Reeve's work table in the front room. Reeve hadn't even bothered to put on much more than his long coat that morning, hadn't bothered to make his bed yet, hadn't even begun to work on the final stages of Mini's upgraded form. Instead he'd sat smiling at the table, his hair ruffled, sipping at the final dregs of his coffee as the door closed, not even paying attention to Mini as the doll worked on sorting through papers on the table top, making sure nothing had been lost in the change of the last month.

So Reeve, most definitely, wasn't expecting someone to show up at his door.


3. Just A Little Drink Open To All | Evenings of the 8th through 12th, The Deep End

Well, that was a thing that had most definitely happened. Reeve didn't know what to do with himself with Rufus here. With Cloud nad VIncent he had known what to do, what his place was with his companions and friends. It was enough for Reeve to just, well, fall into a habit he hadn't had in a very long time. Though he supposed it was hardly a habit if he didn't sustain it. Reeve sighed and settled himself at a chair at the bar, sitting down and looking at the counter. So what was the etiquette here, how did one even go about getting alcohol?

"Um, hello?"

Maybe he didn't want to be as alone as he thought.

Comments

[plate_builder]

How much can he say? How much when it could ruin Rufus's ability to make friends here? His head hurts to think about it. There was so much that could go wrong. So damn much.

"I think that we probably wont' need to worry about him ruining things here. However he's also recovering from a serious illness and prone to recklessness. Back home there were people to watch him, to protect him. Here?"

Here Rufus would be a danger mostly to himself. Especially since he didn't seem to have his gun, thank Gaia.

"Well, I hope you enjoy the weather."

[heypartner]

Reeve looked like he needed more alcohol. He poured a little more into the man's glass.

"Here, he's got you." Cobb felt compelled to point out. "You care. Figure you'll look out for him. And in general people here look out for each other. We don't know him, but we're not gonna turn out backs on him."

Unless the guy was a real kriffing asshole Cobb would keep an eye on him. Not babysit the man, of course, but he wouldn't let anything happen to him.

"I am." He toasted Reeve.

[plate_builder]

Rufus has him, and that's part of the issue. Reeve didn't know if he was suitable to help watch over the young man. It made things frustrating.

"I'm glad you feel that way. I just worry Rufus is going to get himself eaten by a dragon or something. Not that he has at home, but the man is just frustrating."

[heypartner]

"If he does. He does. You can't save people determined to get into trouble. You'll just exhaust yourself." Perhaps it was harsh but Cobb came from a harsh place. "Either the consequences will teach them or they won't."

Sometimes, if a person didn't learn, they died and that was on them. There wasn't much sympathy for a person that wouldn't get their shit together.

"Don't drink yourself stupid over it." Though he did pour another drink.

[plate_builder]

Surely he can, though, if he tries hard enough. Shouldn't he be able to?

"Well, that sounds like something to help me get to sleep at night. Fussing over someone who doesn't need fussing. Which must make me seem silly."

Though he wasn't going to drink himself silly. Venture into the bar which was up stairs and thus not likely to draw Rufus at the moment? Yes. Completely.

[heypartner]

"Gotta say, you do sound a little silly. Sort of like an old woman worrying over her grandkid." Cobb knew he shouldn't really judge. He only knew Reeve and the situation as he explained it but if this Rufus was all grown up then he should be left to handle things himself.

The occasional help wasn't bad but too much and the man would never do anything. He'd always have someone holding his hand.

"Gotta let the pup leave the nest sometime or they won't hunt for themselves, you know what I mean?"

[plate_builder]

The question was just how grown up Rufus really was. That was always the complication.

"The problem is that this pup is a full grown guard hound that has been protected by Kalm Fangs its whole life so it doesn't know how to run outside of a pack."

Okay, that's a HORRIBLE analogy, not just because they were species native to his world and thus would not help Cobb understand.

"He was, more or less, protected and raised by some of the most dangerous men and women in my world."

[heypartner]

"So was Mando in mine. You don't see me worryin' he's gonna cause trouble." Cobb held up a finger before Reeve could comment. "I'm jokin' with you. I'm sure those folks don't have the same Creed Mando has to keep them in line."

Dangerous people raised dangerous kids.

"Tell me honestly. You think he's a threat to us?" Because Cobb wouldn't handle a threat well.

[plate_builder]

Mando seemed like a reasonable man, and Reeve didn't think that needed said out loud.

"A threat to our safety? Not intentionally. He may accidentally cause an issue, but any of us could. A mental or emotional threat to me? Perhaps."

The man had too much of his history. And might react poorly to Reeve's secrets. Mini...

"In my world, people with magic like mine aren't treated well. Or weren't treated well, under his father's regime."

[heypartner]

Cobb bristled at the idea that someone as sharp and put together as Reeve was mistreated. It was one of those issues that always got under his skin. "You were born with that magic, right? Like the Jedi?"

If this Rufus made trouble because of that, Cobb would most certainly put him in his place. He was not going to stand for someone being that sort of asshole.

And of course this new guy was some sort of royalty. Cobb didn't like him already just for that. "Could we stop gettin' politicians and princes? Could use more normal folk."

[plate_builder]

Mistreated, Reeve? Never by Rufus directly, not for his magic. But that didn't mean the fear wasn't there, that he didn't think the man might take after his father and Hojo in a way, and Reeve's powers would be... a problem. He had kept them hidden before coming here, behind machinery, a secret.

"Yes, I was. There are not many natural forms of magic left in my world."

But the commentary over normal folk made Reeve laugh.

"What, would you really consider me normal?"

[heypartner]

"At worst, you're some sort of low level government man. At best, you're not bad. Little stiff but you probably lived your life in fear. You're certainly afraid now. Ain't how someone should live, afraid of others because of how they were born." Cobb shrugged at his honest assessment of Reeve.

He wasn't a bad guy even though he was some sort of government man. Definitely looked better now that Cobb knew his secret.

"Look, if he finds out and makes trouble I'm pretty sure you've got more friends here than he does." He shrugged. "You'll have more folks in your corner."

[plate_builder]

Low level. Reeve can't help but laugh at the conclusion Cobb had come to. Oh dear, but he was wrong on that one.

"Cobb, I am one of the three most influential men in the entirety of my world. Even when the Shinra company existed, I was one of the twenty most influential people in the world. You very much underestimate just who I am. The difference between me and other politicians is that when I say I want to help people, I do mean it."

But folks in his corner is pretty awesome.

[heypartner]

Cobb paused with his drink close to his mouth. "Huh."

It was a shame Reeve told him that. Cobb had a sense he was government but never big government. He had a lot of problems with big government. Reeve being that powerful, that important... he wasn't sure he liked that.

On the other hand, he had always been helpful and seemed genuinely interested in fixing things up. Like he cared.

He took a drink and then sighed. "Well, I'm gonna take you at your word because you've never given me a reason not to."

[plate_builder]

"Thank you," Reeve said, his voice soft. He threw back the end of this glass then looked at Cobb.

"If it helps, the organization I run now is called an NPO. It's a non-profit organization. Our work is entirely to try and help places rebuild after the world was nearly destroyed. Twice. I work to raise funds and distribute them to areas, subsidize construction efforts to rebuild or start new things, provide energy solutions and clean water... Our goal is to restore the world."

So he thought he might count as a bit better than normal politics.

[heypartner]

"It doesn't, actually. All the bleedin' hearts of the galaxy have never done anything to make things better as far as I can tell."

Reeve's kindness and competence wouldn't erase forty years of suffering and helplessness and mistrust of government. Cobb would count him as an exception, not the rule.

"It's a lofty goal. How'd it get destroyed in the first place?" Cobb suspected it was some sort of government mistake.

[plate_builder]

"We'll, we have been responsible for most of the work in building a new city for the refugees of Midgar. Though I wish the city would form a city council or something."

He reached for the bottle to pour himself more to drink.

"Genocidal maniac summoned a giant meteor."

[heypartner]

"Huh."

If Cobb hadn't lived through two Death Stars that would have been more surprising. But if the Empire could have found a way to throw meteors at planets to destroy them they would've done it.

"Didn't know that was something you could summon." Reeve's world seemed very strange and very deadly.

[plate_builder]

"My world has magic. And where there is magic, things that do not otherwise make sense can."

And with that he gestures to Mini, who has spent most of this situation off in a corner with a crayon and some paper, drawing on it.

[heypartner]

Yeah, Cobb was ignoring the soul doll. It bothered him that a living soul was trapped inside that doll and it served Reeve. The guy treated it well but souls were something important to Cobb.

"My galaxy has the Force which has always been explained to me that it's magic. Pretty sure the Jedi don't like that. Something about energy and tapping into it." Cobb couldn't really explain it. He had no idea what the Force or magic felt like. He was just a guy.

[plate_builder]

Trapped in a doll? Hardly, Cobb. The soul was given to the doll. The soul would not exist without the granting, and thereby a little person had been made.

Still, Reeve pulled the latest of his materia out of his pocket and held up the glowing green orb.

"I don't know about them, but this? This is magic."

And he gripped the orb tightly, it started to shine with bright green light, and just like that, small crystals of ice formed in the air above Reeve's glass before dropping into it.

"I think I have very different ideas of magic compared to what they have."

[heypartner]

All this magic and Force business made Cobb a little uncomfortable. He had none of that. The only thing he had was a fast draw and a good eye. He shouldn't think like that but well, that was how he survived.

"It's all the same spooky shit I can't do in the end," Cobb said with a shrug.

He'd just have to trust these people with their powers. So far they hadn't hurt anyone and he doubted they would.

[plate_builder]

"Actually," Reeve said, holding out the orb, "I might well be able to teach you this form of magic. What I do with Mini is a personal gift. This is materia. It's... different."

Very different.

[heypartner]

"You know, it's tempting." Cobb eyed the orb and yeah, there was a look in his eyes like he wanted to snatch it away. Reeve was offering power to him. No one would mess with Mos Pelgo if he had magic... but... "This would probably be the only place I could use it. When we all go back it wouldn't do me any good."

He sighed. He was tempted but his practicality won in the end.

"Besides, if you need that orb thing I don't want to take it from you."

[plate_builder]

"I don't know," Reeve admitted with full honesty as he set the orb on the table. "I could teach you to use this, to borrow it. It is a crystalized memory of my planet on how to cast the magic. One does not always have aptitude, but in theory with time and practice, anyone can learn to cast magic from it."

Materia was just like that. It was... it was a lie that one told the world about what they could do