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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.

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"I see." Jon nods slowly, remembering what Cloud has told him about his disease and how it had affected the young man.

"Is there anything I- You know. Anything I might be able to do? Anything I should keep in mind when meeting him or- Should avoid?" Yes, these are plenty of questions, and oddly enough not a single one of them of the compelling sort. If Jon wanted to, he could simply know these answers. But he has learned the lesson about doing so being rude and people not valuing such intrusions on their privacy.

He will be good.

Anything Jon might be able to do? Reeve looked at Jon in shock at that suggestion. He has to consider this very carefully. Good thing he knows Jon probably won't mind him being thoughtful.

"I don't know how Dark Nation will react to you, but her main goal is to protect him. She was bred and trained to it. And if he has a gun in hand, don't assume that you're safe because you're not in direct line of fire. I've seen the guy bounce shots off of coins he's thrown. But I don't think he's armed. He's not the greatest at magic, I think, so that's not a problem. But he's..."

Reeve doesn't know how to warn the man.

"Sometimes he's far too reckless, for his or anyone's good."

While Jon raises his open hands at the look of shock on Reeve's face and half opens his mouth to assure the man that he doesn't mean to actively harm this person he has never met, his hands lower again and his mouth slowly closes when no terrified accusations are being made and instead Reeve begins talking about this man called Rufus Shinra.

"Dark Nation..." Jon repeats what he assumes to be the name of- Some sort of bred guardian. He could assure Reeve that a gunshot is quite unlikely to kill him, but instead simply makes a mental note that this man apparently knows how to use a gun. That recklessness? Now that sounds like a rather familiar problem.

"That sounds like he needs about as much supervision as several other people in this city." No, he's not going to name any names.

"That is not wrong at all," Reeve offered with a shrug.

And if he could, he'd keep the man away from Tony. Those two would pump each other up to new, stupider ideas if they were allowed to. Not to mention the gossip. Rufus knew more about Reeve than anyone here, of course.

"He tries to be good. He's been trying so hard. But I fear for him. Perhaps for him more than even my concern over what he might say of me. Though he's learned well that knowledge is power."

Jon is less interested in any gossip, at least. He has learned where his curiosity can lead him and it hasn't been a fun place. And yet it's still a curious point to bring up on Reeve's part.

"And yet you are concerned about him sharing details about yourself." Jon tilts his head slightly to the side. "Not that it matters much here, but I feel you have been fairly open about your past. Enough to validate a certain level of trust." At least in theory. Reeve has been in the city for a long while now, while Rufus has just recently arrived. "It can't be that bad."

"Corporate gossip, Jon, is a different thing. I have been honest with my actions and my sins, but..."

He cringes to think about what Rufus could talk about. Like the epic battle Reeve had with the man's father over the damn tree in the cafeteria. Oh boy.

"Surely your workplace back home had things floating around in the air supply that reflected poorly upon people without truly commenting on them on a deeper level.'

"Heh." The Archivist actually looks amused. "I worked at an Institute that conducted research into paranormal events. The gossip about the Institute itself far outweighed what gossip there was within it. Though it did exist, I won't deny that. Just... Hm." He looks up towards the ceiling, The words from Rosie's statement easily returning to his mind. "I did my best to ignore it." And for the most part he has been rather successful. Or so he likes to tell himself even now.

And Jon lets his gaze drop somewhere to the side. "Though if he tries to tell me you are fond of cats, I will be inclined to believe him."

Paranormal events? Reeve would just call that events. But his world had ghosts so what can you do? So instead he chuckles at the other thing.

"Oh, I'm fond of cats. Strangely, I've never actually had one. Mini's brother, Cait Sith, is the closest. My mother, you see, she told me tales of the fairy king of cats when I was a child. It was my favorite story. It lingered with me."

"Cait Sith, you say?" Jon asks, raising a curious brow, then inclining his head. "Where I come from, there is an old folk tale by the name The King of the Cats as well. And Cait Sith is a fairy creature from Celtic mythology, said to resemble a large black cat with a white spot on its chest. Legend has it that the spectral cat haunts the Scottish Highlands. Which are... Well. Not too far from where I lived. In fact, I theoretically passed through them when I was-" Gone. But that doesn't matter right now.

"What do you make of our worlds, despite being considerably different from one another, apparently sharing certain tales and legends?"

Wait, Jon's heard of the stories? Everything that Jon says rings true for Reeve, save for the words 'Celtic' and 'Scottish Highlands'. Reeve, for what it was worth, was quite interested in hearing that.

"It sounds just like our story but for a few, I presume, proper nouns. Perhaps the fey are real, and they have touched both of our worlds. It's the best conclusion I might have for why it is so similar."

For there is no denying the extreme of the differences between them.

"And it is said that cats go where they please. Who is to say that Cait Sith himself could not walk the paths of all worlds, if they can be torn open and plucked from as the Agrii have done with us."

Jon lets out a soft sigh. "Well. Given that my world has been fostering a tear in reality that allegedly lead to countless other dimensions... I am inclined to take that as valid possibility." Not to mention that by now Jon is well aware that monsters that ended up inspiring folk tales have existed for a very long time even on his Earth.

"So this is what you modeled your robot after as well." Which so far Jon has assumed to having been more coincidental.

A tear in reality? What? That's definitely a mess to consider. And he doesn't know what to do with it. He hadn't expected to be taken so seriously. To be told it could be valid.

"My mother told me folk tales from the cradle. I liked Cait Sith the most. And yes, it stuck with me enough that, when I was working to create a companion for myself, it was inspired by him."

"I never liked fairy tales as a child. But knowing myths and legends has been part of my job. Especially the ones tied to the British Isles. Which- Was where I used to live." The additional clarification is added with a tiny gesture of his hand. Reeve's world is, after all, quite different from Earth.

"By now I have come to accept that a lot of the creatures we know from common folk tales are tied to one of those Entities that sought to destroy my Earth or another. At least in my world."

British Isles. Not a place he had heard of before.

"And you would suggest that such would be true of Cait Sith and the cat's court as well?"

What sort of fearful entity could that be then?

"Quite likely." Jon sighs. "Of course it's a comparably harmless tale and superstitious believes had changed greatly over the past few centuries. Had, for example, the Distortion taken on the shape of a cat once to sow doubts and worries among people, then it has long since moved on."

He may not be fond of this certainty, but unfortunately Jon knows for a fact that the Fears evolve and always have evolved.

"What a strange thing to consider," Reeve frowns. "And these are concerns you must address regularly?"

TRuly his own world sounds less fearful when he considers Jon's.

Edited 2021-06-20 23:17 (UTC)

"Used to. I am-" Jon pauses there, frowning as he considers his next words. "... I don't think I am still part of my world." And somehow he doesn't even know which world he now belongs to.

"I... Left this place for a while, remember?"

Not still part of his world?

"Perhaps you belong here then, if you can't part of there. But yes, you were gone for a bit. I think, but am not certain, that Tony had a minor breakdown over that. There was this weird post to the network, no name attacked, demanding that someone give some man back."

He had to believe it had been Jon that was menat.

Jon winces at that. "Yes, I came across that post after I returned..." A pause. "I'm sorry. I... It was..." And he just shakes his head. "I would have preferred never to have gone back."

It was bad.

"At least you are no longer there?" Reeve suggested.

Here Jon seems happier, or so he would hope.

"Yes." He nods, but the expression on his face makes it clear enough that he has somewhat mixed feelings about the entire matter. He is, indeed, happier here. But at the same time he can't help to feel a little guilty for it.

Especially with the uncertainty of what happened to his Earth. His friends. Martin...

Mixed feelings are absolutely a thing, and Reeve respects that, a lot.

"Perhaps you're happy here, or happier than you might otherwise have been?"

"I suppose." He has friends here. And Tony is here. And no one is trying to manipulate him into doing anything. At least not without being very obvious about their demands.

"I wonder if it's a bad thing. Being happier here than- Elsewhere."

"Sometimes the home we knew and were a part of are aren't what we are meant to be."

FOund family is a thing, and REev ebelives in it, quite a lot.

"You may be right..." Jon says and trails off. It may be a little disheartening, but in his particular case maybe for the better.

He nods. "Thank you, Reeve."

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plate_builder - 2021-06-24 16:56 (UTC) - Expand

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