abstractborders | ShinRA Trash Party

[At the very least, the SOLDIER didn't seem to recognize him, so Rufus decided to just have fun.]

A means to an end, I suppose. If money weren't an obstacle, what would you ask for?

[That just makes you a douchebag, Vincent.]

I don't insist, but I do invite you to join me. I'm hardly here to order anyone to do anything.

"Anything I can get my hands on," Cissnei said thoughtfully. "I've never really been picky when it comes to reading, though I do like the more fantastical things, I suppose."

[You're one to talk.]

Good to know.

[He finally reaches for the glass and this time takes a sip of it rather than knocking it back.]

Where are we doing this?

[ uh oh. be warned. that shark-like grin slowly spreading on his features is a telltale sign that you shouldn't have asked that. ]

Karaoke.

[Yep. For a moment Cloud is at a loss for words before he's shaking his head, hands going up.]

No. Absolutely not.

One couldn't simply spend their every day locked away in a tower, or they may begin to feel like some mythical princess. And like a mythical princess, sometimes the one locked away enjoyed donning a disguise and finding a drink that didn't come from a crystal carafe in a pristine setting.

No, he wanted to put on clothing that didn't scream "corporate goon" and he wouldn't notice if they got dirty and go have a drink with the common people. He even forewent slicking his hair back, allowing it to part slightly on the right and fall to the sides.

He found a booth at a bar in a seedier part of Midgar, managed to refrain from ordering the most expensive thing the bar had, and sat back to watch.

Awww c'mon, Cloud.

[ oh oh... here it comes. the big eyes. the pouty, but hopeful face! ]

Pleeeeeease?

[Goddammit you son of a--]

....Fine. One song! That's it!

Reno slid into the booth almost as soon as Rufus sat down, his own drink in hand. Most people might not recognize him, but a Turk's job is to know everything that's going on. Reno knew it was Rufus the second he walked in.

"If you didn't wanna be found, boss, maybe don't hit up my kinda bars."

Parties aren't anything Zack's adverse to in the least- at least when they aren't involving politics. And this so happens to be a loose one if not a... well, different one. It feels strange to feel the eyes of the Turk on him and everyone else there. He just seems so... out of place. Maybe even feels that way, too, for that matter.

It's hard to say. Tseng's hard to read. Sometimes frustratingly so. It doesn't stop Zack from barging over though. He raises a glass to him, an unspoken offer to try it (because seriously, whiskey, man? Boring with a capital 'B'!)

"Not much of a party-goer, huh."

One is all I need.

[ and if he records it with his phone... none will be the wiser! ]

[He's going to regret this, isn't he?]

What song do I have to sing?

[Excuse you they are the best biscuits.]

Zack, think about who I might be getting drunk. I'm gonna need backup if Sephiroth decides to punch Heidegger.

[Aw, dammit.]

He knows I care! Come on, he doesn't need to hear you say what kind of person I think he is! It's just going to go to his head!

[Or worse. Because if Zack *doesn't* let it go to his head, it probably means he's going to turn it around on Kunsel.]

I guess I can keep it to myself.

[Cue a somewhat sly look here.]

For now.

[She won't hesitate to use it against you sometime, Kunsel, if you give her a reason to.]

Cloud may be attempting to become one with his scarf (and maybe the wall behind him) while clutching his drink. What's even in it? Is he old enough to drink it?

Who knows, because Cloud doesn't.

Why did he let himself be convinced to come here, anyway?

---

[Or maybe he's not attending so much as ~~lurking~~ patrolling outside, whichever you want.]

Everyone needs a chance to lighten up a bit, Cloud. Even someone like you.

Cissnei had never really interacted with the young trooper much but she knew Zack was friends with him and had purposefully kept an eye on him because of it. So the minute she had spotted him in the bar, looking uncomfortable and like he wanted to just disappear...she made her way over.

Because he was just begging for attention.

"I'm impressed you managed to get a drink," she mused in a bit of a teasing tone, absently tapping her own bottle of beer against her thigh. "What are you...fourteen?" She knows he's fifteen but still. Such a baby face.

He knows how to smile, you know.

He managed to - somehow - not spill when she spoke up, wondering if he'd gotten so distracted he hadn't noticed her or if it was acceptable to blame the fact that she was a Turk. Because that was clear enough.

"Fifteen," he muttered, scowling for a moment before he glanced down at the glass in his hand and shrugged, a slight twitch of his shoulders almost hidden by the folds of the scarf.

"I was just handed it."

Which meant he knew better than to taste it until he found out what it was. He wasn't that stupid.

It's definitely acceptable to blame her profession. She's suppose to be good at sneaking up on people, after all. Don't take it personally, Cloud.

"Oh, right, sorry," she said with a slight shrug and perhaps the hint of a teasing look on her face. Still young. Really young.

Her gaze slid to the glass as he stated that it was just handed to him, the Turk frowning a bit now as she stepped over to take it from him. A quick sniff had Cissnei making a face before she offered him her beer instead.

"Take this." Once he had it she'd disappear to snag herself a new drink from the bar, returning a few moments later to take a seat this time.

He probably shouldn't, but he feels like if he was just better (at this, at a lot of other things) it'd help him get where he wanted to be.

He couldn't quite help the little huff that escaped at her not-really apology, but the expression he thought he could see on her face was... vaguely familiar and instinct fought between making him tense up and relax.

In the end, Cloud was left blinking at the bottle he now had in his hand instead - he recognised that at least - and took a hesitant sip. It did not taste like what his mother had let him try a few times.

He managed to keep from making too much of a grimace, though.

"Wouldn't have wanted to try the glass, would I?" Cloud finally ventured, peering at Cissnei. "Um... thanks."

"Fantasy?" He asked, raising an eyebrow curiously at the admission. "I'm a bit surprised, but also not."

Out of place is an understatement, but Tseng is trying his best anyhow.

"Perhaps this just isn't my type of party," he responded with a genuine smile, though it scarcely moved his face. Obliging, he takes the glass from the other, lifting it to sniff before taking a sip, more flavoring it than anything. After a moment, he handed it back, no discernible reaction.

The Turk wasn't afraid to admit that he liked Zack's company, but it would be frowned on for him to mention such things aloud, and it may put the SOLDIER in a bad position if someone thought to do something against Tseng with the information. Not that Tseng was at all afraid for Zack.

"Somehow I expected you to be a bit more into the scene than you are." He hadn't thought Zack was a total party boy, but definitely some level of party boy.

[Oh, so he was game. This brings a smirk to Rufus' lips, and he nudges the full glass towards Vincent.]

There's a door to a back alley over there. It's contained and private, and I highly doubt gunshots in this area will cause too much commotion.

His brows knit together as he had company so quickly, but of course...

"And how was I to know what bars you frequent?" he asked rhetorically, sipping at his cheap... whatever they were trying to pass this swill off as. "Or is it that you followed me?"

ShinRA Trash Party

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