#aerith later when we meet up w the rest of the party: we were on a DATE 🥰 teehee

[daylighteclipsed]

I’m enjoying FF7 Rebirth more than Remake so far (I was so sick of being in that uglyass city), but as someone who is not familiar with the og FF7 the sudden party member affection system absolutely blindsided me

[ciara-shaderunner]

Octopeacock, First Date(?)

“Oi, where’re ya takin me, Flare?”  A very confused Farley calls to the half-drow guiding her through the crowd of the city.  The man in question turns back to her and sends her his most charming smile.   “We’re going on a date!”  He proclaims with a small chuckle and blush as he turns back around, and guiding through the crowd. “W-wait...this is a date?!”  Farley calls out, a full blush on her face and reaching up her ears, she hadn’t exactly been expecting this when Flare had asked to see her before the ship trip tomorrow. Some music practice, a mug of cider, sure… but when did he have time to plan this?   He NEVER plans ANYTHING!.   These thoughts and more raced through Farley’s head, and they led to to how she got into this mess in the first place…

--- Flare HAD been unusually quiet since their mission, and the entire party thought the ring might not have worked, and each of them considered talking to him….especially Farley.   But when they had gotten back to the city, Flare turned on his heel and walked up to Farley without making eye contact. “H-hey...Farley.  Before we head back out onto the water tomorrow… would you come with me for a bit?”  Flare then looked to her with the nervousness of a small girl and it did not help that he was pretty enough to charm a bear out of its cave. Farley actually found it difficult to respond, when she felt a hand push her forward.   Looking back, she saw Gust and Chalice nod and wave for her to go with him.   As she turned back, to Flare, she stuttered out.  “S-sure, where are we goi-  Wahhdafuk!” Farley yelped as Flare grabbed her hand and held it in his own, just like she had grabbed his when they had their heart to heart and gave her the most radiant smile.   “Great,  let’s go!   We’ll see you guys later tonight!”   Flare said as he dragged Farley into the city. ‘Right...so...what do people do on dates?’  Farley thought to herself, coming back to the present as she looked to the responsible for such a wide spectrum of emotion in her since meeting him.  Before she could voice her question, Flare came to a stop and looked up to the building they stood in front of.  Farley followed his gaze and read the sign that read “SPA” among a bunch of other fancy lingo.  ‘Oh right...the peaco- Flare talked about Spas before left on the mission.’  Farley remembered as Flare looked to her with a smile and a wink that made her heart skip a beat.    She didn’t understand, she saw him wink at plenty of people, most occasions trying to score a discount on something they needed, so why did this one feel different?’ “So, are you ready to get pampered, Mon Amie?”  Flare asked with a slight hint of sultry undertone that passed Farley by.   “Uh...sure?  I don’t know what that is but I’m sure if you like it, it can’t be so bad, right?”  Farley offered, to which Flare chuckled and nods before leading them in. ---- All in all, this pampering is just…. a very weird experience to the druid so far.  She had her reservations when after Flare paid for them she was led into a room and told to strip down and put on this overly large towel..  Flare simply nodded encouragingly at her as she was guided into this steamy room she’s in at the moment.  The human that had helped her had called this place a ‘sauna.’  Whatever a sauna was, it was very humid and hot, and was making her sweat. Farley sighed, Flare had to have his reasons for bringing her here, right? Farley’s thoughts were interrupted when she heard a door opening behind her, but when she turned around in shock, she saw nothing but this screen that reached the ceiling.   “Right in here, My Good Man.”  a gruff feminine voice said to… someone? “Ah, thank you so much darling, I’ve been needing this!”  Farley knew that voice anywhere.  Flare.  A gruff grunt was all the reply that was given as Farley heard Flare lean back, and the felt a slight pressure on her back, for a moment.   “Ah!  Sorry, whoever you are!” Flare called over. “Fl-Flare?”   Farley croaked out in shock.  Flare gasped, Farley could tell, before responding  “Oh, Farley!   So they put us in neighboring rooms!”   Flare then sighed in relief, before calling over again.   “So, what do you think of the sauna, Farley?” Farley then saw the indent of the screen near to her, but they weren’t back to back like before. Somehow...this was less preferable after the shock of the happening.  Farley thought to herself before responding back to the question.  ‘I...I don’t know. I’m not sure what the point of a ‘sauna’ is. “Well, a sauna helped you seat, as I’m sure you’re experiencing, but the heat also helps with muscle relaxation and helps clean your pores.  I’ve also heard it helps breathing by clearing up our airways,”  Flare begins listing out the many benefits of the sauna, and Farley inched a bit closer to the indent in the screen.  

Closer, closer... “Lastly, it helps detoxes your body- Oh?  That you, Farley?”  Flare cuts himself as Farley leans against his back through the screen.   Immediately she felt more blood rush to her face, but she was a bit happier, a bit less lonely in this room by herself. “Y-yeah, it’s me.  Don’t move, though.   I can’t see in this blasted steam so It’s nice to know I’m not alone kinda.” “S-sure….whatever you want, Farley….”  a more nervous Flare responded, to which Farley chuckled.   “Are you blushing, Peacock?”  She says, an attempt at teasing the usually dauntless paladin.   “It-...It’s just the steam!  Yeah No I’m completely fine!”   Flare defended himself weakly, prompting another small chuckle from the druid.  “Liar…” Farley says softly, though the hem she got in response tipped her off that she had been heard, not she minded really. “So Flare, is this ‘Pampering?’ or is there more to it?”  Farley asked, to which Flare immediately laughs.   “Oh my dear friend… this is merely the beginning!” “Oh Aerith, what did I get myself into?”  Farley murmured before looking down and seeing a wilted piece of green vegetation on the floor that she was sure wasn't there before.  In fact it looked a teensy bit famil-

“Oh shite…”

“Something wrong, Farley?” Flare called over, his voice a bit heavier as he relaxed more.

“Erm...it’s nothing, don’ worry bout it.” Farley called over, doing her best to put as much confidence into the statement.

“I get the feeling I shouldn’t believe that. Won’t you tell me what’s bothering you?” Flare asks sincerely.

“It’s nothin I can’t handle on my own.” Farley calls back over as she quickly realizes that her and Flare’s stuff was placed aside for safekeeping. Remembering where it was, she resolved to go and get a spare leaf and was on her way out the door when the door opened and Flare was standing there looking concerned, a towel wrapped around his waist for modesty. Farley shrieked and took a few steps back, doing her best to hide her face from Flare. “Don’t look at me, not you!”   Farley yelled over her shoulder as she backed up.  A hand grabbed onto one of her own.   “Farley, what’s wrong? Why should I not be looking at you?  You’re beautiful…” Flare began, taking a step forward.  Farley shook her head.  “No, you’ll think I’m just some freak...you’ll just think I- !” Flare cut her off as he hugged her to him.  As soon as Farley got over the shock at this much physical contact...she realized Flare was shaking, and that her shoulder was getting water dripped on it. “No!  Don’t say I won’t like you!”  Flare choked out, doing his best keep his outburst under control, but by the trembling of his hands, he wasn’t doing a very good job.    “I’m an absolute idiot in most things and what I feel for you in new...but it’s definitely not something I could call dislike! Not ever… I saw my mentor get disintegrated in front of my very eyes, and to this day whenever I go to sleep I relive that horrific moment the minute I close my eyes.   I think you’re so amazing...but to hear you say that you think me shallow enough to not like you because of what’s under some silly eyepatch…..that hurts more than anything else.”  Flare breaks the hug but keep his hands on her shoulders as he looks at her square in the eyes, the streaks from his eyes glistening, even as he smiles for her.

“I will not force you….but know that I won’t run away, Farley...it’s far too late for that!”  He says with a chuckle, before trying to back away.  Farley’s hands snap up and keep his arms there, wanting to relish in the touch a bit longer.   “You and your honeyed, silver tongue of yours, peacock.  Fine...But you said it...it’s too late fer you to run...I’ll use my roots on ye if you try!” The druid replies as she reaches up and moves her hair out of the way of her eye. Flare, to his credit and by his word, didn’t flinch or recoil in disgust as he saw and empty eye socket marred with scar tissue..  He simply tilted his head a bit.  “Your god did this?”  He asked as one of his hands came up to trace around the scarring. “Yes, another reminder of how foolish I was in trying to trick my god.”  Farley said stoically.  Flare continued to marvel at it before realizing why he could even see it.   “What happened to your eyepatch?  The leafy one?”  Flare asked, to which Farley showed him the shriveled up green remnant of her eyepatch.

“It’s actually just a leaf that I use one of my spells on to form it into a patch…a wise woman taught it to me as my journey was just gettin’ started. But, even with the little trick I do, it is still jus’ a leaf, it shrivels up like any plant would in this heat and humidity. Speaking of which...how long are we supposed to be in here fer?”

A deep clearing of the throat brought both the half elves to the entrance of the steam room.   “I trust ye can contain yerself fer the rest of the treatment, lover boy?”  The dwarf woman said, looking accusingly at Flare who immediately blushed and coughed.    “Y-yes, er…. I was just…. Leaving.”  Flare stuttered out before shooting an apologetic look to Farley.    “I’ll...see you when we’re done, Farley.” “Oh...r-right. See ye later…”  Farley says as she hides her eye behind her hair again.  As Flare’s footsteps leave her audio range, followed by the dwarfs, the human that brought her in here came back none the wiser as to what occurred.   “My my, the steam room worked wonders on you! Look at that flush!”  The woman, Aella, Farley thinks her name was, remarked before pulling Farley along with her to a different room, this one containing a sort of bed-like table situated in the middle of it, another counterlike table in the corner with a bunch of bottles with labels Farley couldn't really make out from this distance.  After Aella closed the door, she bid Farley to lay face down on the table, to which Farley nervously complies.

That nervousness quickly dissipated, however,  when Aella began to knead and dig into her back, undoing knots Farley wasn’t even aware she had.  “Sweet Aerith- AH! That hurts, don’t stop! By the gods….”  Farley moans as she feels so much ache and stress she had just been unconsciously carrying all this time just vanish with this woman’s ministrations.  Is this what has Flare so hooked on these Spas?   Even Farley could see the merit in this ‘pampering’, now.   Farley almost begged her not to stop the massage, but the woman simply smiled and said that it was time for the last part of the service, which floored Farley….there was even more past that?

Farley was then led by Aella into a room with a fully drawn and steaming bath, to which she eased her way into. She had found a hot spring or two in her travels, but none of them smelt this flowery. That was a strange bit...this would never happen in nature…. But nature also wouldn’t ease away all her aches and pains like this spa had, so she had to give with her take, she supposed. Farley let out a sigh as she finally was submerged up to her shoulders when there was a knock at the door.   “Er...come in?” Farley called out, to which the doors swung open to reveal Aella carrying a deep green length of fabric. When Farley asked what that was for, the aide simply smiled.   “The gentleman you came in with requested I bring this to you at once.   ‘She’ll know what to do with it,’  is what he said.”

Farley took the fabric, which when she was feeling it felt like a heavy silk, inside the folds Farley found a note with a flowery script.   “This should last until we can find you a more….permanent solution to your problem, Farley.” With Regards   Like-Like, Flare.

Farley felt another blush coming on as she read the note a few more times, but she couldn’t help but smile at his edit, she didn’t even know why. It just brought her joy to see him correcting himself like that.

After placing the note aside for safekeeping, she took the silk back into her hands.  It had been awhile since she had to tie a knot, especially since she hadnt had to snare an animal in weeks, but after a bit Farley managed to tie a makeshift bandana around her head and right eye.   Despite how heavy the material felt, it actually let air circulate nicely, it wasn’t noticeably stuffy.   Though, now that it was in front of her face, she could see small tear marks.     ‘That fool tore one of his outfits to give me this?!  Of all the foolish things for that pacock to do!  She’d have to scold him for that later...she didn’t want him ruining his outrageous outfits for her comfort! She couldn’t possibly be that selfish, that’s where she had to draw the line and put her foot down!

Still…. It was nice of him to do, she supposed.