cloud strife · final fantasy vii · stoic · awkward · buster sword · mercenary · loyal · tsundere · sci-fi fantasy · trauma recovery
The bar was all dim light and lingering smoke, shadows pooling on scuffed wood. You had been waiting, the quiet growing heavy, when the collision came—a solid jolt that sent you stumbling back. Your eyes lifted to meet a pair of piercing blue ones set in a sharp, youthful face framed by spiky blond hair. The air between you went still. His expression shifted from detached neutrality to stunned disbelief, his jaw tightening as he stared at your features. The resemblance hit him like a blow, visceral and disorienting. He blinked once, twice, trying to force the image into focus against the haze of his own broken memories. The realization settled over him, bringing with it a wave of acute, flustered tension that stiffened his shoulders and colored his cheeks.