unionized | IC Inbox

Are you available right now?
I'll pay you for your time.

This is Wriothesley.

[ previous birthdays have always been easier to arrange, mostly because tseng has always had some level of access to rufus' living space. not so, here. he can't get in to rufus' room without rufus there to open the door, and asking him to do so would rather defeat the purpose of a birthday surprise, wouldn't it?

so instead, tseng settles for what he can manage. a cinnamon roll wrapped first in wax paper and then in tinfoil to keep it warm and moist; a thermos of coffee, although rufus is surely capable of making his own, but on your birthday it's nice if you don't have to. and in a small black box wrapped in dark grey ribbon, the actual gift: two golden coins, the same size and weight as gil would be, embossed with darkstar's likeness on one face so rufus knows which side is heads.

these all get put in a plain black gift bag and handed over to a staff member to be delivered to rufus at 10am sharp, along with a note from tseng, folded in half and tucked inside: this probably isn't how you wanted to spend it, but happy birthday, nonetheless.

no "sir," this once. ]

Ruru! I finished the little project you asked me to work on. Did you want to see it over smoothies at The Nest?

[ His treat, naturally. ]

[ It's been some nebulous time after their little romp as monsters and while Hilda can say for certain that she hasn't been avoiding him (Why would she? Nothing about their run in had bothered her at all. Why would it?), she isn't sure that the same can be said about him.

Which is why she sends a very silly and probably stupid text. ]

So...are we ever going to talk about the daddy thing?

j lmk hb

[ A message from the great beyond. Or the octopus. ]

Hello, Rufus!
This is Mercedes, we spoke on the network earlier this month about making some personalized items for Darkstar.
I just finished a sample—I apologize for the wait, the recent athletic events around the resort took up some of my time.

[ attached is a picture of the neckerchief in a deep violet pattern. there are round carabiner clips sewn in at the ends to attach to darkstar's chain collar, and along the bottom is a neatly embroidered shinra in red thread. ]

If it's to your liking, I'd be pleased to give it to you at your convenience, but do let me know if there's anything you'd like me to change or add!

[ she hadn't actually been sure if this place was real, though a part of her had only just barely doubted its existence, even if it's the kind of place she never would have slipped into back at home. an anonymous sex club — if anyone really knew that tifa lockhart, good girl of the community, was stepping into, she's sure it'd have been the talk of the slums for all that they loved the gossip. but that home is beneath rubble these days, half the people trying to find shelter in wall market or sector five and the other half simply gone. and here she is, alive, caught up in a whole other world with her mind too hazy to think about what's really important. how could she focus on the real mission to protect the planet when her body feels on fire as it does?

the disguise is a little silly, with her hair wrapped up in a bun and tucked beneath a stylish hat, sunglasses to hide the familiarity of her crimson eyes. it might still be a little too obvious and maybe even strange considering that there's plenty of people here that may not even know who she is, but this choice she's making — it's something that only the impulses of her skin have drawn her towards, a desperation that her own stubbornness has refused to tell her own friends about out of the embarrassment of that clawing need inside.

the inside feels rather simple in its lobby, just a polite receptionist who doesn't even ask her name and simply guides her to the dressing room. it's hard to tell how much the disguise will actually hide who she is, since the white bunny mask still shows plenty of her face, long black hair falling over her bare shoulders. the black unitard is especially revealing, breasts large enough to nearly spill out the top, with those straps really putting in the work to hold up her cleavage. when she walks, the fishnet stockings stroke against her legs, somehow making her even more anxious, heat pooling between her thighs, as the want encourages her towards the back rooms.

it doesn't take look from there for the men to rally around her, sly cocky smiles unhidden even with their masks, those boasting expressions that say she should join them in one of the private rooms before they even extend the invitation. these men, all strangers, tight shorts and leather pants giving a full display of their hardened cocks underneath, the sultry echo of their voices playing it cool in just how badly they want to fuck her —

her back's against the wall before she even has a chance to respond, knowing this is exactly where her usual politeness isn't ideal to voice rejection as at least three or four men trying to talk over one another on who can have her. no, this is a natural fight or flight situation, her mind trying to urge her to simply leave when she doesn't actually want to be there, fists curling like she might land a punch on the first one of these men that might dare to lay a hand on her, but her body — she needs it, needs it, the lust so heavy beneath her skin that she practically freezes in place for the first time since she could remember. ]

[ the words they exchanged over truth or dare stay with her during the days that follow, slipping back to the forefront of her mind like an involuntary memory set to a routine reminder, how difficult it is to forget the way she'd been cornered. most of her wants to remain angry about it all, but there's a sadness in it too, from the parts of her that wishes she hadn't been pulled in by all the violence, by the ever extending chaos that's become that much harder to reel back in.

she still doesn't believe that rufus shinra can do anything for her, that peace is a possible option between them — especially not when barret is here now too, where anything beyond the surface truce they've agreed upon, could only result in some unintentional feud. but tifa is still prone to offering more chances than most, even in this.

one step. that's at least the most she can try for. ]

your offer to have a drink with you — is it still open?

IC Inbox | goldenet

text; un: cerberus (Backdated a bit to July 21st)

( 8/13, morning )

un: idlemaiden | text

un: idlemaiden | text

un: witness / text

un: martritz / text