The chocobo is enamoured with another person willing to give him affection, so once the two of them are standing closer it starts to edge towards Cloud in the hope of getting more chin scratches - oblivious to the fact that neither man is paying attention to it right now.
Prompto, for his part, is still smiling expectantly, though it fades into something uncertain when the delivery guy is staring at him like he's seen a ghost. He laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly and about to ask if there's something on his face when something clicks.
For a while, after he first came here, everybody he saw with even the most passing of resemblances to his brother had made his heart leap with hope - he'd always thought Cloud died there in Nibelheim, but maybe... maybe he didn't...
Of course it was never Cloud, and eventually he'd gotten a handle on that reaction, on that hope, but now that he's finally looking at the delivery guy standing in front of him it blossoms in his chest again like it never went away at all. This man doesn't have just a passing resemblance, instead it's downright uncanny.
He can't stop himself, the word falls from his lips in a sort of choked, desperate plea. One word that isn't just a name, but a pleading, hopeful let this be real.
Most people, Cloud came to realize, didn't even know about the fact that Sephiroth burned down the entire village and killed its populace. Reports were that Sephiroth was KIA and that there was an incident at the reactor. Nibelheim was treated just like Kalm was - villagers replaced with Shinra employees to make the narrative believable. Yet Cloud never really left the village, trapped for years. He'd thought Tifa died until he saw her again in Midgar but even she had been the only local survivor, as far as she knew. All this time there had been another. Cloud's memories were so screwed up for the longest time, but he never forgot the fact he had a brother.
It just never occurred to him to go looking for someone that was gone. Now Cloud stands there with a renewed sense of guilt for not even making that attempt.
Juggling the package with one hand, he pushed up the sunglasses that he wore while riding. His expression mirrored the young man standing across from him. Bewildered. Hopeful, but also at an utter loss.
Truthfully, he's gearing himself for another disappointment, for the guy to ask what the hell he was talking about and just hand over the package, because surely it can't possibly really be him?
Prompto has never dared go back, the idea was too painful, and he always told himself that even if Cloud had survived that he wouldn't still be there, that Prompto didn't have any hope of finding him again, he wouldn't even know where to start.
Now he's wondering if he was wrong, if he should have tried, because when those sunglasses get lifted and his gaze meets familiar eyes that echo his own feelings, when Cloud says his name, he's hit with a crashing, overwhelming wave of regret and longing for all the years they've missed.
"It- it's really you...?" He manages, voice thick with emotion. He can already feel the tears pricking at his eyes, threatening to spill.
The response that Prompto would expect never came. Instead here they were, both standing there and blaming themselves for not trying harder. What a shared family trait to have. Though Cloud's grip on the package only tightened. His chest felt tight, swimming with emotions that he didn't know how to identify, much less express. That was something that had been taken away from him, something he was learning again. So he nodded, which was more of a response than some would be able to pull from him.
"Yeah," he murmured, barely able to get the sound to pass through his lips with how constricted his lungs and throat felt. "How... How did you..."
Survive. Live. Cloud had so many questions. Many things that he wanted to ask. The only issue here was that at least one thing never changed about him: he was still awkward. He didn't know what to do, really, or how to proceed. What was supposed to happen now? What should he be doing? Drop the package and hug his younger brother? Would that even be something that's allowed at this point or just too presumptuous?
There was also a sense of relief. Prompto was alive and he was apparently thriving. He had grown up well. He looked happy here.
The awkwardness can join the self-recrimination in the list of family traits, it seems, because Prompto suddenly has no idea what to do with any part of himself. He's wildly aware of his hands, of all things, and how they're just kind of there. Should he put them in his pockets? Cross his arms? He almost wishes he still had the feed bucket because then at least he'd be holding something, but then what if Cloud wanted a hug?
It's the stupidest thing in the world to be worrying about and yet here he is.
"I...um... I followed you. When you and the others went to the mansion I... I wanted to see what you were doing..." He wanted to trail after his big brother like he always used to when Cloud was home. He missed him. And, a little, he wanted to get a better glimpse into his brother's life.
"It meant I wasn't... in the village when... when it happened." Barely three sentences and it's still the most he's ever said out loud about what happened to him. He swallows around the lump in his throat and tries to blink back the tears but they start falling anyway. He's barely even thought about it in so long, and now the fresh surge of grief mingles with the relief and amazement that Cloud is here and he's alive.
He ran. Prompto ran away and he was able to do that, able to be overlooked, because he wasn't in the village. Cloud found himself feeling some sort of relief to hear that. Yet it also meant that his brother likely got lost in the mountains to have missed the slaughter as well as Sephiroth heading towards the reactor. Or maybe he hid when Sephiroth emerged. Whatever the case, it didn't matter. Goddess, never before was Cloud thankful for the fact that Prom would like to follow him around. Prompto was alarmed by it though. Immediately Cloud recognized some of the emotions that the other must have gone through, because he felt those things himself. Being a survivor, wondering why him and not others. Being unable to find anyone that could tell him anything and on his own at such a young age. If he was anything like Cloud, he probably blamed himself for not being able to do something. Cloud knew that he often felt like this.
The older of the two didn't really know how to cry any more. Rather, it had been a long time since he still watched as Prompto's eyes watered. His voice cracked and how he stuttered when he spoke, broken sentences and all. Without thinking, the hand that wasn't holding the package shot out. Cloud was already placing that hand on the back of his little brother's neck. It was a gesture that he would use with both Denzel and Marlene when they were upset. Maybe it would help to ground them both, keep them from spiraling.
"What are you sorry for?" he asked. "Don't be sorry for being alive."
Somewhere, he is sure that Zack and Aerith are wanting to burn holes into the back of his head. That was what they were trying to tell him all along.
It's crazy just how much that simple contact makes a difference - it doesn't stop the tears but it does make Prompto feel immediately a thousand times better. He hasn't had a lot of physical contact from other people over the years and he's admittedly a little touch-starved for it.
He almost throws himself forward for a hug, but he's still second guessing if that would be welcome, so instead he just revels in the contact he does have, lifting a hand to swipe quickly at his eyes before his brother thinks he's still a total crybaby.
(He doesn't think Cloud would judge him for it, they're not kids anymore, but it's one of those stupid thoughts that just pops up while he's still trying to process the situation)
"I..." he's sorry for running? For not looking for Cloud? For not being there for their mother? All of it, but it's hard to give voice to any of those thoughts so he just shrugs helplessly.
"I'm not sorry about that. I'm glad. I'm glad I get to see you again."
Sure, it didn't stop the crying but Cloud didn't think that it really would. Maybe it would just shift the core emotion from where the tears came from. He wasn't here to judge the other young man at all. If anything, he felt bad that he wasn't expressing his emotions in such a crystal clear way. Even his thumb strokes the back of Prompto's neck, rubbing soothing circles there. Cloud... Well he actually received a lot of physical contact - whether he wanted it or not. His friends and the kids don't really respect his personal space so it wouldn't be the first time that someone just launched themselves at Cloud for a hug.
Hearing the response has him huffing, a humorless laugh. Good, don't apologize for being here and seemingly well. The rest of whatever they are feeling? They can address that in time, because they now have that. Time to deal with this new discovery and to learn about one another as well. It seemed like the planet itself was offering little blessings here and there. While the world would rebuild, they could do that too. The irony of it all doesn't escape Cloud at all.
"For the longest time I thought it was just Tifa and me," Cloud admitted. "I should have looked harder."
That was all he was going to say for the time being. He didn't know if there were other staff here or if anyone could overhear the conversations. Cloud didn't want to risk that since there were some things that would probably need to be explained. Those were not topics to be shared with anyone other than Prompto, if they even get to that point. He shifted the box in his arm still.
"Tifa got out too?" Prompto asks, eyes wide and relieved - there's still so many others lost, yes, but after so many years of dealing with the tragedy it's good to hear that even one more life was saved.
He shakes his head at the comment, though, because how would Cloud have even found him? He'd ended up in the middle of, even if Cloud had known to look it would have been difficult, and how would he have known?
"Right, yea," he laughs a little sheepishly on realising that they're just standing there and that he has a house right there where they can have this conversation much more comfortably.
"Let me take that," he says first, motioning to the package that must be getting heavy by now "and we can go talk in the house, it's just me living there now so we won't be disturbed."
"Yeah. She also saw the grocery store kid too a couple of years back," he replied. It would seem that more people than they realized had made it out of that situation. Maybe they would run into more in the future. Yet Prompto didn't know about what Shinra did after, did he? The cover up?
At the mention of the package, he looked down towards it. Cloud shook his head, glancing back up to his little brother. There were times when Cloud moved that the mako in his eyes stood out more than others. Mako that hadn't been there before when he had come home as part of the mission back then.
"I got it," Cloud answered instead. "Barely weighs anything, really."
Prompto smiles brightly at the news that there might be others out there, that maybe they didn't lose everyone, though in truth he's more pleased to have his brother back than anything else.
His breath catches momentarily when Cloud looks back up and he can see the difference in his brother's eyes, his own widening slightly in turn - confusion and curiosity plain. It vanishes as quickly as it appeared and he nods slightly, huffing a soft laugh.
"Suit yourself." he says with a shrug, turning with a wave of his hand to indicate Cloud should follow as he leads the way.
He goes to the stables first, motioning at the open door.
"Just drop it inside there, I'll take a look at it later." He says, waiting until Cloud has done just that before leading the rest of the way to the little farmhouse across the yard.
Inside, it's quite a nice space. A little cluttered but tidy, full of the various acoutrements of a life rearing chocobos. They enter into a hallway, a living room on one side visible with a stack of boxes against one wall, but Prompto turns the other way, into the homey little kitchen with a large dining table taking up the middle. He gathers up some of the paperwork spread across its surface and moves it to the side, motioning for Cloud to take a seat.
"Uh, can I get you a drink or anything? Something to eat?"
The questioning look was obvious, but Cloud tilted his head in return. It wasn't entirely obvious to him what the question in Prompto's gaze was for. In his mind, there were a lot of things that they would need to talk about. A lot of things to catch up on. Once more, talking outside wasn't really high on Cloud's priority list. Most, if not everything, were topics that were meant to be private. After all, the things on Cloud's plate were not common knowledge. People outside of Shinra or the WRO didn't generally know about Sephiroth's involvement or the various coverups done by the company.
Instead he huffed, amused, and followed his little brother to the stables. Cloud went ahead and set the box down, the package a bit heavier than what it appeared to be. He brushed off his hands and hummed an affirmative. Then it was the trip to the house - where he was able to get a good look at where Prompto had ended up. Where he was able to look at his little brother and see how he had changed over the years. Cloud would lament the time lost, but... No sense in it. It was something out of his control and Cloud finally made peace with that.
At first, Cloud is a little awkward moving down the hallway and entering the kitchen. It was an unknown space to him and this situation was... Well it was as if the weight of it all was starting to really hit him as he looked around at all of the belongings. The things that made a house a home. These were the things that would tell him a bit about how Prompto lived now.
He startled at the sound of the other's voice, torn from his thoughts. Oh right. Sitting. Cloud shook his head, not feeling like he could eat or drink anything as he sat down. "No, I'm fine."
Prompto feels the tension building as they head inside, suddenly self conscious about everything from the boxes in the living room to the papers on the table to the fact that Cloud apparently doesn't want anything to drink. His mind supplies him with increasingly wild theories about how much his brother is judging him and his life despite the lack of any evidence that Cloud is judging him at all.
He laughs a little awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. He realises he's just kind of hovering so slides into a seat across from Cloud before he answers.
"Yea.. uh... this is kinda where I ended up, when I ran. The old guy that owned this place let me stay the night, then he let me stay longer in return for helping out and..." he shrugs "I liked the work so I stuck around. He didn't have any other family, so when he died last year he, uh, he left the ranch to me...."
"I was just thinking that it sort of suits you," Cloud commented. "Everyone back in Edge likes to say I look like a chocobo, but maybe that's because they haven't met you."
Poor attempt at humor, but it was there. Cloud wasn't making fun of Prompto's lifestyle or where he was in life. If anything, something nice and quiet wouldn't be too bad at all. In all actuality, Cloud was glad that his little brother was able to have a life. A childhood and someone that was there for him when Cloud and their mother couldn't be.
"The bird I met out there seemed really attached," he said, thinking of what else to say. "I'm not really... Good at this sort of thing. Talking thing."
"Hey!" Prompto protests, but the offended look on his face is entirely feigned, and it's clear he's trying hard not to smile. It's stupid, but there's something about being teased by his big brother again, after all this time, that has warmth blossoming in his chest. It might have been a poor attempt, but it was enough.
"Hey, no, it's okay," he reassures quickly, smiling slightly "it's a pretty weird situation, it's not like either of us woke up this morning knowing we were going to see each other again, and 'catching up with the brother you thought was dead' isn't a totally common conversation topic to prepare for."
He'd always been the more talkative one anyway, and even he can be pretty awkward at times.
"You're right, though, Tiny is pretty attached. He'll be sitting outside the door sulking because I didn't let him in," he laughs slightly "I, um, well I kinda rescued him? I found him when he was just a chick and he was injured, that's actually how I ended up coming here in the first place, I was just trying to bring him back home..."
Cloud wanted to say that he probably would be better prepared than most for that conversation. With the crazy events that have brought him to this point in his life, really coming back from the dead was just another day that ended with 'y.' Yet it was also true that there was no good way to mentally prepare yourself for things like this. Thankfully, Prompto was taking it in stride. He was already relaxing more and that helped Cloud to feel more at ease.
"Rescued how?"
This was a better way to start a conversation. Ask about Prompto first. Getting into all of Cloud's nonsense was going to be a headache. He didn't know if he needed to explain or should explain. Would Prompto be able to understand? Accept it?
At least this was a lighter and safer topic. For now.
"Nothing that dramatic," Prompto admits with a sheepish laugh, blushing a little "I just kinda stumbled across him and wanted to help..."
He'd been scared and lost and alone himself, and he didn't know how to fix that problem for him, but he could try and find a way to help the poor little injured chocobo chick.
It had helped both of them, in the end.
"But what about you? The delivery thing? How'd you get into that?" He prompts, wanting to know everything but figuring that's as good a place as any to start.
"Must run in the family," Cloud murmured. He was thinking of the people that had become part of his little family. All of them have a pretty colorful past. Then Cloud thought of Denzel... Yeah. Stumbling across others and wanting to do what they can do to help them. Definitely must be a family trait.
Prompto then had to ask about Cloud. At least it was only the delivery business. It was a safer topic, he supposed, but it would likely lead into other topics. They'd handle those things one at a time, Cloud figured. For now, he would answer that much.
"After Meteorfall, it seemed like a better way to help the world rebuild than just being a merc," he answered. "Reeve keeps trying to rope me into the WRO, but I think I can do more good this way."
Prompto smiles a little - it's a nice thought, that he might still have something in common with Cloud after all these years, not least because he'd always looked up to his big brother. It makes him wonder, too, what events are on Cloud's mind when he says that - he wants to ask, but he has so many other questions he stops himself from blurting it out and instead just adds it to the list.
"Yea?" Prompto asks, interested "What kind of things do you deliver?"
If he's doing it to help people, to do good, Prompto figures he's delivering things like medicine or food or whatever else people needed to rebuild their lives, but he's still interested to hear it from Cloud.
"Today it's saddles," came the reply, throwing a small smirk Prompto's way. "Seriously, though, it sort of depends day to day. Reeve will hire me to deliver supplies to places but also I'll just take whatever people need me to."
In other words, Cloud wasn't particularly picky. He would pick up what jobs were available to him. Reeve, on the other hand, was a friend. The man was Shinra, but at least he was trying to do something good for the planet now. Now Cloud suspected that the funds weren't all from Reeve, but he didn't want to entertain the possibility of Rufus having any sort of hands in the WRO.
Prompto laughs at the comment - it's not that funny, but underneath all the complicated emotions that seeing Cloud again has triggered there is a simple, straightforward joy at having his beloved brother back when he never thought that was even possible. Despite everything, it makes his smiles - and his laughs - come a little easier than normal, and he's not exactly an unhappy person normally.
"Do you enjoy it?" He asks, because truthfully he thinks that's the most important part, seeing Cloud alive and well is one thing, but Prompto also wants to know that he's happy.
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no subject
Date: 2024-03-12 10:04 am (UTC)The chocobo is enamoured with another person willing to give him affection, so once the two of them are standing closer it starts to edge towards Cloud in the hope of getting more chin scratches - oblivious to the fact that neither man is paying attention to it right now.
Prompto, for his part, is still smiling expectantly, though it fades into something uncertain when the delivery guy is staring at him like he's seen a ghost. He laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly and about to ask if there's something on his face when something clicks.
For a while, after he first came here, everybody he saw with even the most passing of resemblances to his brother had made his heart leap with hope - he'd always thought Cloud died there in Nibelheim, but maybe... maybe he didn't...
Of course it was never Cloud, and eventually he'd gotten a handle on that reaction, on that hope, but now that he's finally looking at the delivery guy standing in front of him it blossoms in his chest again like it never went away at all. This man doesn't have just a passing resemblance, instead it's downright uncanny.
He can't stop himself, the word falls from his lips in a sort of choked, desperate plea. One word that isn't just a name, but a pleading, hopeful let this be real.
"...Cloud?"
no subject
Date: 2024-03-12 12:58 pm (UTC)It just never occurred to him to go looking for someone that was gone. Now Cloud stands there with a renewed sense of guilt for not even making that attempt.
Juggling the package with one hand, he pushed up the sunglasses that he wore while riding. His expression mirrored the young man standing across from him. Bewildered. Hopeful, but also at an utter loss.
"Prom?"
no subject
Date: 2024-03-12 01:07 pm (UTC)Truthfully, he's gearing himself for another disappointment, for the guy to ask what the hell he was talking about and just hand over the package, because surely it can't possibly really be him?
Prompto has never dared go back, the idea was too painful, and he always told himself that even if Cloud had survived that he wouldn't still be there, that Prompto didn't have any hope of finding him again, he wouldn't even know where to start.
Now he's wondering if he was wrong, if he should have tried, because when those sunglasses get lifted and his gaze meets familiar eyes that echo his own feelings, when Cloud says his name, he's hit with a crashing, overwhelming wave of regret and longing for all the years they've missed.
"It- it's really you...?" He manages, voice thick with emotion. He can already feel the tears pricking at his eyes, threatening to spill.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-12 01:40 pm (UTC)"Yeah," he murmured, barely able to get the sound to pass through his lips with how constricted his lungs and throat felt. "How... How did you..."
Survive. Live. Cloud had so many questions. Many things that he wanted to ask. The only issue here was that at least one thing never changed about him: he was still awkward. He didn't know what to do, really, or how to proceed. What was supposed to happen now? What should he be doing? Drop the package and hug his younger brother? Would that even be something that's allowed at this point or just too presumptuous?
There was also a sense of relief. Prompto was alive and he was apparently thriving. He had grown up well. He looked happy here.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-12 02:35 pm (UTC)The awkwardness can join the self-recrimination in the list of family traits, it seems, because Prompto suddenly has no idea what to do with any part of himself. He's wildly aware of his hands, of all things, and how they're just kind of there. Should he put them in his pockets? Cross his arms? He almost wishes he still had the feed bucket because then at least he'd be holding something, but then what if Cloud wanted a hug?
It's the stupidest thing in the world to be worrying about and yet here he is.
"I...um... I followed you. When you and the others went to the mansion I... I wanted to see what you were doing..." He wanted to trail after his big brother like he always used to when Cloud was home. He missed him. And, a little, he wanted to get a better glimpse into his brother's life.
"It meant I wasn't... in the village when... when it happened." Barely three sentences and it's still the most he's ever said out loud about what happened to him. He swallows around the lump in his throat and tries to blink back the tears but they start falling anyway. He's barely even thought about it in so long, and now the fresh surge of grief mingles with the relief and amazement that Cloud is here and he's alive.
"I got scared and I ran away. I... I'm sorry."
no subject
Date: 2024-03-12 03:09 pm (UTC)The older of the two didn't really know how to cry any more. Rather, it had been a long time since he still watched as Prompto's eyes watered. His voice cracked and how he stuttered when he spoke, broken sentences and all. Without thinking, the hand that wasn't holding the package shot out. Cloud was already placing that hand on the back of his little brother's neck. It was a gesture that he would use with both Denzel and Marlene when they were upset. Maybe it would help to ground them both, keep them from spiraling.
"What are you sorry for?" he asked. "Don't be sorry for being alive."
Somewhere, he is sure that Zack and Aerith are wanting to burn holes into the back of his head. That was what they were trying to tell him all along.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-12 04:17 pm (UTC)It's crazy just how much that simple contact makes a difference - it doesn't stop the tears but it does make Prompto feel immediately a thousand times better. He hasn't had a lot of physical contact from other people over the years and he's admittedly a little touch-starved for it.
He almost throws himself forward for a hug, but he's still second guessing if that would be welcome, so instead he just revels in the contact he does have, lifting a hand to swipe quickly at his eyes before his brother thinks he's still a total crybaby.
(He doesn't think Cloud would judge him for it, they're not kids anymore, but it's one of those stupid thoughts that just pops up while he's still trying to process the situation)
"I..." he's sorry for running? For not looking for Cloud? For not being there for their mother? All of it, but it's hard to give voice to any of those thoughts so he just shrugs helplessly.
"I'm not sorry about that. I'm glad. I'm glad I get to see you again."
no subject
Date: 2024-03-12 04:57 pm (UTC)Hearing the response has him huffing, a humorless laugh. Good, don't apologize for being here and seemingly well. The rest of whatever they are feeling? They can address that in time, because they now have that. Time to deal with this new discovery and to learn about one another as well. It seemed like the planet itself was offering little blessings here and there. While the world would rebuild, they could do that too. The irony of it all doesn't escape Cloud at all.
"For the longest time I thought it was just Tifa and me," Cloud admitted. "I should have looked harder."
That was all he was going to say for the time being. He didn't know if there were other staff here or if anyone could overhear the conversations. Cloud didn't want to risk that since there were some things that would probably need to be explained. Those were not topics to be shared with anyone other than Prompto, if they even get to that point. He shifted the box in his arm still.
"C'mon. Gotta be a place we can talk?"
no subject
Date: 2024-03-17 04:08 pm (UTC)"Tifa got out too?" Prompto asks, eyes wide and relieved - there's still so many others lost, yes, but after so many years of dealing with the tragedy it's good to hear that even one more life was saved.
He shakes his head at the comment, though, because how would Cloud have even found him? He'd ended up in the middle of, even if Cloud had known to look it would have been difficult, and how would he have known?
"Right, yea," he laughs a little sheepishly on realising that they're just standing there and that he has a house right there where they can have this conversation much more comfortably.
"Let me take that," he says first, motioning to the package that must be getting heavy by now "and we can go talk in the house, it's just me living there now so we won't be disturbed."
no subject
Date: 2024-03-17 06:16 pm (UTC)At the mention of the package, he looked down towards it. Cloud shook his head, glancing back up to his little brother. There were times when Cloud moved that the mako in his eyes stood out more than others. Mako that hadn't been there before when he had come home as part of the mission back then.
"I got it," Cloud answered instead. "Barely weighs anything, really."
Enchanced strength and all of that, mind.
sorry for the delay!
Date: 2024-03-30 02:32 pm (UTC)Prompto smiles brightly at the news that there might be others out there, that maybe they didn't lose everyone, though in truth he's more pleased to have his brother back than anything else.
His breath catches momentarily when Cloud looks back up and he can see the difference in his brother's eyes, his own widening slightly in turn - confusion and curiosity plain. It vanishes as quickly as it appeared and he nods slightly, huffing a soft laugh.
"Suit yourself." he says with a shrug, turning with a wave of his hand to indicate Cloud should follow as he leads the way.
He goes to the stables first, motioning at the open door.
"Just drop it inside there, I'll take a look at it later." He says, waiting until Cloud has done just that before leading the rest of the way to the little farmhouse across the yard.
Inside, it's quite a nice space. A little cluttered but tidy, full of the various acoutrements of a life rearing chocobos. They enter into a hallway, a living room on one side visible with a stack of boxes against one wall, but Prompto turns the other way, into the homey little kitchen with a large dining table taking up the middle. He gathers up some of the paperwork spread across its surface and moves it to the side, motioning for Cloud to take a seat.
"Uh, can I get you a drink or anything? Something to eat?"
all good!
Date: 2024-04-01 01:56 am (UTC)Instead he huffed, amused, and followed his little brother to the stables. Cloud went ahead and set the box down, the package a bit heavier than what it appeared to be. He brushed off his hands and hummed an affirmative. Then it was the trip to the house - where he was able to get a good look at where Prompto had ended up. Where he was able to look at his little brother and see how he had changed over the years. Cloud would lament the time lost, but... No sense in it. It was something out of his control and Cloud finally made peace with that.
At first, Cloud is a little awkward moving down the hallway and entering the kitchen. It was an unknown space to him and this situation was... Well it was as if the weight of it all was starting to really hit him as he looked around at all of the belongings. The things that made a house a home. These were the things that would tell him a bit about how Prompto lived now.
He startled at the sound of the other's voice, torn from his thoughts. Oh right. Sitting. Cloud shook his head, not feeling like he could eat or drink anything as he sat down. "No, I'm fine."
Augh. That sounded awkward even to him.
"So.... Chocobos?"
Re: all good!
Date: 2024-04-03 04:09 pm (UTC)Prompto feels the tension building as they head inside, suddenly self conscious about everything from the boxes in the living room to the papers on the table to the fact that Cloud apparently doesn't want anything to drink. His mind supplies him with increasingly wild theories about how much his brother is judging him and his life despite the lack of any evidence that Cloud is judging him at all.
He laughs a little awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. He realises he's just kind of hovering so slides into a seat across from Cloud before he answers.
"Yea.. uh... this is kinda where I ended up, when I ran. The old guy that owned this place let me stay the night, then he let me stay longer in return for helping out and..." he shrugs "I liked the work so I stuck around. He didn't have any other family, so when he died last year he, uh, he left the ranch to me...."
no subject
Date: 2024-04-03 07:18 pm (UTC)Poor attempt at humor, but it was there. Cloud wasn't making fun of Prompto's lifestyle or where he was in life. If anything, something nice and quiet wouldn't be too bad at all. In all actuality, Cloud was glad that his little brother was able to have a life. A childhood and someone that was there for him when Cloud and their mother couldn't be.
"The bird I met out there seemed really attached," he said, thinking of what else to say. "I'm not really... Good at this sort of thing. Talking thing."
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Date: 2024-04-08 11:09 pm (UTC)"Hey!" Prompto protests, but the offended look on his face is entirely feigned, and it's clear he's trying hard not to smile. It's stupid, but there's something about being teased by his big brother again, after all this time, that has warmth blossoming in his chest. It might have been a poor attempt, but it was enough.
"Hey, no, it's okay," he reassures quickly, smiling slightly "it's a pretty weird situation, it's not like either of us woke up this morning knowing we were going to see each other again, and 'catching up with the brother you thought was dead' isn't a totally common conversation topic to prepare for."
He'd always been the more talkative one anyway, and even he can be pretty awkward at times.
"You're right, though, Tiny is pretty attached. He'll be sitting outside the door sulking because I didn't let him in," he laughs slightly "I, um, well I kinda rescued him? I found him when he was just a chick and he was injured, that's actually how I ended up coming here in the first place, I was just trying to bring him back home..."
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Date: 2024-04-08 11:54 pm (UTC)"Rescued how?"
This was a better way to start a conversation. Ask about Prompto first. Getting into all of Cloud's nonsense was going to be a headache. He didn't know if he needed to explain or should explain. Would Prompto be able to understand? Accept it?
At least this was a lighter and safer topic. For now.
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Date: 2024-04-11 04:20 pm (UTC)"Nothing that dramatic," Prompto admits with a sheepish laugh, blushing a little "I just kinda stumbled across him and wanted to help..."
He'd been scared and lost and alone himself, and he didn't know how to fix that problem for him, but he could try and find a way to help the poor little injured chocobo chick.
It had helped both of them, in the end.
"But what about you? The delivery thing? How'd you get into that?" He prompts, wanting to know everything but figuring that's as good a place as any to start.
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Date: 2024-04-14 04:54 pm (UTC)Prompto then had to ask about Cloud. At least it was only the delivery business. It was a safer topic, he supposed, but it would likely lead into other topics. They'd handle those things one at a time, Cloud figured. For now, he would answer that much.
"After Meteorfall, it seemed like a better way to help the world rebuild than just being a merc," he answered. "Reeve keeps trying to rope me into the WRO, but I think I can do more good this way."
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Date: 2024-04-24 09:59 am (UTC)Prompto smiles a little - it's a nice thought, that he might still have something in common with Cloud after all these years, not least because he'd always looked up to his big brother. It makes him wonder, too, what events are on Cloud's mind when he says that - he wants to ask, but he has so many other questions he stops himself from blurting it out and instead just adds it to the list.
"Yea?" Prompto asks, interested "What kind of things do you deliver?"
If he's doing it to help people, to do good, Prompto figures he's delivering things like medicine or food or whatever else people needed to rebuild their lives, but he's still interested to hear it from Cloud.
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Date: 2024-05-27 04:35 am (UTC)In other words, Cloud wasn't particularly picky. He would pick up what jobs were available to him. Reeve, on the other hand, was a friend. The man was Shinra, but at least he was trying to do something good for the planet now. Now Cloud suspected that the funds weren't all from Reeve, but he didn't want to entertain the possibility of Rufus having any sort of hands in the WRO.
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Date: 2024-05-28 11:02 pm (UTC)Prompto laughs at the comment - it's not that funny, but underneath all the complicated emotions that seeing Cloud again has triggered there is a simple, straightforward joy at having his beloved brother back when he never thought that was even possible. Despite everything, it makes his smiles - and his laughs - come a little easier than normal, and he's not exactly an unhappy person normally.
"Do you enjoy it?" He asks, because truthfully he thinks that's the most important part, seeing Cloud alive and well is one thing, but Prompto also wants to know that he's happy.