here at the honeybee inn. / open

[makopoison]

[ they tell him he won't make soldier. no amount of training can fix a weakness of the soul. the mako doesn't agree with him - he's bedridden for three days after the initial test, and upon discharge, told he'll nnot be allowed to apply again. on the very same day he'd tendered his resignation, apologizing to his squadmates for letting them down, and left a message to the turk who had helped him on the trains as well as zack fair, thanking them for their belief in him, however ill-placed.

he was left with no choice but to improvise. there was nothing to return home to in nibelheim, no reason to quietly endure further ridicule and a lifetime of being ostracized, but no way he could live on the plate with the sky-high rent and the soul-sucking jobs requiring more skill than country boy can provide. he isn't the first SOLDIER washout to be too ashamed to go home, and he knows he won't be the last. the slums are full of them. he'd found himself lost, wandering lost in the shadow of the plate. sector five was bright and flashy but he wasn't equipped to deal with pickpockets and gangs. the better part of the day was spent utterly terrified, certain he was going to die here tonight and no one would ever know because he'd been too damn stupid to tell them his plans.

don corneo's men saw an easy mark for the coliseum. promising big money and a place to sleep - but a hand on his shoulder, a whisper in his ear, i could make you a star, darling - offered him something better.

andrea rhodea had smiled so charmingly and with such faith he'd decided he was in before he even heard the offer.

( they'd suggested claudia for his stagename, not knowing it was his mothers. he'd balked, almost shouting no, because while the rhinestones and glitter were rapidly becoming just another part of his world - he couldn't imagine the humiliation of anyone he knew knowing this. shame had consumed so much of his life, dictated so much of what he enjoyed - he refused to let it ruin this too. )

so cirrus was born. and cirrus was a fucking hit.

and he hadn't been lying. cloud's androgynous features were a smash with the customer-base. he was a quick learner, a hell of a dancer, and not too bad of a fighter. he was a star - and it came with glitz, and glamour, and gil, but no glory.

the usual showstopper was done for the night. cloud, center-stage, dancing to a flashy new routine in a uniform somewhere between the men's snappy suits and the women's bulky bee costume. he's fanning himself in the changing room, huffing out a breath as he counts down the minutes until the end of his shift, when one of the girls tells him he's been requested for a private show. ]

Seriously? I'm almost off the clock. Can't someone else -

[ it's someone important, she says, shaking her head. classified. you know what that means.

the blonde pulls a face.

don't worry, it doesn't look like an exec. she adds hastily. but you better move.

he sighs. turns back to the mirror to wipe away any evidence of exertion and heads for the room. ]

Comments

[plate_builder]

[He's serious. Reeve keeps staring.]

That's a bit of a mess, isn't it? I don't buy the line. This is not what you'd desire, I expect. An awkward man such as myself.

[makopoison]

[ he raises an eyebrow. ]

There are men who'd turn their noses up at sleeping with me, too. Would that stop you from it?

[plate_builder]

If the circumstances were different?

[If they were different, he'd try to catch the younger man's eye. But as they stood...]

But they are not different. So the question is moot I suppose.

[makopoison]

Then we don't have to do anything.

[ so, like, time to just wait out the clock he guesses? ugh. he wants to go to bed. ]

For what it's worth, Reeve, they probably sent you here to try to act out some dark fantasy. Not to be the perfect gentleman and have a nice night.

[plate_builder]

Dark fantasy?

[What? Why would that be a thing?]

But, I'm... I try to be a gentleman.

[makopoison]

[ he really doesn't know, does he. ]

And you have been.

[plate_builder]

[Listen, he's just a very nice man. Or tries to be.]

Good. Were i not, my mother would no doubt chew my ear off about it. She'd say that big city life was ruining the country manners she prides herself on.

[But really, what was the point to those manners in so cruel a world as this?]

[makopoison]

You're from the country?

[plate_builder]

As from the county as any farm-kid. Though i didn't stay there. Drawn by the need to be something different, something new.

[Many people in the city were from places outside of Midgar.]

[makopoison]

[ well, that's uncomfortably close to home. ]

Unlike many of us, you actually found real success.

[plate_builder]

[Was this success? Reeve didn't think so. He sighed and lifted his wrist to check his watch. Not enough time. He didn't want to see like a quick finisher.]

Perhaps I have. Or perhaps I sold my soul

[makopoison]

The cost of entering Midgar is your soul. It's what you do with it that matters.

[plate_builder]

What one does with their soul? I thought we agreed that we lost it coming here?

[Now he was smiling.]

All I hope to buy with mine is as much as I can get for people who can't get as good a trade in.

[makopoison]

That's noble, but condescending.

[plate_builder]

I do not think you're wrong.

[In fact, he chuckles a little at the statement. Cloud continues to sass him, and Reeve just takes it.]

You're not wrong at all. But perhaps, if that condescension can help feed one more family, build one more home... isn't it worth it?

[makopoison]

People down here might not accept the help if you don't understand where they're coming from. [ cloud points out. ] And even if you did - all of it is pointless with the way things are run...

[ he crosses and uncrosses his legs, nice and slow. ]

The Don's men would buy the property and jack up the cost so only topsiders can afford it.

[plate_builder]

[How could he ever understand where they are coming from? Reeve has been lucky. He knows this. Doesn't even point that out because, well, he can't help the way his eyes follow the movement of Cloud's legs. Goddess help him, he's beautiful.]

I cannot fathom why topsiders would wish to buy property under the plates.