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fandomweekly2020-07-19 09:59 am
wallwalker) wrote in fandomweekly2020-07-19 09:59 am
Entry tags:
[#60] Worriers, FFVII
Theme Prompt: #060 – Careless
Title: Worriers
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Rating/Warnings: PG / None
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 600
Summary: Tifa hears too many people worrying over Barret and Marlene.
---
Tifa has heard too many people worrying about Barret and his daughter.
It's never very loud. Most of the people around town like Barret; he's helped the Watch more than almost anyone else, and he's always willing to defend the slums when the beasts break through. People say good things about him most of the time, even when they don't realize she's listening. When they are annoyed with him, it's usually small things - "Why is he always yelling??" is a common one, and he usually greets it with a boisterous laugh when someone gets drunk enough to ask him to his face.
The ones that she doesn't like, though, are the ones she hears when he's out carrying Marlene around, giving her a ride on his shoulder or even just holding her hand. "Do you think he's being careful enough?" she once heard a woman ask a friend, under her breath. "He's just so big and strong!"
Or it's some variation on what one older man said to his wife, when they didn't know she was behind them. "A guy like that with a little kid? Do you think he's ever, you know, accidentally hurt her? I know he wouldn't mean it, but with that arm he might not be able to help it."
She always wants to set them straight. She has watched Barret and Marlene play together, and he has never once done anything that might hurt her. He's big and strong, yeah, but he's careful. He treats Marlene like she's the most important thing in the world,; Tifa might not know all about their past, but she's lost enough to understand why he might feel that way.
But she doesn't need to. The one time she tried, with the woman who had feared he wasn't being careful enough, Barret had turned around, Marlene still on his shoulder. She was holding on to his big strong arm beside her, and he was cradling her with his hand, very gently. She'd barely gotten a word out before he'd looked at her, smiling sadly, and walked over. "Relax," he told her, his voice quiet for once, "I've got this."
She'd wanted to ask if he was sure. But one look in his eyes, and she'd decided that whatever she'd had to say wasn't as important. Maybe she didn't know what had happened to him, but she knew a bone-deep pain when she saw it. He probably knew it when he saw it in her, too. "Okay. I'll be over there," she'd said, and quickly walked away.
She didn't know what he said to those ladies. She knew that he never once frowned, and she could see the sadness in his brown eyes even from a distance. But she wasn't good enough at reading lips to tell what he'd said. But she saw the ladies bow their heads, and one of them gave him a pat on the shoulder. She didn't need to read lips to know that was an apology.
"You okay?" she asked when he came back. Marlene, who was still holding on to her father, didn't say anything; she was still getting used to all of the new people, at the time.
"It's nothing I haven't handled before," he answered, and then gave her a smile. "C'mon, let's go get some breakfast."
That word had gotten through Marlene's sensory fog. "Brekfist!" she'd repeated, smiling, and Barret had just chuckled.
She'd stopped worrying about it after that. She mostly felt sorry for the people who said those things; they were only proving that Barret wasn't the careless one.
Title: Worriers
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Rating/Warnings: PG / None
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 600
Summary: Tifa hears too many people worrying over Barret and Marlene.
---
Tifa has heard too many people worrying about Barret and his daughter.
It's never very loud. Most of the people around town like Barret; he's helped the Watch more than almost anyone else, and he's always willing to defend the slums when the beasts break through. People say good things about him most of the time, even when they don't realize she's listening. When they are annoyed with him, it's usually small things - "Why is he always yelling??" is a common one, and he usually greets it with a boisterous laugh when someone gets drunk enough to ask him to his face.
The ones that she doesn't like, though, are the ones she hears when he's out carrying Marlene around, giving her a ride on his shoulder or even just holding her hand. "Do you think he's being careful enough?" she once heard a woman ask a friend, under her breath. "He's just so big and strong!"
Or it's some variation on what one older man said to his wife, when they didn't know she was behind them. "A guy like that with a little kid? Do you think he's ever, you know, accidentally hurt her? I know he wouldn't mean it, but with that arm he might not be able to help it."
She always wants to set them straight. She has watched Barret and Marlene play together, and he has never once done anything that might hurt her. He's big and strong, yeah, but he's careful. He treats Marlene like she's the most important thing in the world,; Tifa might not know all about their past, but she's lost enough to understand why he might feel that way.
But she doesn't need to. The one time she tried, with the woman who had feared he wasn't being careful enough, Barret had turned around, Marlene still on his shoulder. She was holding on to his big strong arm beside her, and he was cradling her with his hand, very gently. She'd barely gotten a word out before he'd looked at her, smiling sadly, and walked over. "Relax," he told her, his voice quiet for once, "I've got this."
She'd wanted to ask if he was sure. But one look in his eyes, and she'd decided that whatever she'd had to say wasn't as important. Maybe she didn't know what had happened to him, but she knew a bone-deep pain when she saw it. He probably knew it when he saw it in her, too. "Okay. I'll be over there," she'd said, and quickly walked away.
She didn't know what he said to those ladies. She knew that he never once frowned, and she could see the sadness in his brown eyes even from a distance. But she wasn't good enough at reading lips to tell what he'd said. But she saw the ladies bow their heads, and one of them gave him a pat on the shoulder. She didn't need to read lips to know that was an apology.
"You okay?" she asked when he came back. Marlene, who was still holding on to her father, didn't say anything; she was still getting used to all of the new people, at the time.
"It's nothing I haven't handled before," he answered, and then gave her a smile. "C'mon, let's go get some breakfast."
That word had gotten through Marlene's sensory fog. "Brekfist!" she'd repeated, smiling, and Barret had just chuckled.
She'd stopped worrying about it after that. She mostly felt sorry for the people who said those things; they were only proving that Barret wasn't the careless one.