[Still, in spite of that, she doesn't think much of it yet as she leans over him with another lopsided smile and even a laugh. Her ponytail falls over her shoulder to tickle his nose, and with her now free hand after setting the glass down, she runs it through his hair combing it back again to keep his forehead cool.]
[Eria barely looks up from where she's laying on the couch, and Tifa hears a low, lamenting whine from her.]
Alright...
[Her voice falls away the longer she stares down at him, and it's only now that she can see just how much volume and floof that his hair has gained just from her brushing her fingers through it. It's... bigger than she's ever seen it before, like a cloud, or a shaggy dog after it's shaken the water from its fur...
...
Her eyes go wide, and she tears her eyes away before she can either laugh or sigh.]
Um, l-let me just...
[Tifa pulls on her other hand, but it doesn't budge. So, she pulls again.
[It's definitely for the best, and she's not going to tell him a thing... Hopefully by the time he actually manages to get up and go to a mirror, that floof will have died down a little. Okay, no. A lot. Tifa didn't think it would get that bad.
Except as Eustace rolls onto his side with his help like he's a giant egg, Tifa's hand goes with him, until there's a sharp peeling noise when she tries to tear it off like a bandaid...
And rips it away like one, the force of it sending her reeling backwards.]
[That strange weight on his head might be the hair, but she's going to continue to pretend not to see it.
But now that he's getting up, or trying to, she's going to stand and rush to the kitchen, doing her best to keep her footfalls light so that she doesn't stick to the floor any more than she already has, so that she can get him some more water. With more ice.]
Here... Drink.
[And when she returns with it, she brings it to his lips so that he doesn't have to lift a finger to hold it. Now she's just being fussy.]
Have you tried a cold shower? Or a bath?
[That question is for both Eustace and Eria, but she thinks she already knows the answer: GRRROOOOOAAAAN.]
[He managed to get himself up far enough where he's propped up by his hand, but still not quite sitting. He's afraid he might fall over he did. But he will be grateful for the water, gulping it down until it's empty.]
We did... Earlier... Even dunked my head under the sink... But it wasn't enough...
[Well, at least that's a better answer than she anticipated.]
I see...
[Just another subtle but pointed glance up at his hair. Well, that explains that, and the puddle of water that had formed around his head while he was still lying down.]
Well, I have some ice cream if you—ah! I almost forgot...!
[Immediately, Tifa sets the glass down and leaps to her feet to rush back to the door. She'd left the groceries there when she came in to complete silence, and now...
Eustace will hear a sad "oh no..." come from the front entrance of the house, followed by a dripping as Tifa walks back into the room with two bags soaked with melted ice cream.]
[Melody, on the other hand, is quite excited about this new turn of events, and she hops out of Eustace's lap to lick the trail of spilled ice cream on the floor. How quickly she gave up the role of supportive grandchild for a treat...
As for the rest of the groceries...]
Ah... [Tifa gives him an apologetic look and lifts up the bags a little higher to show how soaked through they are.] Looks like everything else got ruined, too.
[Hearing him accuse himself though, she immediately drops them to the floor and rushes to him, as Melody tries to climb into one of them now.....]
But it's not your fault, though. I was more worried that... something bad had happened...
[A very wild direction. He just took a very sharp turn in that Tifa wasn't expecting, and now she can't help but furrow her brows in confusion at him.]
Train...? For what?
[Do not be ridiculous, husband. Or... oh no... did he take those words to heart? Did he hear them and run with it?]
You know I was only joking when I talked about it taking you down, yeah?
[She's going to go to him, immediately wrapping her arm around him when he tries to get up to steady him, but even she's beginning to stick even more to the floor now...
...
This could be a problem.]
And how are you going to do that? You can barely handle this as it is.
[Sorry, Eustace, but she is just going to say it straight.
Yep, the heat has definitely gotten to his head. Is he sure he isn't suffering from a heat stroke right now? Does she need to take him to the doctor?]
[Well, he's made it this far, and while Tifa isn't going to let go of the "training" thing yet, she's going to focus more on trying to balance him—and herself—as he tries to stand.]
You mean like... heat training? There are probably some nice saunas you could try up on the dragon isla—ah!
[As soon as she tries to get up, she finds that her own leg is stuck to the floor, and rather than stand, Tifa ends up collapsing underneath him, falling right down to where he had been lying just moments before.]
[She also twists in an attempt to catch him, only to end up hugging him to her as if she means to break his fall. She does, and it's a very cushiony one as her arms pull him right into her chest. Right in there. And as a result, Tifa ends up with her back right against the floor...
Stuck between it and Eustace.
Quite literally.
She can feel their bodies almost molding together with the sweat and humidity that immediately starts to form between them and yet, the one thing she is worried about most is—]
Are you alright!?
[And in all of that, she has no idea that her hair has started to gain a life of its own, just like his...]
[Tifa wouldn't mind it either, and honestly, she doesn't mind it so much in the moment. They are married after all, and she would rather this than him faceplanting on the floor, but all of that changes as soon as—]
Eustace, what are you—
[His hands are moving all over while he tries to clamber out of there, but everything is a messy combination of sticky and slippery that she can feel his grip missing until he's only burrowing deeper into her bosom.]
Oh my god, please...!
[She tries to work with him to help, but her own hands only slip on his shoulders when she tries to grab him.
It isn't that she is embarrassed that he's there but rather... CAN HE BREATHE!?!?!?
It doesn't help that her panic is making the temperature spike to such heights that steam has started to fill the room.]
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