Just a quick Author's Note! Each chapter will follow a different pairing in a pattern. Tifa, Aerith, Yuffie and repeat. So as much as this chapter is CloTi centred, the next will be Zerith and after that Yuffentine then repeat! c: Hope you enjoy!
Towering metal gates loomed ahead, creating a perfect barrier between the pitch black night and the dazzling beams used to illuminate the prodigious Mansion and its surrounding land. Light bounced off of our dresses' sequins and diamantes inside of the beautiful – yet insanely expensive- rental car. Honestly, who spends such a large amount of money on renting a fancy car to drop you at a door and be on their way? I'm not entirely sure why Aerith insisted on the rental car but I imagine it has something to do with appearances and trying to impress people. That woman tries too hard. Trembling fingers and legs that would not sit still gave away my anxiety and my stomach lurched every time my mind drifted to the night I had ahead of me. Thank goodness I had a mask to hide behind, without it I felt entirely vulnerable; naked and bare for all to laugh at. I've never been to a Masquerade Ball before, how am I supposed to act? Was I supposed to bring a gift? Do I have to curtsey? Oh boy, this is going to be a long night.
"Whoa, this place is huuuuge!" Yuffie was as nervous as I was, but the good kind of nervous. Her adrenaline fuelled her; the young ninja raring to go as soon as the car door was open. Aerith, however, looked as calm and collected as always. As if she felt my nervousness, she smiled at me and squeezed my shaking hands, her motherly touch calming me slightly.
"You'll be fine, Tifa." She assured me. The car rolled up the long drive, slowing behind a line of other cars as elegant woman adorned in jewels and sleek dresses and men in tailored suits stepped out of their –most likely rented- cars. Staring at the black lace mask in my hands; I raised it to my eyes and tied the knot behind my head, failing a few times due to my fingers refusing to cooperate. Our car reached the doorway and as I took a look around, making sure I'd grabbed my purse, I reached to open my door only to have it opened for me.
I successfully exited the car as elegantly as possible, for everyone knows exiting a vehicle in six-inch heels and a dress as form fitting as a second skin was not an easy task. My dignity still intact, I turned to Aerith and Yuffie, seeking their refuge. Aerith, in a long, baby pink dress made of light material that caught the gentle breeze and blew around her, making her evermore ethereal than I thought possible, stood beside Yuffie: in a green, kimono style dress with black embroidery. Yuffie now looked older than she did when in her usual shorts and shirt combo, the green of her dress making her porcelain skin and dark hair very striking. Her whole image screamed the word "venom" and I couldn't stop my mind from comparing her to a viper. Although I knew Yuffie loved the thrill of stealing, she really was just a big child and liked to look tougher than she actually was. The Great Ninja Yuffie would forever be The White Rose of Wutai inside. With their faces hidden behind masks – Aerith in a mask covered in flowers to remind her of her church and Yuffie in a green bandit mask- I couldn't help but smile at the fact that we could be whoever we wanted to be tonight.
We walked to the door, and following Aerith, I watched her hand the invitation –granting entry to her plus two guests- to a man dressed in a red and gold suit jacket that all staff seemed to wear here.
"Good Evening and welcome to Master Fair's Fairly Mystical Masquerade Ball." I stifled a giggle as Yuffie's jaw dropped noticeably, for she'd been challenging herself to read the invitation over and over in the car and couldn't manage to say the name almost half the speed of what this young man had done. Aerith walked as if in a daze from painting to painting that lined the walls of the hallway. I followed her slowly, hearing the deep chuckle of the young doorman as Yuffie asked him to teach her how to master tongue twisters so easily. I turned around to see the two slowly saying each word together. Knowing that Yuffie would wander off even if I hung around to wait for her, I turned back to follow Aerith only to realise she was already gone, probably enchanted by the beautiful paintings hung on the walls of the mansion that was so obviously created by a very talented architecture that had poured life and love into every carefully carved pillar and chiselled walls. Following the lush red carpet beneath my feet, I reached the massive and incredibly impressive ballroom.
Adrenaline burned in my stomach as I saw so many faces, so many people I knew nothing about. My mind flickered between fight and flight. Crowds would gather at Seventh Heaven all hours of the day and night, what difference was this event? Seeking a little liquid courage to remind me of my personal heaven, my eyes darted around the room looking for a bar. There, in the far corner, a sleek marble-top counter was tucked away, a lone barman serving up drinks to be taken out on trays by more men and women in red and gold coats. People seemed to be avoiding the bar, but I put it down to people wanting to spend more time socialising and dancing than waiting for a drink to be prepared for them. Seeing as I had no one to socialise nor dance with, waiting for a drink didn't seem like such a burden, besides; Bartenders always talk to their customers so grabbing a drink and a conversation didn't seem so bad.
Pushing my way through the crowd, many just standing talking while listening to the music rather than dancing, I made it to the bar fairly quickly. Taking a seat on an empty stool I pulled my heels out of the torture devices Aerith had deemed "stripper heels" and rested them on the cold stone floor, breathing a sigh of release.
"Can I help you?" A man grunted almost angrily at me. I looked up from my feet to see where the voice had come from. There stood the barman, at least I assume he was the barman, he wasn't wearing the usual red and gold of the staff outfit but instead, he wore a black long sleeve, button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. His back was facing me as he fixed what looked like a tray of Vodka Martinis.
"Sorry, if you're busy I can wait?" I almost stumbled over my words in attempt to get them out as quickly as possible, smooth Tifa.
"Yeah, I am busy. So if you don't mind could you-"his voice was angry but his words seemed to get stuck in his throat as he turned around to face me after setting the drinks on the bar to be served. Bright blue eyes almost lost under a fringe of spiked blonde hair, stared at me as if he could see right through my mask. Letting out a loud sigh; he ran his hands through the spiked strands of blonde hair and walked over to me, his handsome features softening to a more relaxed pose.
"My apologies, I'm a little stressed. What may I get you?" He spoke the apology as if it were rehearsed, no feeling, and no truth behind it. I had a feeling he'd been told off for talking to guests the way he'd treated me and was given that very excuse to replay to anyone he mistreated. I understood the stress of running a bar by yourself. I also understood that you can lash out at someone when under stress, so he was forgiven.
A small smile played across my face.
"Got any beer?" He seemed completely shocked and stared at me like I was crazy, one perfect blonde eyebrow raised slightly.
"Urm, yeah. Draught or bottle?"
"Draught. Although, do me a favour? Make it look all sophisticated, yeah? My friend would kill me if she saw me drinking anything less than martinis in a place like this."
"Heh, yeah sure." He reached for a glass that looked hand crafted and pretty darn expensive. Wouldn't find something like that in Seventh Heaven. I watched him pour my drink, my eyes wandering up his sculpted forearms until I reached his shoulders. The shirt he wore told no lies and showed cords of hard earned muscle flexing beneath his skin with every movement. My eyes dropped to my hands resting on the marble top, admiring the natural made patterns in the stone, before snapping back to my drink as he set it down in front of me. I looked up at him to thank him, a deep blush resting on my cheeks as I found his eyes already staring into mine. I never said thank you and quickly focused on my drink to get away from his eyes that told me he knew that I had been looking and that I liked what I'd seen. My face burned brighter and I took refuge in my drink. Ah, the comforting smell of alcohol. I took a sip, visibly relaxing as the slight burn of the liquid nipped my throat.
"Oh, I needed that." I moaned from the pleasure of it all. His lips twitched into a small smile as he washed and dried a glass that had been returned to the bar.
"You know, for a bartender you don't talk much."
"That would be because I'm not a bartender." He stated, slight anger returning to his features.
I gasped dramatically.
"An imposter?! Inside Master Fair's Fairly Mystical Masquerade Ball?! How very daring, I should rally the guards." I joked, trying to break the ice. He exhaled quickly in a silent laugh and turned to me as I took another sip of my beer.
"Go ahead. Rally the guards; maybe they'll finally get me out of this place!" He stared me down, laughter in his voice but also sincerity. Huh, looks like we were in the same boat.
"Masquerade ball's not your scene, huh?" I asked.
"You could say that. I'm not very good with people."
"Really? Well, I never could've guessed." I smirked at him and he shook his head at my sarcasm with another small – but breathtaking- smile on his lips.
"So, why did you take the job then? If you're not a bartender, why are you here, tending a bar?" I gestured at the marble top, spreading my arms over the counter like a show girl advertising a new car. His eyes dropped momentarily to my cleavage. Well, I guess I advertised that like a show girl too.
"I'm a friend of Master Fair. He didn't realise that when you put plus 2 guests on an invitation, a lot of people show up and he was understaffed, so I stepped in." He dropped his eyes back to washing and drying glasses as he talked. He put a lot of emphasis on the "Master." Out of jealousy or just making fun I couldn't tell. I opened my mouth to reply when three red and gold clad men arrived, each carrying two trays filled with empty glasses.
"Cloud, we need four trays of Vodka martinis, a tray of Appletinis and a tray of Gin and Tonics." The bartender's head dropped a little, hands grasped the counter top as if trying to gain some self control and anger returned to his features once again.
"And be quick about it, Cloud." One of the men said before they all set the trays down and scurried off into the crowd to fetch more glasses. The Bartender snapped his head up to look at the back of the retreating man, his hands flexing and chest heaving deep, angry breaths.
"Cloud." I almost whispered, unsure as to whether or not it was his name.
His head twisted round to look at me and I could see the stress and exhaustion in his eyes. Gentleness graced his features as I took his attention from the demanding staff.
"Would you like some help?" I asked, but to be perfectly honest, I wasn't going to give him much of a choice. He looked back down to all the glasses he had to wash as well as what he had to serve, a hand came up to rub the back of his neck and before he could say anything I had gathered a handful of my dress and my shoes before climbing over the bar and giggling as he stared at me like I was a woman gone mad. I stashed my shoes behind the bar and began to untie the lace mask before scrunching it up and using it as a ribbon and tying my hair up off of my back.
Cloud's eyes watched my every move and I pretended not to notice his eyes drift lower until he'd reached the bottom of my dress, slowly drinking in the curves the gown did nothing to hide, before his eyes journeyed back up to my face. I hope he knew I'd seen him looking and that he had liked what he had seen. I walked over to him, enjoying his faint blush and the hint of desire in his eyes as I stood right next to him before I plunged my hands into the sink and flicked water in his face.
"Better get to work, Cloud." I said quietly as he was very, very close. I suppressed a shiver as he leaned in close to reach behind me and grab a towel to dry his face, a smirk gracing his lips the whole time.
"Sure thing, Boss." He mock saluted after his face was sufficiently dry and went on his way gathering ingredients for the drinks.
"My name's Tifa." I said quietly, far too quiet for him to hear, I thought.
"Sure thing, Tifa." He repeated, putting emphasis on my name, and oh did it sound heavenly. I could hear the smile in his voice as a blush burned from my chest to my face. What had I gotten myself into?