Whatever Happened To Us?
by ShinRa Bleeding Beauty
Author's Note: This starts in Junon when Rufus et al had managed to capture Tifa and Barret... and remember that she's unconscious for 7 days?
Anyway, I have read other fics with Tifa and Rufus meeting each other when they were younger (like in pre-game?). And if you've read them, maybe you'd like a dose of this... And I hope you like it.
"Alright, bring them inside one of the prison rooms." Barret heard Heidegger command to the First Class SOLDIERs. He looked over the railing of the Highwind with a worried look on his face. He was not sure what really happened but whatever came through them really knocked the lights out of Tifa. She was still lying on the floor, unmoving. He heard SOLDIERs marching towards them. "What the... hey! Don't touch her like that!" he snapped angrily at them as he pushed one of the SOLDIERs away from his friend. One of the SOLDIERs attempted to just drag her out of the Highwind.
"Hey, I thought that Rufus is going to ask us questions?" Barret demanded impatiently.
"Gyah! President Rufus doesn't like talking to lowlifes like you so go ahead and dream." Heidegger sneered at him before rushing back inside. Barret heard him say, "Is he alright?"
"Dammit! Don't touch me! I'm alright! It's just a bloody bump in the head... ARGH! Aren't you listening?!" answered the angry President when a few SOLDIERs attempted to assist him in walking.
Barret frowned and turned back to Tifa, kneeling down beside her and then scooping her up gently, "Hey, can I get some help over here too? I think she hit her head pretty badly..." he began.
But SOLDIERs would not listen to him. They took Tifa away from him, carrying her down the Highwind. Barret was about to go after them, but other SOLDIERs restrained him from behind. "Where are you taking her?!" he demanded angrily.
"Relax, man! We're just doing our job here! She's going to prison with you!" one of the SOLDIERs explained to him with an impatient tone.
Barret pushed them away from him. "No! I thought Rufus wanted us to come with him so that he could know more about..." he trailed off when a SOLDIER just handcuffed him without his consent. "HEY! Ya foo'! Lemme go!" he pushed the SOLDIER away.
"Sir he's too big. We'll have to put him to sleep."
"Better yet, tie him up!" Heidegger snapped impatiently.
Barret saw Scarlet step up into the Highwind with a worried look on her face. "What the..." he frowned at her. He knew at that instant that they were in big trouble... he and Tifa...
"Shit..." he mumbled under his breath before attempting to escape from those who were trying to restrain him.
After a few moments of running around away from the SOLDIERs (because he was really surrounded--there were too many of those annoying ShinRa SOLDIERs), he was interrupted when he saw Rufus getting escorted out of the Highwind by Scarlet and Heidegger. He was holding his forehead and he seemed a little wobbly when it comes to walking.
"Oh President Rufus, are you alright?" Scarlet was asking.
"Don't touch me..." he sneered at her, moving away from her with an annoyed look on his face.
"Gyah... President Rufus. Hang on in there, we're taking you to your room so that you could rest. In the meantime, we'll isolate the Prisoners first." Heidegger told him.
"Whatever... bloody hell..." Rufus mumbled, but stopped in his tracks when he heard Barret yelling from aboard the Highwind, "Hey, ya foo'! What the hell are you doing!!!?? I thought ya wanted to talk to us?!"
Rufus turned back, eyeing him rather coldly before flipping his hair and then proceeded, ignoring him.
"ARGH! You rat's ass you... ow!" Barret trailed off and yelped in pain when he felt something pierce through his skin. SOLDIERs were restraining him again and injecting some tranquilizer into his system so that he would calm down and fall asleep.
As they neared the ShinRa building in Junon, Rufus could not hear Barret's complaining anymore. "That should take care of him..." he muttered with an annoyed look on his face. "Just make sure he doesn't get out. He looks more dangerous than the girl. Where did you put her?" he asked Heidegger and Scarlet.
"Gyah... In one of the Prison rooms." Heidegger replied.
"What happened to her?" Rufus asked.
"She... was unconscious, sir... I guess she hit her head too..." Heidegger replied.
"Is she alright?" Rufus asked mindlessly, but he still sounded stiff and annoyed.
"KYAH!!! Why are you asking too many questions about her?!" Scarlet snapped impatiently.
Rufus eyed her carefully with an annoyed look on his face. "Who are you to speak like that to me? You're nothing but a bloody scum executive from Old Man's regime. Now leave me be! I don't want to see your face!" he snapped impatiently at her before pushing Heidegger away from him and proceeded on his own inside the building, walking briskly away from them.
Scarlet clenched her fists while Heidegger watched as he entered the building.
He was really beginning to feel dizzy. "Damn..." he muttered in annoyance as he made his way down the hallway. He was not really sure where he was going... but he wanted to see someone so...
He stopped in his tracks when he finally arrived at the Prisoners' area. He saw a few SOLDIERs gathered by the door of one particular cell and they were making a big fuss about something.
"Man, she's really pretty, dontchathink?" he heard one of them say.
"Yeah... it's a shame that she'll just end up dead in this place... can't one of us just have a taste of her before she kicks the bucket when she wakes up?" someone from inside asked... and he froze when he just felt something poke his back.
A double barrel shotgun.
"You are fired." Rufus muttered.
The SOLDIER slowly turned around in fear and smiled sheepishly at the President before turning to his colleagues who were watching from outside looking so frightened, as if they have all seen the Grim Reaper. Alarmed, they all just ran away, leaving Rufus inside the prison cell. The last one who ran off was the one whom he had just fired... and he accidentally closed the door based on instinct that whenever he would open a door, he would always close it.
"What the---" Rufus began as he walked over to the door but was not able to reach it because he felt excruciating pain in his head. "Oh..." he groaned as he reached for his head, grasping it in pain as he panted hard. He took a few steps backward before mindlessly turning around, looking at the unconscious young lady on the bed.
"T...Tifa..." he said softly before he finally collapsed beside her.
Some 3 years ago...
"You have to go back... if they find you here..." she trailed off.
He just shook his head as he reached for her hand and squeezed it as he remained staring at the ceiling above them.
She closed her eyes as she swallowed the lump in her throat, and then opened her eyes again with a sad look in their crimson color. "It's better that way... I'd rather you leave me like this than they forcing us apart..." she said softly with a trembling tone.
He squeezed her hand again and brought it to his lips, kissing it.
She frowned slightly and lifted her gaze to his, "Are you even listening to me, Rufus ShinRa?" she asked with a shaky tone.
His icy blue eyes just stared back at her. "Yes, Tifa Lockheart. Loud and clear." he replied with a sarcastic tone.
And he smiled gently at her.
She just looked away.
He frowned and stroked her long dark hair. "As much as I want to go back... I don't want to..." he told her.
"Why not?" she asked.
"...because you're not there." he said softly.
She was just silent, not even bothering to respond. With that, he moved away from her, surprising her with his action. He went instantly got off her bed with a frustrated look on his face before heading over to her dresser to get his clothes resting on the chair beside it. "And I'm sorry but I haven't found your Cloud in SOLDIER's records." he told her with a hard tone.
Her eyes widened. "Wh...what?" she asked.
He turned to face her again. "This is all about him, right? Even when we were much younger... back in Nibelheim, right? It's always been him! The damn bloody guy who promised to protect you... so he became a bloody SOLDIER to prove that to you?" he turned away from her, a hurtful look in his blue eyes was already showing as he examined his face in the mirror. "I just so damn look a lot like him that's why..." he clenched his fists. "...forget it... Forget it..." he mumbled.
She felt tears streaming down her face. "No, Rufus, that's not it!" she instantly got out of bed and rushed over to him, embracing him from behind.
He did not move; he just stared at their reflection in the mirror. She just leaned her head on his back as she tightened her embrace around him. "He never mattered to me the way you mattered to me, Rufus... it's true... but... I'm afraid... to lose you..." she lifted her gaze at him as she swallowed hard, "...I'm afraid that if the others find out that I... that I was... acquainted... with you..., they might keep you away from me... so I just told everyone that it's Cloud and not you..." she sobbed. "...Rufus, you don't know how hard it is for me... to pretend to love someone that I don't!" she pointed out.
He did not move. He just stared coldly at her reflection.
She smiled bitterly. "When I was a little girl, I'd stare at you from afar whenever you and your mother would be strolling around Nibelheim... and when my father found out about it, he was mad at me... he told me that you are a ShinRa... so I should stay away from you. But I... I just can't stay away..."
Mrs. ShinRa looked toward the mountains while her little boy just stood by her side. She passed by the cemetery earlier and asked what was going on, and someone informed her that a woman, Mrs. Lockheart, died. "Poor woman..." she was thinking in sadness as she went on.
That afternoon, she decided to take a stroll by the well with her son, Rufus.
When they reached that area, they realized that a lot of people were panicking already. "Oh dear... what's happening?" she mindlessly went over to one of the passersby and asked about the situation, leaving Rufus standing in the middle of the street.
He listened to the passerby telling his mother, "It's Mr. Lockheart's daughter! She ran away! Nobody knows where she went to!"
And another one saying, "What if she got lost in the forest or in the mountains!? It's dangerous there!"
The little boy's eyes widened in fear for the girl's own life. Suddenly, he wanted to look for her too... but he couldn't leave his mother... He looked around the place and saw another little boy with spiky blonde hair looking at the mountains. Rufus instantly approached him. "Hey," he greeted.
The boy turned to him with a curious look. "Huh?"
"I heard there's a girl lost... do you know her?" Rufus asked.
The boy just bowed down his head. "I'd... like to." he began.
Rufus examined the look on the boy's face. "Let's go look for her!" he told him.
Before the boy could respond, Rufus heard his mother calling him, "Rufus! Where are you?"
"Oh well, I guess you could just look for her even if I'm not with you... will you do that for me?" Rufus asked with a kind smile on his face as he pulled out his wallet and got five gil. "Here you go. As reward. I trust you'd find her." he said, handing the money to the boy with spiky hair before rushing back to his mother. "I'm here, mommy!" he responded.
...
I can't stay away...
Tifa slightly opened her eyes and groggily stared up at the dark ceiling of the prison room. She felt so heavy against the bed where she was lying down... until she realized that there was someone on top of her, unconscious. She sleepily smiled at the person and let her free hand travel up to his hair, running her fingers through it. "...Rufus..." she said softly before she lost control of herself and closed her eyes again, losing consciousness.
Several moments later, Rufus finally regained consciousness. He grunted as he forced himself to get off of her. The pain in his head was gone. He lied down on his back beside her, groaning. "What happened to me..." he muttered before finally remembering what happened. Slowly, he turned his gaze to her. He stared at her for a while before he shifted to face her and gently caressed her cheek, "Tifa?" he called out softly.
She did not move. He stared bitterly at her as he let his hands travel down to her waist, pulling her closer to him and embracing her gently. He sighed against her neck after breathing in her scent. Her scent brought back several memories to him from the past... and realized that there was no way at that moment to bring them all back together and finally keep her with him. "Why?" he whispered softly, hoping she could hear.
Admiring her face with a sad look on his face, he lightly brushed his lips against hers. "I love you." was in his mind. But he would not say it out loud.
Remembering the past, he realized that of all the times that they had been together, none of them ever said those three words to one another. They just kept it locked inside their hearts and minds... and in their souls. He felt so disappointed at himself. "Maybe... when it's all over..." he said softly in a low tone before passionately kissing her lips. But her lips felt so lifeless when he expected her to return his kiss. He wanted to cry.
"Tifa," he said stiffly through clenched teeth with a hurtful look on his face as he gently shook her.
But there was no response.
"Tifa, wake up..." he told her.
Still, she was unconscious.
"Tifa, wake up! ... please..." his facial expression softened as he let his tears fall. "I want you to hold me..." he told her with a trembling tone.
No one's ever seen him cry...
Not even at that moment.
She would never know how much he had suffered because he loved her so much...
"I want you to hold me... come on, open your eyes..." he said as he wiped his tears away and embraced her again.
It was like she was already dead even though she's not. He was not even sure if she could hear her.
Losing hope, he just leaned his forehead against hers and kissed her again, his facial expression hardening before he closed his eyes and stroked her long dark hair.
He just wanted to get away from it all...
Why wasn't he born in a normal family?
Get away...
He opened his eyes again. "Yes... get away... for a long time... and when I return, she'll be with me again... yeah..." he thought with a wicked look in his face before he slowly let go of her, but he rolled over on top of her and sat down upon her, straddling her. "...but I'll have to make sure that when I go away, she'll still be mine..." he was thinking silently.
With that, he proceeded...
When Heidegger informed Rufus of the prisoners escaping with the Highwind, he felt relieved. For the rest of the day, he remained in his office, contemplating on several things regarding his own company... and his future. And later that night, he went over to the lower docks all by himself without informing anyone. In a secluded area in that place, he met up with a long-time friend... a kind of friend that when Cloud or even his executives would find out about it, they would really make a big issue about it. However, something happened along the way, when they both realized that their plans were clashing. Both wanted the world... both wanted power... but only one can have it. So they have not really spoken for a long time after Rufus's father died, the last scheme that they had planned together.
"Sephiroth," Rufus began.
Sephiroth slowly turned his gaze towards him and smiled slightly, "Well hello there, Rufus." he greeted, leaning against a post.
Rufus joined him, leaning on the other side. They were silent for a while, back-to-back, leaning on the post...
Sephiroth was eyeing the skies, as if counting the stars. "You wanted to see me?" he asked.
Rufus just nodded.
Sephiroth placed his hands inside the pockets of his trousers, "Why?" he asked.
Rufus moved away from the post and walked over to an area full of puddles with water from the sea. But he did not reply.
Sephiroth just stared at him with a stiff look on his face, "You want to reconcile," he pointed out.
Rufus laughed mockingly at him, "Why would I even reconcile with you? The fight is not yet over." he said, turning back to face him.
Sephiroth just smiled slyly at him.
Flipping his hair, Rufus walked over to him again before speaking up, "I want you to do one last favor for me since you've already summoned the Weapons..." he said.
But just looking into his eyes, Sephiroth was already able to guess what it was. "You want me to fake your death..." he mumbled.
They stared at one another for several minutes before they both laughed in unison.
"Finally... it's over..." Barret mumbled.
They all stared at Midgar's ruins from afar.
Cloud just turned away with a contemplative look on his face.
"So... where are you going now?" Yuffie asked Cloud.
He just looked at her and then looked away again, not even bothering to answer.
"Teef?" Barret called out, turning to her. He frowned slightly when he saw her adjusting her belt. "What's wrong with you?" he asked.
"I just feel so bloated..." she said softly.
"Bloated? But a while ago you just vomited!" Yuffie pointed out.
"Vomited?" Cloud asked, turning to them.
"I... just felt nauseaous, that's all." Tifa said simply with an uncomfortable look on her face.
"When did you throw up?" Vincent asked.
"Right after we got down from the Highwind. I was with her." Yuffie replied with a suspicious look on her face. Tifa eyed her warningly, as if telling her, "Give it a rest, Yuffie..."
They were all silent for a short while before Barret declared, "Well, I have to go find Marlene." and went off.
"I'll go with you!" Tifa insisted as she ran after him, but stopped upon remembering Cloud. "Oh, Cloud, what about you?" she asked casually.
He just smiled weakly at her, "...somewhere." and turned away.
"I'll go with you for a while," Vincent said, approaching Tifa. Red XIII followed after Cloud.
Cid Highwind grumbled as he lit another cigar. "I think I'll go back to Rocket Town..." he muttered to himself.
Yuffie ran after Barret. "So, what's your daughter like?" she asked curiously.
"Nothin' like ya." he responded quite irritably.
While walking going to Sector 6, Tifa kept on glancing at the ruins of the ShinRa building with a sad look on her face.
"When we reach Elmyra's house, I think I'll be eating a lot for dinner." Barret said.
"You're gonna get fatter," Tifa teased.
"Well we haven't had a good meal ever since trouble existed because of Sephiroth and ShinRa, right? So I think we deserve a feast!" he responded.
"But without Cloud?" Yuffie asked curiously.
"Let him be. He's got problems of his own and we wouldn't want to get in his way, right?" Barret asked.
"I guess you're right..." Vincent said softly.
"Well we'd better hurry up! Just thinking about food makes my stomach grumble so baaad! Heehee!" Tifa giggled with an excited look on her face as she ran all the way, dragging Yuffie with her.
"H...hey, hey! Slow down! Argh! I might fall!!!" Yuffie complained in annoyance.
Barret laughed at the two of them as they went ahead of him and Vincent. As soon as the two had gone off, Vincent approached him, saying, "There's something strange about Tifa lately... she does seem... bloated."
"What are you tryin' to say, that she's pregnant? Get real, Valentine! Bwahahahahaha! Are you tellin' me that she did it with someone during one of the commotions? Bwahahahahaha!" Barret laughed hysterically, but Vincent just kept quiet. When Barret realized the situation, he just stopped laughing and cleared his throat. "...okay, so I've had the same thoughts in my head... that she seems different. Well... so? Maybe because she's just stressed!" he responded with an unsure look on his face.
"We'll just see..." Vincent said softly.
Three months later, it really became very obvious to everybody that Tifa has a child in her womb. Everybody felt so confused and so clueless on how or why it happened...
They could not even blame Cloud for it because Tifa swore that nothing happened between the two of them.
But one night, Tifa was just in her room, thinking about several things during the past events. She really could not remember anything...
"Gods... who is the father of this child?!" she was thinking in annoyance. She wanted to cry already. In a few months, she'll give birth... and she'll have to take care of the baby alone...
After a few weeks, she began to feel so depressed that she did not want to go out of her room anymore. Yuffie, Barret and Vincent even had to force her to eat sometimes. They also could not understand what happened...
But Barret could think of one instance... during the time when they were captured in Junon. "Shit! Maybe while she was knocked out, some bastard SOLDIER took advantage of her!" he told Vincent and Yuffie one time.
"OH MY GAWD?! But... why would they even... do that?!" Yuffie cried out in shock and disgust.
"Someone with a dirty mind..." Barret said angrily.
Vincent simply shook his head in pity. "But... maybe we'll know... once the baby is born." he told them softly.
And so the time arrived when Tifa gave birth to a baby boy.
They were all stunned when the baby's features were already beginning to show... especially when he opened his eyes for the first time.
His eyes were blue... and his eyes seemed to stare at them with coldness...
Tifa cradled the child in her arms, and she cried tears of both sorrow and joy. "...Rufus..." she said softly.
"What?" Barret demanded.
She brought the child closer to herself, eyeing her friends cautiously. It was finally clear to her... "This is... this is Rufus's son..." she said softly.
"What?!" Barret repeated in shock.
"What are you talking about?!" Cloud demanded from her.
"GAWDS! Have you gone crazy?" Yuffie asked.
Tifa was already shaking as more memories returned to her... she remembered opening her eyes in Junon and seeing Rufus lying on top of her, his eyes closed, like he was asleep. "But... why?" she thought bitterly as she gazed lovingly at the baby boy in her arms. "...do I have to raise this one alone?" she thought silently... but she was interrupted when Cloud stepped forward, attempting to get the child from her. She moved away from him in a protective motion. "NO! You can't have him!" she said with a troubled look on her face.
"Tifa, what are you saying about Rufus?" Yuffie asked, approaching her.
Tifa thought for a while before finally saying, "Alright... I'll tell you...assuming that since it's all over, you'd understand why, right?" she asked with a bitter smile on her face.
"Have you been working for him all this time?" Barret asked in awe.
"No... I wasn't... I... I..." she trailed off, realizing that she still could not say those words... She bit her lower lip and swallowed hard. She just shook her head, "N...nothing... just... leave me..." she said.
"Tifa, we'd understand... why can't you..." Barret began with a gentle tone, but she moved away from him. "It's useless! He's not here anymore! He's dead! Isn't this what you guys wanted?! For ShinRa to be gone?!" she pointed out before walking out of the house.
"Tifa!" Cloud ran after her. Barret, Vincent and Yuffie also went after them.
"She might do something bad to herself..." Cloud was thinking with a worried look on his face.
Tifa kept on running until she reached the ruins of Sector 1. It was raining hard and the baby was already crying hysterically. She hugged the baby closer to herself with tears in her eyes as she gazed up at the dark skies. She had nowhere to go... and she was so confused. "...What happened to us?" she thought in disappointment.
"Tifa!!!"
She frowned and just decided to run further, away from Cloud... away from everyone... She began to think of the what-might-have-been and the what-could-have-been...
"This is so pathetic..." she said softly with an angered look on her face before she stopped running and then hid herself under an old wall that was already leaning sideways, as if ready to fall but this big boulder was preventing it from falling to the ground. She gently caressed the baby's head. "Shh... stop crying..." she said softly.
"Tifa! Where are you!!!???" she heard Yuffie's voice shouting with hints of worry in it.
Tifa was really worried... she doesn't want to go back to them anymore... she was tired of everything. She wants to go to him... to Rufus... because that's where she felt she really belonged.
She pictured herself beside him... as the First Lady of ShinRa... and they'd look so happy together... they'd be so perfect for each other that the others would envy them for being simply perfect in every aspect...
But what happened?
"What happened to us?" she whispered softly as she cradled the baby in her arms and began to talk to it gently, "Your daddy is gone... and I'm all you have left... but... maybe he left you to me so that you can continue what he had started... an empire... yes, an empire..." She looked up at the skies. "...and mommy will help you rebuild it..." she said softly.
"Tifa!" Cloud called out. His voice seemed to sound nearer already. She stiffened and shivered because of the cold.
But there would be a lot of hindrances in rebuilding the empire...
She frowned as her facial expression hardened. She gently put down the crying baby on the cold and wet ground. "...looks like I'll have to remove the hindrances by myself..." she said softly before she slowly got up, clenching her fists, as if ready to start punching things.
But before she could get into her fighting stance, somebody touched her shoulder from behind her. She froze, in sync with the thunder and lightning.
"...No need to, Tifa... we don't need an empire anymore..." she heard someone say from behind her.
Her eyes widened as she relaxed a little, turning around to face the person who said that... and who she saw made her cry again.
And by the time Cloud and the others finally arrived at the spot where she was, she was already gone.
She stared blankly into empty space as she remained cuddled in his arms; her head resting on his shoulder and her hand tracing the contours of his chest.
He was playing with her hair, running his fingers through her long locks.
It was still raining outside, but they did not care.
She felt so safe already... and so happy.
"...This could have happened years ago... but what happened?" she asked.
He just smiled gently and looked down at her as she looked up at him, seeing the happy look on her face. "It doesn't matter anymore..." he said softly.
Are we so scared to tell the truth
That the name my soul cries belongs to you?
Or are we simply too proud of the things around us
That we didn't have the time...
To think of this question...
So tell me,
Whatever happened to us?
------- "Questions" song composed and sung by Paul Monteverde
The End
I'd like to thank my friend Paul for inspiring me for this fic... it's your song that's stuck in my head that did the trick. And then there's my beloved fiancé Ruffy. Thanks for being there for me. =)