This began life as a third person RP sample for a game on LiveJournal. (roadscrossed; check it out if that's your kind of thing.) I applied as Tifa, and decided I liked my sample. I fixed it up a bit for the fanfic world, and here it is. It's pre-game — and I quote myself here — "I JUST FOUND ME A CLOUD STRIFE CAN I PLZ KEEP HIM BARRET" shit. Or, you know. Something like that. Anyway, enjoy.
look after you
It had been nearly a week since she'd discovered him near the train station. "I need to go to Wall Market for some supplies," she'd told Barret. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Watch the bar for me, please?" It was no more than routine for the brunette; every Wednesday she would board the train and head into the seedy slum town in Sector 6 to get food for the bar. But that day her routine had gotten a wrench thrown into it, and that wrench's name was Cloud Strife. She remembered him being so out of it that she wondered if it really was him. Oh, but there was no mistaking the hair; that was what tipped her off. At first he hadn't recognized her, but then suddenly remembered and claimed it had been five years since he'd last seen her. Though she knew it had actually been closer to seven, she smiled and agreed. "I have a bar nearby," she'd told him. "How about you come and get some rest? You have to be exhausted." And then, just to secure the offer, she'd added, "Besides, we have a lot of catching up to do." He'd nodded and followed her, and she'd felt victorious for the moment.
Now he is talking about leaving. What for? Tifa asks herself. Nibelheim is gone. I don't think anyone but us survived. Not only does he most likely have nowhere else to go — or does he, she wonders — but something about him still seems off. She needs to keep him around, to see if she can figure out just why her memories and his words don't match up. An idea comes to her while she finishes washing glasses from earlier in the night.
"Say, Cloud," she says, shaking out a wet towel and hanging it on the metal handle of the stove. She knows she'll need to convince Barret to allow it later, but it's either take a shot in the dark or lose Cloud again. She can't have the latter. "Since you're a mercenary now, and need money" — and though she hates to add it, this needs to sound believable — "for the road... well, Barret and the others are planning to blow up a reactor in a couple of days. I could talk to him, see if he'll let you in on it. I think he could really use your help."
He thinks about it for what seems like an eternity to her, but finally agrees to it. She breathes a sigh of relief (only in her mind), and thanks him, adding a grateful smile. "Thank you, Cloud."