Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII. It belongs to Squaresoft. I am just an adoring fan girl.
The Art of Redemption
Chapter Two:
Of All the Gin Joints in All the World
Tifa entered the church that morning feeling particularly melancholy. Barret had arrived earlier that morning to take Marlene away for a couple of months and Tifa wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. She had grown so used to taking care of Marlene and always having her company. Denzel was growing up into a teenage boy and had taken to accompanying Cloud on his delivery routes for some male bonding. Of course, this predicament left Tifa by herself to tend to her bar and answer the phone.
She had arrived at the old church hoping it would lift her spirits with the quiet sacred surroundings and everlasting flowerbed. However, it only dampened her mood further, with the memories of Aeris and the times her and Marlene had visited. Tifa never thought she'd grow quite so fond of the girl, but in her absence, she realized just how much she missed her.
Taking a seat in one of the pews, Tifa huddled her knees to her chest and focused on not crying. Honestly, her life at that moment wasn't bad. It could be a lot worse, but it just wasn't as great as she wanted it or hoped it would be.
Living with Cloud and the two kids had almost been a dream come true. She knew it was the closest shot she would have at making it work with Cloud and being like a family, but it just didn't come together. Living together had made her see what she hadn't noticed before; Cloud would never be able to love her, even if he wanted to. No matter how much he improved or moved on from the past, there would always be a small part of him just too far-gone that would not allow him to show the same devotion and attention she showed him.
It was a depressing thought and mixed with the idea that she was destined to be alone, Tifa had to bite the inside of her cheek and blink her eyes several times to keep from crying. She wasn't here to cry; she wanted to be happy.
The sudden sound of footsteps caused Tifa to crane her neck so quick that if felt like she pulled a muscle. Standing at the entrance of the church was a tall, lean man; but the leanness was hard to discern from the three piece white suit and impressive white trench coat he was wearing. Tifa heard the humming of the helicopter in the distance and was annoyed that she hadn't heard it earlier to give her warning of her unexpected visitor.
She continued to stare at him as he approached her slowly, hesitantly, as if feeling guilty for disturbing her.
"Excuse me. I didn't realize anyone would be here," he spoke, his tone oddly sincere, at least to her ears.
Tifa didn't say anything, realizing that he didn't recognize her. But as he came closer, recognition dawned on his face. He seemed horrorstruck by her presence and Tifa suddenly became conscious of the fact that their last encounter involved him trying to end her life. His execution attempt had been nearly three years ago and Tifa rarely thought about it, but now, the wound felt fresh, no longer a scar of the past.
An awkward silence filled the church. Tifa noticed that the humming of the helicopter had disappeared. Tifa spoke the first thing that came to her mind.
"What are you doing here?"
Ideas raced through Rufus' mind. He couldn't possibly tell her the real reason why he was there. Of course, she doesn't have to know the truth he thought. There was no way she'd believe him anyway if he told her that he was having dreams about her dead friend and her sacred church.
"I'm just visiting," he replied.
Tifa's eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"Just on a whim," he replied coolly.
Tifa gave him a sharp look. "Last time Rufus Shinra went 'on a whim', I nearly lost my life."
Rufus froze. He knew it would come to this. He knew by the look on her face moments before that she had been thinking of that incident nearly three years ago. He started to speak, but turned his head when he heard Reno's voice.
"Hey boss, I decided to come inside. I saw a few fiends outside and I wanted to make sure there were none in here you couldn't handle," Reno said, as he made his way towards them with his usual swagger.
When he got beside Rufus and saw Tifa's face, he let out a low whistle. "I don't know about this little lady though. She could do a number on ya."
Tifa smirked. "Hey Reno. Rufus and I were just making small talk."
Rufus let out a derisive laugh. "More like receiving the third degree…" he muttered.
Reno looked between the two, knowing he just interrupted something major and tried to put two and two together. Then, it hit him. He looked back towards Rufus and raised his eyebrows. "Should I give you two a few minutes?"
Rufus glared at Reno. Tifa only smiled sweetly and replied, "Yes, Reno, that would be nice."
Reno, in a death-defying feat against Rufus' if-looks-could-kill glare, gave him a wink and patted him on the shoulder. "I'll be with the helicopter, boss. Give me a holler if you need anything." Then, he began heading towards the entrance of the church. When he got to the doorway, he turned and looked at Tifa. "I'll see you later for drinks, k?" Then he left.
Tifa waved Reno off and then returned her steely gaze towards Rufus. "Just because you've made nice with Cloud doesn't mean I forgive you."
Rufus shook his head and looked down at the ground. Tifa watched as his bangs fell to cover his eyes and he reflexively brushed them aside. He lifted his head and looked her dead in the eye. Tifa was startled to find they looked awfully similar to Cloud's, sans the eerie Mako glow.
"I owe you an apology. I'm sorry for trying to have you and your friend executed. It was unjustifiable and really…" He paused, unsure of what he should say next. "And really…it was just a shit thing to do." Rufus coughed. He'd nearly literally choked on the words that fell from his lips.
Undoubtedly, Tifa was at a loss for words. There was a great rushing of deafening silence that flooded her ears and she thought she felt the ground shift. Whoever originally stated that no one has ever seen him bleed or cry must have never seen him apologize either. She could definitely tell it was something he'd never done before.
Before the silence could drown her further, she spoke words she'd never thought she'd speak.
"Honestly, and I'm not sure how much I mean it right now, but I think I forgive you," Tifa replied. Surprisingly, she felt good saying it and didn't have nearly as tough a time with getting the words out as Rufus had with his apology. She had an odd feeling it had to do with being inside Aeris' church. Aeris always spoke highly of being forgiven and forgiving others…
Rufus visibly relaxed and Tifa thought she saw a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Was it possible that Aeris had the same affect on him as she did on her?
"Truce then?" Rufus asked, proffering his hand to her.
Tifa hesitated. She looked into his icy blue eyes once more, trying to catch a glimmer of deceit that may betray the sincerity of his apology, but found nothing to that extent. She accepted his offered hand. His grip was firm around hers yet amazingly warm and soft.
She grinned. "Truce."
Rufus smirked. He was definitely going to throttle Reno when he got back to the helicopter.
Author's Note: I'd like to say thank you to the people that reviewed the first chapter. I appreciate it! Also, I would like to apologize for the delay on this chapter. I originally had it written and ready to go, but I decided I didn't like it and wanted to make it better. You know how it goes. :-P Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed the story thus far. Don't forget to leave a review!
