"Can we afford this?" Cloud asked two weeks later as they entered the posh lobby of the hotel Tifa had said they should stay at while they went house-hunting. The bar was sold, and now they were essentially homeless.
"Of course!" Sephiroth replied. He knew what Cloud didn't, the bar had sold so fast, and at twice the market value, because of a secret visit he had made to Rufus. Sephiroth knew of Rufus' tastes from rumours when he was a First Class SOLDIER, he had never cared about them then, but now it could pay very well. This wasn't ruining Tifa's reputation, since Rufus wouldn't speak of it, and it wasn't even really sexual, so Sephiroth was still saving himself for Cloud. It was merely a business transaction from which both he and Rufus benefited from. "Mr. and Mrs. Strife." Sephiroth told the girl at the front desk when they checked in. Marlene and Denzel were just looking in awe at the luxury surrounding them. He relished announcing himself and Cloud as a married couple. It felt so good…Tifa liked it too, he had realized she was still present in their body, which gave him such a thrill to know that she would witness him stealing Cloud from her.
"We're not married yet." Cloud said in surprise. Tifa had made the reservations, but he didn't know she had registered them as a couple.
"We will be soon enough." Sephiroth smiled. He had been practicing smiling in the mirror, and was now getting quite good at it. Walking in the high heels was going to take some more time though. Tifa's damned breasts kept bouncing or jiggling and getting him off balance. He needed a better and tighter bra. Tifa must have been flaunting them to get better tips, but that was over now.
"Here are your key cards to your rooms." the clerk handed Cloud four of them, one each for him and Tifa, and then one each for the kids, who would be sharing the room next to theirs. "Please let us know if there's any additional assistance you require."
"This is…nice." Cloud said when they entered their hotel suite. He felt a bit out of place with all the lush opulence, and carefully put their sturdy but plain suitcases on the bed to start unpacking.
"It's what we deserve, isn't it?" Sephiroth wasn't going to live life slaving just to pay the bills, with the occasional week's vacation in a little dirty mountain cabin or cheap oceanside motel. He had never had to scrape by, and didn't intend to start now…he would live in the lap of luxury, which would coincidentally be Cloud's lap. Sephiroth just had to convince Cloud they could make the big bucks, his fiancé simply needed a push in the right direction. "Oh, and I'm scheduled for the works at the wonderful spa and salon here in ten minutes, I'll see you later, feel free to order room service." He blew a kiss at Cloud and left.
Cloud stared at Tifa leaving, wondering if she was changing because of their impending nuptials or all the constant world-saving they had to do in between earning a living. He was tired of it himself, but…he decided to stop thinking about it and grabbed the room service menu. His jaw dropped when he looked at the prices…was this place for real?
"I'm Mrs. Tifa Strife, I have a two o'clock appointment." Sephiroth told the receptionist when he entered the spa.
"Oh, yes. It's lucky you made your appointment when you did, we just got swamped." she replied, moving her head to indicate the six women sitting in the waiting room.
"Who are they?" Sephiroth asked the receptionist, looking at the big hair and weird tans the young women all had. They also looked bored and some just seemed to exude bitchiness.
"The Miss Midgar beauty pageant starts next week, and they're getting ready to impress the judges." the receptionist explained.
"Beauty pageant?" Sephiroth had never heard of such a thing, but before the receptionist could answer, his spa attendant showed up and led him to a room.
"A beauty pageant is where wannabe trophy wives compete to give men who can't get laid something to jerk off to." the spa attendant sourly replied, taking up the rest of the answer.
"What's a trophy wife?" Sephiroth continued his questioning as he entered the room with a table he was scheduled to get a full body massage on.
"Just what it sounds like. Rich men find a beautiful young woman to marry, good for nothing but showing off to everyone, just like a trophy." the spa attendant managed to hide his opinion that maybe this lady was as smart as those trophy wives. "Here's a robe for you to use while you're here, the masseuse will be with you shortly." the spa attendant pointed to where the robe was hanging on a hook on the wall and then left.
Sephiroth undressed and put on the robe, waiting and wondering why spa attendant seemed so negative about the idea of trophy wives. It didn't seem like a pejorative term to him. That's the kind of wife Cloud should have, someone he was proud to show off to everyone. The masseuse showed up soon, and Sephiroth took the robe off again and laid on the table. The little mewling sounds of content were not just from Sephiroth, he could tell Tifa also enjoyed the pampering as they got a full-body massage, two facials because her pores were such a mess, a seaweed and mud wrap, then topped it off with a manicure and pedicure. He could have had his hair done too, but Sephiroth was leery of people messing with his hair. When he was finally feeling like a proper woman and was heading back to the elevator to rejoin Cloud in their suite, he noticed the boutique on the other side of the lobby…new clothes! He needed those too!
"May I help you?" the snobby saleswoman asked as Sephiroth entered. She barely stopped turning up her nose at the plain clothes he was wearing.
"I want a new wardrobe." Sephiroth stated. "Money is no issue."
The saleswoman smiled from ear to ear. "You are a smart woman with good taste, I'm sure we can help you."
Cloud was wondering if Tifa had gotten lost or been kidnapped. It had been hours since she left for her spa treatment, and he was bored and lonely. Suddenly the door opened, and a bellhop pushed in one of those luggage carts, full of boxes and shopping bags with the hotel's logo on them. Tifa followed him in, in a brand new dress and low heels. "What happened to you?" he asked her once the bellhop left, thanking Tifa for the generous tip.
"I made myself beautiful for you. This is a wonderful hotel!" Sephiroth was beaming. "Let me show you everything I bought!"
