Tifa was entirely sure that the most embarrassing thing about being rescued from captivity by Rufus Shinra revolved around the lack of control over her body. It wasn't due to the fact that he had to carry her. No, that wasn't it at all.
Her mortification was over how, as she was slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes as he ducked around corners, running steadily, Tifa had no control over where her arms were.
Later, when she would be retelling the story to Yuffie, Tifa was sure that the young woman wouldn't understand why Tifa's lack of control over her arms was so mollifying. So she would be ready to point out the facts without saying it directly.
If Tifa's midriff was on top of Rufus' shoulder, her legs sprawled over his front, then that left her head hanging upside down against the middle of his back. Which left her arms dangling down below his back. And what, exactly, is below a person's back?
Tifa could still picture the clueless look on the shorthaired ninja's face, so she figured that after all, she would just have to come out and say it.
Every time that Rufus took a step forward, it would jostle Tifa's limp arms, once in a while causing one of her hands to smack or bump against the man's butt. She really, truly, feverantly hoped that he was a little too occupied to notice, because she knew that she would never outlive the awkwardness of it.
The brunette's precarious dilemma caused time to drag by quite slowly, so when her averted vision met pavement instead of the floor of a building, she began to feel quite relieved. That relief heightened when Rufus suddenly lunged upwards, and Tifa found herself being laid down on a bench-like row of seats inside of a helicopter.
An empty helicopter, aside from the two of them.
Gunshots still echoed behind them.
"…who's flying the helicopter?" Tifa questioned warily.
Rufus' only answer was to climb forward into the pilot's seat. He began flicking at controls, fingers moving fluidly until Tifa could hear the propellers above them begin to move at what was first a slow pace that increased to an almost painfully loud whirl.
Somehow, over the noise that the propellers made, Tifa could make out a few voices yelling something that she couldn't quite make into a sentence.
A few seconds passed before two pairs of feet hopped up into the helicopter with them; Rufus moved aside to allow Tseng to take over the controls. Elena threw Tifa a wink before hopping into the co-pilots seat.
"Where are Reno and Rude?" Rufus questioned, sparing a glance towards the building they had evacuated.
"Oh, I imagine they're finding a good place to put the items we brought for negotiation," Tseng replied offhandedly. Following his statement, two figures burst out of the distant doorway and rapid footsteps approached the helicopter.
Reno and Rude flung themselves inside; before they had even landed harshly, the red-head yelled, "Get the hell out, yo! They're about to get their present!"
Tseng wasted no time. They were off the ground before Reno had finished his sentence, and Tifa found herself very warily watching a ruffled and exhausted Reno. "Exactly… what 'present' did you leave them?" she questioned delicately.
Reno smirked, tossing a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the building that was growing thankfully distant. Tifa managed to work her neck in that direction just as the entire foundation went up in one crimson, orange and yellow burst of flame.
When at last she was able to turn back to the men before her, Rufus shrugged. "We didn't like their terms," was his simple explaination.
Tifa concluded then that her observation about Rufus being a very dangerous and cunning man had been extremely accurate indeed.
Elena's head poked around the side of her seat, and she looked up at Rufus with her big brown eyes. "Don't forget to give it back to her," the blond woman reminded gently, smiling quickly at Tifa before resuming her position of batting her eyelashes at Tseng.
Considering that she was the only other 'her' on board the helicopter, Tifa reluctantly asked, "Give what back to me?"
Rufus reached one hand into his jacket, pulling out a small object and tossing it into Tifa's lap. Unable to move her arms still, Tifa stared down at it, realizing belatedly that it was her personal cell phone. "How…?"
"You must've dropped it when they took ya," Reno commented smoothly. As if it was a perfectly casual action, he lifted up Tifa's legs, settling himself down onto the seat before placing her legs over his lap, one hand lingering on her calves.
"So," the red-head continued, smirking down at Tifa, "how's it feel to have so many men come dashing to your rescue?"
Like a horrible reminder that once again, Cloud wasn't here when I needed him. Tifa felt her heart clench, and she closed her eyes painfully. Reno frowned at the unexpected reaction.
"How are you feeling?" Rufus' voice didn't sound overly concerned, but Tifa supposed she should be grateful that at the very least he had asked.
"A bit nauseous, and I still can't move much more than my neck. But thanks for asking," she replied simply. Rude and Rufus sat down on seats across from them, the taller man in sunglasses frowning at Tifa's words.
When Tifa opened her eyes again – which were beginning to feel suspiciously heavy – she found Rufus' eyes locked onto her own. For a moment, she felt like wriggling under his scrutiny, before the blond man turned and mumbled something to Rude that she couldn't quite make out.
Reno began to say something to her, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep her eyelids open, and Tifa only heard the intonation of his voice before she fell into sleep once again.
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The next time Tifa woke, it was to two voices arguing. One was shrill and feminine, while the other clearly male voice was too unique to be mistaken for anyone else.
"-something perverted!" Elena snapped, balancing the bowl of soup in one hand while doing her best to pummel Reno with the other one.
"Was not! Jeeze, what's so wrong with a guy lookin out for a lady, huh?" Reno defended while fluidly moving out of the way of Elena's fist.
"Cut it out! You're gonna spill the soup!"
"If you quit tryin to hit me, you wouldn't spill the soup, yo!"
"If you quit dodging, I wouldn't have to quit trying!!"
Groaning, Tifa put both hands against her aching temples as she sat up in what appeared to be her own bed. The pain in her head was suddenly an insignificant matter when put next to the relieving fact that she once again had control over her own limbs.
At the noise she made, Elena and Reno both paused in their bickering; as the blond disregarded the bowl of soup in her relief that Tifa had awoken, she didn't pay attention to its balance. Only Reno reaching out and catching the bowl in both hands as it slipped out of Elena's hands saved it from a cruel fate of meeting the floor.
"What are you two doing here?" Tifa found herself asking, and at the slightly offended look Reno shot her, she amended quickly, "not that I don't appreciate you sticking around… I was just surprised."
"The President told us to stay here to make sure you were alright," Elena rattled off easily enough, setting the soup down on a nightstand beside the glass of water and Tylenol that Tifa had neglected to notice. "I mean, we got back here and you were all alone in the house still, so we figured you didn't have anyone here."
Reno raised an eyebrow at Elena, wondering if she realized how offensive her innocent comment might have been taken. A slightly pained expression came across Tifa's features.
"What happened to your man and the kids?" Reno drawled out, curiosity getting the best of him.
"Marlene is spending the next month with her father. Cloud…" Tifa swallowed through the lump in her throat. "Cloud has been gone, taking care of some personal things. He took Denzel with him."
"Doesn't he have enough personal things to take care of here?" This time, it was Elena who shot Reno the reproving glare at the red-head's insensitive remark, which clearly hadn't made the brunette feel any better.
Tifa, trying to mask how she felt with what turned out as a bitter smile, stared out the window. "You would think so, wouldn't you?"
Feeling the sudden tension in the air, Reno reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cell phone, handing it to Tifa. "It's from the President. In case you run into any more trouble. The media blew the entire hospital thing out of proportion, so it's no big surprise that the goonies came after you this time."
"It's connected to the Chief's personal line," Elena continued. "So it's for in case of emergency."
Holding the thin phone in her hands, Tifa turned her head to examine her own original cell that sat on the table. A sinking feeling once again claimed her stomach as she confirmed by the screen that she hadn't missed any calls while she had been out.