Tifa's vision was blurred. She blinked profusely, trying desperately to gain clarity. It was hot. So hot. The flames liked up around her as she held her dying father. "I hate them! Shinra. SOLDIER. I hate them all!" she cried out. She looked up to see the silver-haired man hold up his long blade and impaled a man sitting at his desk, in the center of the inferno. The man collapsed forward, all life gone from his body. Tifa ran from her father's body to help the next victim, as the perpetrator turned away, leaving the sword still in the other man's chest, a smirk on his face. Tifa gently held the head of the man that was stabbed and turned it toward her. In her hands she held the face of none other than Rufus Shinra. Tifa cried in anguish. "I hate them! I hate them all! I hate them all!" she called.

"Tifa…Tifa! Wake up!" Rufus shook her roughly.

Tifa gasped as her eyes crashed open. She struggled to focus through her blurry eyes. She saw Rufus Shinra off to her left side, right arm around her right shoulder, and his other hand on her other shoulder. When she finally was able to get a clear look at the man beside her, she sighed in relief and became still and quiet, merely looking at Rufus.

Rufus looked back at her, her lips were slightly parted, but she did not say a word. He felt her gaze pierce through him, as if she couldn't see him. His brow furrowed, waiting for her to say something. "I think you were having a nightmare…" he said softly, not wanting to startle her. She had been trembling so violently before she opened her eyes. "You were mumbling I hate them all, I hate them all."

Tifa merely blinked. Her expression unmoving, she lifted her hands up to hold both sides of his face. Rufus saw that her eyes were glassy, as if she wanted to cry. Tifa brought Rufus' forehead to hers and held him there, the tears falling down her cheeks. "I thought you…." she began, not knowing what else to say.

"Thought I was what?" Rufus felt his heart flutter, unsure of how to respond to this unexpected contact.

Tifa shook her head lightly and pulled back slowly, still keeping his face in her hands. "Nothing…" she managed a weak smile. She slowly withdrew her hands and swung her legs from the cot. She walked up to and opened the door to the room and peeked outside. She saw the slats of the blinds from a far window letting in small rays of the morning light. She'd slept most of the night next to Rufus. Her neck felt stiff, leaning on his shoulder, but she felt better rested than she had in a long while, as if a weight was lifted from her heart. She turned back to look at Rufus who held a dazed expression. She didn't know if it was from the cold or not, but his cheeks held a slightly pink hue.

"I need to go back upstairs before they wake up," she explained as she took the blanket from Rufus. She leaned over the side of the bed to pick up the empty plate and bowl that must have dropped while the two of them slept. Rufus picked up that she was avoiding his gaze now. She ducked out of the room without another word.

Rufus exhaled deeply. He didn't realize how tense the situation made him feel. He really thought Tifa was in pain when he felt her jolt next to him. Was he actually worried for one of his captors? He had heard of Stockholm's Syndrome, when you begin to care for the people keeping you imprisoned. It had only been a few days though. In cases he'd read about, it usually happened over the course of several months, or years even.

He chewed his lower lip and looked at his conditions again. His captors consisted of a SOLDIER, a large brute with a gun for an arm and a young woman. But Tifa didn't seem like the other two. She was the only one to make it a point to come visit him every night and give him human food. They spoke last night about their early lives. Rufus could kick himself for revealing so much about his late mother, especially to one that should be considered untrustworthy. Still, he never detected any malice from her. She risked her comrades' trust just to make sure he was comfortable. But he couldn't understand why she held his face in her soft hands after he had awoken her, and he felt the sting of the cold air when she pulled them away.

Not to mention she kissed him. It had been a light peck on his temple, but it was a kiss. He wasn't sure what to make of that. She had said it was in gratitude for making her feel better, but how did he do that? Didn't women kiss men when they liked them? His only experience with such a thing in his adult life was with that wretched woman, Scarlet, who would sloppily make passes at him at parties. He was always aware of her intentions, and that was what made him easily stand up to and reject her advances. But he didn't know what Tifa was thinking, and that made him nervous.

He had wanted to speak with her about his release. The hours of solitude and the thoughts of his beloved company being run by a bunch of morons had made it impossible for him to relax. Tifa's lingering scent of lavender also clouded his thoughts. He hoped she was okay. She seemed so…scared.

Tifa had made it to her room quickly and quietly after putting Rufus' dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. She quietly shut the door behind her, took off her coat and threw the blanket on her bed. She plopped on the mattress with an audible thump as she clutched the blanket to her closely, burying her face in the soft fabric. She tried to hold back her tears and keep her voice down. She thought the nightmares had stopped years ago. She couldn't remember the last time she awoke in such a state. No doubt the recollections she shared with Rufus jarred a few things loose.

Tifa bore her nails into the blanket at her face until her knuckles turned white. She could smell the faint scent of Rufus' musk on it. She felt almost embarrassed that he saw her that way. Doubly so that she was devastated at the thought of him being dead. When she heard the news of President Shinra's demise, she could only imagine what the scene must have looked like. She must have fallen back asleep for a moment because she was woken up by Cloud's rather rough knocking on the door. "Tifa!" he called from the other side.

"Come in," she called, a little groggy. She turned over and pulled the blanket up over her body.

Cloud came into the bedroom, followed by Barrett. Cloud took a seat next to Tifa as she lie on the bed while Barrett leaned against the dresser. "We need to act now," Cloud began.

Tifa sat up and leaned her back against the headboard. "What happened?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"We're not quite sure. We've been trying to contact Aerith and Marlene in Midgar all morning, but we're not able to establish two way communications." Cloud shook his head and muttered, "we should've brought them here with us…"

Neither Tifa nor Barrett, who heard him clearly, commented. Tifa was well aware that he wanted Aerith around. But Aerith wanted to stay in Midgar with Elmyra and Marlene. Tifa briefly wondered if Aerith were here, would she treat Rufus nicely as well? Of course she would. She would probably flirt with him and coax information out of him. She realized she was getting too deep in thought when she saw Cloud looking silently at the floor.

"So wha' happens now?" Barrett broke the silence.

"Well, we'll have to deliver terms sooner rather than later. We can make a trip out to Midgar and negotiate terms and then deliver him once an agreement has been reached. We can demand Shinra give us the necessary contact information and we'll set up our meeting." Cloud paused and thought a moment. "Two of us should go. One to keep watch and one to make terms." Cloud looked up at his teammates.

"I wanna go," Barrett said almost immediately. "I wanna see Marlene. Plus I've some choice words for those Shinra scum."

Cloud nodded and looked at Tifa and she lightly shook her head. "You need to go, Cloud. You're the leader of this group," she said.

Cloud pursed his lips. "I don't like the idea of you being alone with him," he said. "We'll be gone for at least five days. What if he tries something?"

"What's he going to do, Cloud? He's chained to a wall. And even if he gets free, where is going to go? He'll die if he tries to run out there."

"I don't mean that." Cloud hadn't forgotten about the way Tifa was trying to protect him from his attacks when he was first brought there. He also noticed that their stash of chocobo feed was largely untouched too, but he didn't mention it. He knew Tifa was just a compassionate person, he couldn't change that. He also knew Barrett would insist on going, and in truth he wanted to see Aerith and Marlene too.

"Cloud….what if he really is back. What if he's over there now?"

Cloud immediately knew who he was. "I'll talk to him," Cloud said getting up. Tifa and Barrett began to follow them outside of the room. He turned and looked at both of them. "Alone."

Rufus heard the footsteps outside of the door and straightened up in anticipation. He had been waiting for Tifa to come back so he could talk to her, but he was immediately disappointed when he saw the SOLDIER enter instead. He shut the door behind him. For the first time since he arrived, he was now nervous about what this man wanted to do with him. Now that his father was dead, he may not have any use for him now.

"Let's talk," Cloud said sharply. He kicked the chair in front of him and sat down, folding his arms. "Do you know what's going on?"

Rufus nodded. "President Shinra is dead," he responded, matching Cloud's tone.

"Good boy," he mocked. "Do you know how he died?"

"Apparently from a stab wound."

Cloud smirked. "Good. So you have been listening. So I imagine you have your own suspects."

Rufus leaned back and eyed the younger man. He looked tired, the kind of fatigued he commonly associated with short tempers. He recalled the way he heard him speaking with Tifa. But now was not the time to confront him with that. He may have been tired, but he also seemed a bit more relaxed today. Rufus may be able to speak to him about what he had hoped to discuss with Tifa. "Yes. The former first class SOLDIER…Sephiroth."

"Very good. You're more astute than you look."

"Well when you're deprived of everything but your senses, you learn to develop good listening habits." Rufus was surprised that his remark didn't net him another blow to the face. He was almost relieved.

"What do you remember about him?"

Rufus shrugged. "Not much. As I understood it, he was presumed dead after he disappeared into the mako reactor shortly after the destruction of your hometown." Rufus nearly bit his tongue off when the last words left his mouth. He wanted to kick himself for not thinking the phrase through. Tifa seemed to have loosened his tongue from their conversation last night.

If there was any shred of serenity in Cloud's demeanor, it was gone the moment Rufus ceased speaking. Cloud bolted up from the chair and towered over Rufus where he sat. "My hometown. And just how do you know something like that?"

Rufus held his breath, trying desperately to think of something. "I've read the reports. The SOLDIER Cloud returning to his hometown on a mission with Sephiroth. I've known this whole time." It was a lie of course. There were next to no reports on the Nibelheim incident five years ago, and none of them certainly contained any names of the parties involved.

Cloud's nostrils flared. "What else has Tifa told you?" his voice was hauntingly quiet.

Rufus felt his heart race. Throwing Tifa into the wrath of the man before him was the last thing he wanted to do. "Nothing. All she does is bring me food."

Cloud narrowed his eyes. "What has she been feeding you?"

"That grotesque sludge not fit for human consumption." Good, good, don't think about Tifa. Move away from the subject.

There was a momentary pause from Cloud as he looked over the young vice president. Cloud reached out a gloved hand and traced a finger over the front of his white suit. His eye caught the faint speck of red on the front flap. He held it between his two fingers and slightly lifted it to Rufus' eyes. "Oh really? What's this?"

Rufus moved his eyes to the small hint of dried chili sauce on his suit. It must have fallen while he ate last night. "Blood, no doubt from your previous interrogation methods."

"You're lying. She gave you that chili last night, didn't she?" Cloud didn't remember hearing Tifa come upstairs last night. True, she said she would come upstairs after she did the dishes, but Cloud was awake for a while after he went upstairs. He didn't hear her small footsteps for a couple of hours when he passed out.

"I swear it." Rufus knew he wasn't being convincing enough. He had to say more. He felt a sour taste in his mouth as he said, "Like I'd eat anything from that bitch anyway."

Now the blow from Cloud came crashing down into his abdomen. Cloud studied the grimace on his face and saw the bandages were gone from his face as well. "You bastard! She's probably the only person on this planet that isn't immediately disgusted by you and you dare speak of her in such a way?"

While the dull pain kept his breathing difficult and painful, he was massively relieved that Cloud took him seriously. He didn't want to speak of her in such a way, but he'd much rather Cloud be angry with him than with her. Once more, he couldn't help but hear the truth in Cloud's words. True, no one would tell him to his face, but he was no stranger to being universally hated by most around him. He couldn't remember the last time a smile was given him to that was real. Not until Tifa's last night.

"I need to be rid of you before I kill you myself." He roughly grabbed Rufus by the collar and forced him to look at his face. "We're going to negotiate terms with your people. Who are we to contact that will make this nice and smooth? Think carefully. Anyone that will give us any funny business will have to drag your corpse back to Midgar."

Rufus willed his breathing under control. "Tseng. He's my second in command," Rufus managed to choke out. He knew Scarlet and Heidegger would surely do everything in their power now to make sure he wouldn't return.

"One of your Turks? Yeah right. Like they'd let us go quietly."

"You must only talk to Tseng then." Rufus' breathing slowly returned to normal.

"How can we be assured of his cooperation?"

"…..Let me write a letter. He'll know it's from me. I'll order him to not tell anyone and speak only with you."

Cloud scoffed at first but thought it about a moment. Rufus probably wouldn't be able to tell him his location because he was bound the entire way. "Don't try anything funny, Shinra. You'll write no more than twenty words. Got it?"

Rufus merely nodded. "And his phone number."

Cloud came through the door and saw Tifa and Barrett sitting in the living room area of the cottage. Barrett had his arms folded while Tifa merely sat on the couch, looking at down at her legs. Both turned their attention as Cloud approached. "We'll be making our trip soon. Rich boy is going to give us a direct line with one contact at the company. We'll set up a meeting and negotiate terms. Tifa, you'll stay here. If we find out we're followed….." Cloud paused and lowered his voice, "…we'll send word back here, and you will execute him."

It took all of Tifa's will power not gasp. Her mouth did open wide though. "Execute him?" Tifa whispered back, making sure it would not travel past Rufus' door. "Cloud, that's going too far. We're not murderers, you know that. We weren't even planning on killing his father."

"We weren't planning on getting pretty boy either. The plans have changed. With the president dead, his kid is no real good to us now unless they agree to our terms," Cloud matched Tifa's breathy tone, also not wanting Rufus to overhear.

"Forget about us then! What about Sephiroth? If the company's in shambles, they're not going to get anything done to stop him. They need Rufus to bring stability. With him in power no one will challenge him outright. He can lead the company to stop Sephiroth." Tifa couldn't believe what she was saying. As if she had any real inclination of how Shinra Company worked. She didn't bother asking Rufus about what his presence in the company was actually worth.

"What makes you think he'd even care about going after him? Tifa, just leave it to us and do as you're told. Maybe a little bit of chaos will do some good. Leave Sephiroth to me. We have some unfinished business."

Tifa leaned back and rolled her eyes. She was too emotionally drained from the breakdown that morning to argue with him. Maybe the contact at the company will allow them to deliver Rufus safely. She could only hope. She turned to Barrett, hoping he wouldn't say anything in favor of killing Rufus. Thankfully, he didn't, but she knew he was thinking of it.

Tseng, you are hereby ordered to negotiate terms for my safe return. Do not inform anyone else. You are to speak only to him. ~Rufus Shinra

Rufus looked at the small note he scribbled as Cloud stood over him. He had taken almost an hour to return with a small piece of paper and a pen. "Twenty-six words," Rufus said. Hope that's okay," he said wryly.

Cloud snatched the paper out of his hand and looked the note over. He saw that Rufus underlined 'do not inform anyone else.' "And the phone number?" he demanded.

Rufus read the number out loud and Cloud wrote it down on another sheet of paper. "It's his direct line. Keep your calls to less than half a minute and it can't be traced." Truthfully Rufus wanted to lie and say under one minute, but he didn't want to see Cloud make good on his threats to kill him if his Turks gave him any issue. "Tell him you have me, give him a designated location and that he must go alone-"

"I'll handle this myself, thank you," Cloud spat. "We'll set out soon." Cloud leaned in close to Rufus, looking directly in his eyes. Rufus saw the mako-laced gaze burn with fury. His voice was barely a whisper. "If you do anything to hurt Tifa, all bets are off. I'll come here and smash your head against the wall and mail you back to Midgar piece by piece." Rufus met his gaze defiantly but did not respond. When he didn't, Cloud backhanded Rufus across the jaw just for good measure.

Rufus recovered from the blow, but kept his head down so Cloud would think he was knocked out. This was the only way Rufus could hide his own wrath. "Now he cares about her enough to defend her honor and health? What does he know about respecting Tifa? First he scolds and yells at her then he's making threats if I hurt her?" Rufus grit his teeth at the thought and tasted the faint coppery tang on his lips as a small trickle of blood fell down the corner of his mouth, landing on his sleeve. Why was he feeling so protective of her all of a sudden?

Cloud looked at Rufus, waiting for him to lift his head up again, but he didn't. Cloud smirked and lightly shook his head. "Lightweight," he said as he left, closing the door behind him.

Cloud and Barrett finished packing up the last of their things to prepare for the trip. Tifa stood outside with them to see them off. All were dressed in their cold weather clothing. "I checked the food rations, you should be good for at least another two weeks," said Cloud as Barrett was hauled up the last of the bags in the buggy. "We'll be taking the buggy down the mountain so you won't be able to go down until we return. If you run into trouble, use the emergency radio. There's some flares in the bedroom too. Use them if you need to."

Tifa nodded. Although she took in Cloud's words, her mind still lingered about the dream she had that morning. If only Cloud could know the devastating sight she recalled of their hometown in flames, destroyed by Sephiroth. And then to know that he may be alive. The thought scared her more than she wanted to admit. "I'll be fine," was all she could manage to say.

"Don't talk to him," Cloud told her with a stern face. "I don't want him knowing too much about you. I'm sure he'd love to use it against you in any way he can."

Tifa nodded again. She had told him a lot the previous night. She told him about her hometown and her father. But he shared things with her too and she didn't believe he was lying. Moreover none of what they told each other would advantage the other in any way. Tifa was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Cloud coming over to hug her until his arms were around her. It was a light hug and Tifa could feel his warmth, but he felt so stiff to her. Tifa returned the hug but she didn't seem to fit quite right in his arms. "I'll be back soon. I promise," Cloud put a hand on her shoulder. Tifa managed a weak smile. She hugged Barrett as well and then watched them drive off down the mountain. She watched intently as she saw the buggy disappear from view and hesitantly walked back indoors.

She tried to distract herself by making sure the cottage hearth had a fire going, but other than that, she couldn't help but not wish she was talking to Rufus. She felt strangely comforted when he held her that morning. She wanted to thank him, but she wasn't sure for what. After all, all he did was wake her up from a bad dream, there was nothing special about that. She opened the door and saw Rufus sitting on the cot, head down and hands in his lap. He looked up and saw Tifa, the line of blood having since dried after Cloud left.

Tifa rushed over when she saw this and gently turned his head so she could inspect the injury more closely. "Are you okay?" she asked weakly.

Rufus only nodded. Tifa licked the side of her thumb and wiped the dry blood from the side of his chin and his lip, now slightly puffed from the blow. "I'll get you something for that." Tifa turned and ran to the refrigerator and pulled out a bag of frozen peas. Despite being surrounded by snow and ice, she knew nothing would work better for such an injury. When she returned, she held it to his face with her hand. She used her other hand to take Rufus' and guide it up to the bag so he could hold it into place. She held her hand over his and didn't release it, even after Rufus' hand stayed.

Tifa looked at his face. His eyes seemed so distant, as if he was in another place. She leaned back slightly and looked over Rufus. His face still held the small cuts and bruises from the injuries he sustained from Cloud's interrogation. He had dark circles under his eyes and matted hair from not being able to bathe. Tifa was thankful that it was cold here, lest he sweat and stew in his own filth for the past few days. Still, days without a shower were not favorable no matter the climate.

"Rufus," Tifa said softly. Rufus blinked and focused his vision on Tifa. He looked back at her eyes. "Do you want to take a shower?"

Rufus was a bit taken aback. "How can I do that?" he lightly shook his wrist holding up the bag of frozen peas, the chain that held him to the wall jingled slightly.

Tifa paused. She knew she was going against Cloud's orders and their entire plan but she knew Rufus didn't deserve this. Even if he didn't care of his father, there was no denying that he was now the last legitimate Shinra left in this world. Not to mention their unintended hostage was being treated more and more brutally by Cloud. Though she didn't know the exact exchange between the two blond men, she wondered what Rufus said to make Cloud treat him so. "I'll let you." She averted her gaze shyly.

"You'd do that for me? You'll let me out of this room?"

Tifa looked back at his eyes, a sudden spark flared in her own. "To shower, yes. I'll let you move about this place. But just remember, it's an entire day's trip on foot to the nearest town and you'll likely freeze to death if you run. There's no weapons in here either so you better not-"

"I won't do anything," Rufus cut her off. "I promise. I just want to be able to stand again."

Tifa nodded. "I'll have to put you back in here come bed time."

Rufus nodded. "I understand." Rufus felt was feeling slightly excited. He'd finally be able to step out of this room. "Your colleagues won't be mad?"

Tifa looked down. She didn't want to tell him that they were completely alone for at least the next five days, thought he probably would have suspected as much. "Leave that to me."

Tifa withdrew her hands from Rufus' as he continued to hold the bag to his face. "Thank you, Tifa," he said softly. He was growing quite weary of being beaten by Cloud and was thankful of Tifa's presence. True, he wanted to find a way to escape, but he was too weary from being locked up to think about anything else aside from being able to take a bath. Tifa left the room once again and returned with a key. She turned the small key and instantly the weight from Rufus' wrist fell away as he continued to hold the bag to the side of his mouth. She turned her attention to the other hand, and it too was free from its bounds.

Rufus was hesitant to move. Part of him was paranoid that Cloud was waiting outside of the door, testing Tifa's loyalty and his obedience. What if he'd actually hurt her too this time? "Not while Rufus is in the house!" the thoughts echoed with him again. How much trouble did he cause good women around him just because they were concerned with his well being?

"Are you sure he's not here?" Rufus asked.

Tifa's lips parted in dismay. "I'm sure. It's just us now."

Rufus used his free hand to push himself from the wall that had become his prison for the past few days. He felt for the floor with his feet and slowly began to put his weight down. He tried to stand upright but he faltered slightly. Tifa came up behind him and propped his arm around her shoulder. Rufus still clutched the frozen bag to the side of his mouth while his other arm was supported by Tifa. Rufus' legs felt like jelly as he tried to get them to move forward. Tifa and Rufus slowly emerged from the door. Rufus tightened his grip on Tifa's shoulder as he left his small, enclosed world and entered an entirely new one.

A/N

Hey folks, just wanted to say thanks for reading! I've been monitoring the traffic of views and I'm quite impressed and pleased that so many of you have taken the time to read my story. If you have time, please drop a review. They keep me motivated. Also this story is a lot longer than I planned it to be. I was only planning on making it around three chapters, but it seems to have taken a life of its own. Hope you guys are enjoying the long haul.

~Zeldafreak701