Both Rufus and Tifa were laughing when they returned to his apartment, unable to contain themselves anymore.
Tifa tried to catch her breath as she slipped off her high heels, then turned toward Rufus. "I wish I could have gotten a picture of all their faces. "
"Me too." Rufus leaned against the front door and placed his hands in his pockets with a smile across his face. "Good test run, but you'll have more of a challenge at our first event. But I will say you handled the attention flawlessly."
She performed a mock stage bow. "Thank you, thank you. By the way, when will the first event be?"
Looking at his watch, he checked the day's date. "This coming weekend there is a soiree that the company will be throwing for the elite of Midgar. That will give you about a week to get settled into your temporary residence, and then relax a couple of days before we put on the big show."
Nodding, Tifa stretched her arms behind her back and yawned. "Great. I'm ready." She walked over to Rufus, lifted herself up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "I had fun tonight. Thanks for being honest with me."
Rufus froze for a moment, the gesture completely unexpected. He watched her give him a grin before walking to her guestroom, shoes in hand, shutting the door behind her.
He couldn't help but notice how much different Tifa acted in comparison to other women he knew. Other than the whole assassination plot, she didn't have a secret agenda. She didn't seem interested in getting tons of money, or bedding him. She just seemed… genuine.
The new girl was working out pretty well. She wasn't as great a cook as Tifa, but she made the guests feel welcome and made a good drink.
Cloud and Barret took turns pulling security for the bar. Aerith's smile seemed to ease the tension of Tifa being absent from her job for the regulars, who were a little concerned when they heard that the kickboxer had 'gone on vacation' for an indefinite period of time.
Aerith loved every minute. She enjoyed talking to the customers, enjoyed being indoors, instead of out on the muggy slum street selling flowers to strangers.
Cloud sat at the bar, studying the new girl. Everyone got along with her. She wasn't bad to look at either, her green eyes sparkled when she laughed, he noticed.
Those green eyes caught his eyes lingering. She smiled and walked over to him. "You're staring at me. Did I do something wrong?"
Cloud shook his head. "No… no… Sorry, I kinda just zoned out in your direction. I've been really tired lately."
"Is everything ok?" Aerith asked as she poured him a beer.
"Yeah, everything's fine." Cloud said, raising the mug to his lips.
"You're such a bad liar, no offense." She replied with a giggle.
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
She shook her head with a grin. "Yeah, you try to play this solemn stoic type, trying to hide your emotions. You can tell me what you're upset about, you know. I don't bite."
"Not upset, just casually worried. About a friend who could possibly be in over her head." Cloud replied.
"Oooooh lady trouble, I see."
"No, it's not like that. We're just friends. But she's doing something solo that I wish I could help her with so that she doesn't get hurt." He said, his eyebrows furrowing.
She leaned in close to him. "This doesn't have anything to do with Ms. Tifa staking out ShinRa, does it?" she whispered.
Cloud's mouth fell open. "How do you know about that? And how do you know Tifa?"
She shrugged. "I don't know her, but she's all the regulars talk about. So I asked Barret about her and after some prodding, he told me where she was."
He turned his head to glare at Barret, who was conveniently turned toward the door, but Cloud was burning a hole in the back of his friend's head nonetheless.
Aerith giggled. "Don't worry about it. I won't tell anyone. Your secret's safe with me. But I know where you're coming from, I'd feel worried too. You're a good friend."
He smiled genuinely at her. "Thanks."
"There it is! A real smile, finally!" She grinned triumphantly.
Reno and Rude moved the final few boxes into the new townhome that Tifa was to move into temporarily.
Reno wiped the sweat from his brow. "Geez, is there anything not in our job description? I feel like we always get stuck with the grunt work."
Rude rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. "Oh get over it. It's not like she's moving in with all her belongings. We got all the boxes in the house in less than an hour."
The redhead pursed his lips. "Huh. I coulda sworn we've been here longer than that."
His bald coworker shook his head but stayed silent.
Reno sat down at the dining room table for a moment. "What are your thoughts on this whole thing? I mean, ain't we sworn to protect the president at all costs?"
The taller Turk was quiet for a moment, but looked at his friend. "I think that if she can pull this all off, ShinRa will be better off with Rufus as the president. Let's face it; we shouldn't have to worry about our boss threatening to kill us for failing a mission. Plus, I don't know about you but I for one would like to see someone in control that actually cares about more than making himself money and getting laid."
Reno moved his head from side to side as he weighed the options. It was true, he didn't fear for his life in Rufus' employment, regardless of how badly he might screw up. "Yeah, you're right. But we have to make sure we do our best to protect her until she has to do what she has to do, because if we get caught being involved in this, we are worse than dead."
Rude nodded in agreement.
Tifa spent the week unpacking her new clothes and stocking her new kitchen. She had to admit, Rufus had set her up in an amazing townhome. It was a two story place with a large kitchen and her dream bathroom.
It was Thursday evening and the ShinRa soiree was fast approaching. But she didn't feel nervous, not yet at least.
While she was hanging clothes up in her closet, the PHS that Rufus had given her started to ring. She rushed over and flicked it open to answer it. "Hello?"
Cloud's voice replied, "Tifa? How's everything going? Are you okay?"
"Hey Cloud. I'm fine. Rufus found me a safe place to stay, so I'm moving some stuff in. Everything's going great so far." She said as she plopped down on a corner reading chair.
"Good, I'm glad you're safe. He hasn't done anything creepy has he? You're still comfortable doing all this?" her friend's voice clearly showed his concern.
Tifa laughed. "No, Cloud, he's been the perfect gentleman. I told you, if anything was weird, I'd let you know. You're stressing yourself out, relax, okay? How's the bar doing? You had mentioned that you got it running again, who'd you find to bartend?"
"Well, this girl, Aerith came in looking for a job while we were discussing opening back up; she's been filling in for you. The regulars miss you, but they really like her. She's pretty cute." He said hesitantly.
She bit her lip, holding back a sigh. "Oh she is, huh? Have you asked her out on a date yet?"
"No! Why would I do that?"
Tifa let out an exasperated chuckle. "You and I both know that you need someone. I thought I was that someone, but we didn't work out. You need to quit holding back for my sake. If you're thinking you need my blessing, you have it. I'm not angry, Cloud. You're my best friend. You deserve to be happy. Besides, you're probably going stir crazy without all the missions and adventures to go on. You need a distraction."
Cloud was quiet on the other end of the line. "…Okay. But only because you're forcing me to." He replied with a smile in his voice.
Tifa burst out laughing despite the tear rolling down her cheek. "You idiot, go have fun. I'll talk to you soon." She closed the phone and drew her knees to her chest and sighed.
Once she composed herself, she walked downstairs to open a bottle of wine. She was planning on pouring herself a very large glass.
She had grabbed a red wine glass from the cabinet when she heard the doorbell ring.
Curious to whom it could be, she looked through the peephole first. Rufus was leaning against the wall on her front porch with his hands in his coat pockets.
She opened the door. "You didn't happen to drop by to drink wine, eat ice cream, and watch a chick flick with me, did you?"
Failing to fully comprehend what she had just asked him, Rufus leaned forward with a puzzled look on his face. "Uh, that wasn't the purpose of the visit, but I don't have anything scheduled for this evening…?"
She chuckled at his bewilderment. "I'm just messing with you. It's been a rough night, I was about to take the edge off." She said, displaying her wineglass to him and gesturing for him to come inside.
The puzzlement faded in a knowing smile as he walked through the door, and he nodded. "Ah, I see. Well if you're still offering wine, I'm still interested in a glass."
She led the way to the kitchen after shutting the front door. "Of course. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit tonight?" She asked as she poured them both a glass. She was actually very curious, she hadn't actually seen him since the night they'd gone to dinner; he had only spoken to her by phone to arrange for her move into the new place.
"Well, I've come by to check on your progress, make sure the townhome is suitable, and to let you know that your custom dress is ready and will be delivered to you tomorrow." He replied, as she handed him his glass.
"Ooh, I can't wait to see it!" she said as she drank a rather large gulp of wine. "As you can see, I'm pretty much moved in. I've put some pictures on the wall to make it more personal, but I really didn't have to do much. It was already furnished with some awesome furniture. This place is amazing. I can't believe people live like this, it's like a vacation home." She giggled.
"You mentioned you were having a rough night, is everything alright? It seems like you're trying too hard to act like your normal, cheerful self." He stated as he watched her take another large swig of her wine.
She stared at him for a second; perplexed that he could see right through her. "I'm really fine. It's nothing that you need to worry about." She nibbled nervously at her lip.
He chuckled. "There, you always do that when you've got something on your mind, you bite your lip. Just tell me what's wrong, it just might make you feel better to vent."
She sighed, looked to the floor and then back at him. "It's really stupid. "
He leaned against the island in the center of the kitchen. "And yet, I'm still willing to listen."
Tifa finished the wine in her glass and poured herself another. She was already starting to feel the effect from downing the first so fast. She sighed again and looked at Rufus. "You remember when you asked me about my past relationship with Cloud? Well, I've always had this crush, kind of 'in love with your best friend' thing. Well, we did try to make a deeper relationship out of it, but he just wasn't as interested as I was. It took him forever to try to let me down easy, and it broke me when he did. He just couldn't see me that way. I shouldn't be upset over it anymore, but he basically called me tonight, asking my permission to ask another girl out. It's hard letting go when you've held on so long. But I just want him to be happy. I don't want him to feel like I have him trapped."
Rufus realized why she was reluctant to talk about it that day in the car. "It must be difficult to be best friends with someone you care for so deeply. Yet, you have the emotional capacity to not let it overcome you, and you're still looking out for his feelings. You have to be, by far, the most caring person I've ever met, Tifa. You're always putting everyone else's frame of mind before your own."
Tifa could feel hot tears welling up in her eyes as she downed the second glass of wine. "Fat lot of good it's done me, right? God, I'm a mess…" Why was he being so nice to her? This was strange, even for Rufus. She couldn't understand why he would care how she was holding up emotionally.
Rufus took a swig of his wine and set his glass down, walking around the kitchen island to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "You just need to start being just a bit more selfish."
She didn't know if it was the wine, or his advice, but her heartbeat quickened with his close proximity. She could smell his cologne as she turned her head up to look him in the eyes as she wiped the tears from her own. "You mean, like this?" Her own daring surprised her as she reached up to grab the back of his head to get his lips within reach of hers. Straining on her tiptoes, she locked lips with him and it felt like her heart was about to pound out of her chest.
He had been completely caught off guard. He had just been trying to console her. But he wasn't complaining. Instead, he pulled her closer, running his fingers through her soft dark hair while her teeth gently nibbled his lower lip.
As if suddenly coming to the realization of what she was doing, she broke the kiss and stepped back, eyes wide and chest heaving. "I'm… I'm sorry."
Rufus laughed. "Why? We're going to have to kiss sooner or later for this whole thing to work. You surprising me with it isn't necessarily a bad thing either. I rather enjoyed it." He winked at her. "Look, just because Strife can't see you for the attractive woman you are, doesn't mean that I can't."
Tifa smiled and put her forehead to Rufus' chest. "Does anybody else get to see this cheesy side of you, or do you save it up just for me?"
He smiled as he looked down at her and ran his fingers through her hair again. "Oddly enough, I do seem to act this way only with you. I should go, before the wine gives you any more ideas." He said with a grin.
She laughed and stepped back to look Rufus in the eye. "Thank you, for making me feel better. You're pretty good at it."
A/N: SURPRISE! SO I totally swept out another chapter before I leave tomorrow. I couldn't help myself, I needed a little mushy moment between them. I hope it's enough to tide you over until I come back! Let me know how I'm doing! Speak up, people! Let me know what you like, don't like, what I should focus on working on, that stuff doesn't hurt my feelings at all. :)
Until next time!