Chapter 25: Date Night at the Gold Saucer

Jessie looked around the food court, looking for a place to sit down and eat her dinner. Spotting a few empty tables in the corner, she went over there and sat down.

It was rather amusing when she thought of it. She'd just helped slay a powerful monster that had almost decimated Corel, and not one hour later, here she was eating fast food like nothing had happened.

I thought I was jaded before…guess I wasn't.

And to top it off, she was at the Gold Saucer courtesy of Rufus Shinra- the man who was supposed to be one of her worst enemies. Tonight, she would be sleeping in one of the Gold Saucer's most luxurious rooms, thanks to him. Rufus Shinra…the cold-hearted, womanizing, greedy bastard. Rufus Shinra…the intelligent, hard-working computer whiz. It was impossible for Jessie to reconcile the image everyone saw, and the image that she now saw.

She thought about what Barrett had said right before she left. A month ago, Jessie would have agreed. But things were different now. The fact of the matter was, while Jessie had gotten along best with Biggs and Aeris, neither of those two were capable of satisfying Jessie's inner-techie. And strangely enough, the handsome and sophisticated Rufus ended up filling that void…and apparently, was about to fill it again.

"Care for some company?" Rufus asked as he approached her table with a tray.

"Sure," Jessie gestured for him to sit. "Where's your bodyguard?"

Rufus set his tray on the table and sat down. "Strife? I gave him the evening off. I've got another bodyguard for tonight,"

As if on cue, a large toy moogle carrying what looked like a cat on its head approached the table.

"Jessie, meet Cait Sith,"

"Pleased to meet you!" the cat extended its paw, which Jessie bewilderedly shook.

"One of the guys from urban development apparently has a lot of free time on his hands, so he built this," Rufus explained, "And he happens to be the friend I mentioned before,"

"Wait- you mean to tell me that this robot is your 'big connection'?" Jessie exclaimed.

Rufus chuckled. "You were expecting some mob guy?"

"Well…"

"Care for me to read your fortunes?" Cait Sith asked.

"Just keep an eye on things," Rufus instructed the robot, "Save your crackpot fortunes for the customers,"

"Yessir!" Cait Sith hopped away.

"I've always wanted to come here," Jessie said as she looked around. "This place is exactly what I thought it would be,"

"Have you checked out the arcade yet?" Rufus asked her before digging into his food.

"No. Is it any good?"

"The stuff in the main area isn't anything special," Rufus said, "But there's a back room that has twice as many games. That's the place worth checking out,"

Jessie took a bite out of her food. "Sounds like fun," she mumbled.

"Would you care to join me there after we're done eating then?"

"I'd love to," Jessie told him, "But I was actually gonna head over to the Event Square first,"

"What's at the event square?" Rufus asked.

"They're having some kind of performance," Jessie said, "You know, I used to catch shows every week before we left to…" She trailed off and looked away, embarrassed.

The executive smirked. "Before you decided to kidnap me? If this is what it's like, I should get abducted more often,"

"Anyway," Jessie continued, "I haven't seen anything in over a month, so I'm desperate. Even a play will do…would you like to come with me?"

"Sure, why not?"

Jessie smiled and continued to eat her dinner.

Sorry, Barrett, but I guess I won't be taking your advice after all. If I'm mistaken, then I'm willing to pay the price since I'd deserve it…but I don't think I'm mistaken…

Cloud woke from his nap to the sound of knocking. With a yawn, he got up and went to answer the door.

"Hey Cloud," Tifa greeted him.

"What's up?"

Tifa bit her lip nervously. "I was just thinking…why don't the two of us sneak off and hang out together?"

"Uh…" Cloud began to say. Before he could actually respond, Tifa grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room.

"Come on, let's go!"

"Improv?" Rufus asked skeptically as he read the sign outside the theater.

"That should be interesting," Jessie commented as she and Rufus walked inside.

"We'll see," Rufus said skeptically.

They found two empty seats and sat down, sipping the sodas they'd picked up at the concessions stand. A couple minutes later, the lights dimmed, and man walked up onstage. He looked around, and began to speak:

"Long, long ago, an evil shadow appeared over the peaceful kingdom of Galdia. Princess Rosa was kidnapped by the evil dragon king, Valvados. What will become of her?"

Rufus gave the stage a thumbs-down sign.

"Oh, give it a chance," Jessie whispered.

"And just then," the narrator continued, "The legendary hero Alfred appears!"

Cloud stepped onto the stage, blushing furiously, and holding an old-fashioned sword and shield.

Jessie and Rufus nearly spit out their drinks.

A knight went up to him. "You must be the legendary hero…Alfred!"

Rufus snickered at the terrible acting.

"Please!" the knight said loudly, "Talk…to the king!"

Cloud shrugged and went over to a man dressed in regal robes.

"Oh, legendary hero, Alfred!" the king said to Cloud, "You have come to save my beloved Rosa! On the peak of a dangerous mountain dwells the evil dragon king, Valvados!"

"Then I will talk to the knight," Cloud said in a monotone voice.

He walked back over to the knight.

"I am but a lowly knight," the knight declared, "How can I help you?"

"I want to defeat Valvados," Cloud droned.

On cue, a man in a monster costume stumbled onstage, roaring loudly. In his arms was Tifa.

"What the hell are these two doing there?" Jessie whispered to Rufus.

"Maybe Tifa's here to save this show," Rufus suggested hopefully.

"I am the evil dragon king, Valvados!" the "monster" yelled, "I have not harmed the princess!"

"Please help me…legendary hero!" Tifa yelled uncertainly.

"I spoke too soon," Rufus muttered.

The dragon roared again. "Here I come, legendary hero Alfred! Yes, I already know your name!"

The knight began to yell as he charged at the Valvados. The dragon merely sidestepped the attack. The knight crashed to the floor and didn't move.

"What now, legendary hero?" the evil dragon king hissed, "Going back to the king? Or to consult the wizard? Where do you go from here?"

Cloud shut his eyes in disgust. He'd has enough of this stupid play.

He raised his sword. "I will go…home!" he shouted as he bolted off the stage and out the door, dropping the sword and shield.

"Cloud!!" Tifa yelled after him, "Be serious! If you didn't wanna be in the play…! Ugh! Now I'm mad!"

She struggled to break free from the dragon king's grasp.

"Gaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" the evil dragon king roared, "You dare ignore me?"

"Oh, shut up!" Tifa yelled as she kicked him in the shins. He howled in pain as he dropped her. She then ran out of the room. "Cloud!!"

"Oh my," the narrator commented, "What an unusually strong princess! And so the new legendary hero Rosa lives happily ever after!"

The crowd burst into wild applause.

Rufus looked around in disbelief. "People are actually applauding this crap?"

"You didn't think it was funny?" Jessie asked.

"Oh, those two kids are hilarious," Rufus acknowledged, "But the play was crap. Good thing I didn't have to pay to get in,"

"Wanna go to the arcade then?" Jessie asked, "Looks like it's more of the same here,"

"Let's," Rufus stood up. The two left the event square together.

"Cloud, get back here!" Tifa yelled as she chased him around the Wonder Square.

Cloud laughed as he kept running.

"You're such a jerk!"

"Hey, I didn't even get a say in whether or not I wanted to do that stupid play in the first place!"

"Did you have to be such a jerk about it though?"

"Didn't really have a choice, did I?"

Tifa found herself fighting not to laugh.

Cloud glanced behind himself as he continued to run. "You think it's funny!" he accused her.

"I do not!" Tifa couldn't help but giggle. "Cloud, when I get my hands on you, you're gonna be in so much trouble…!"

"What kind of a maniac are you?!" Rufus exclaimed as he and Jessie battled each other in a fighting game.

Jessie's character executed another "double sonic wave" on Rufus' character.

"I thought you said you were undefeated!" Jessie laughed as she continued to mash the buttons on the machine.

"I was!" Rufus insisted.

"Who the heck were you playing with then?" Jessie asked, "Because I'm totally kicking your ass!"

Rufus smirked. "I'm not done yet,"

He hit the buttons and moved the joystick in a certain sequence, causing fire to rain down on Jessie's character.

"Oh, you bastard!" Jessie exclaimed, "You did not just do that!"

Rufus grinned evilly. "And what are you going to do about it?"

Jessie only laughed.

Rufus watched in disbelief as Jessie's character grabbed his in a headlock, and flipped the sprite upside-down, slamming it on its head.

"K.O!" the game announced, "Player two wins!"

Rufus stared at the screen, dumbfounded.

"That was fun," Jessie declared, "Too bad we're all out of tokens,"

Rufus glanced at his watch. "How long did we spend here? My god, we've been here over two hours,"

"Damn! Really?" Jessie checked her own watch. "Wow. Time flies when you're kicking someone's ass,"

"Hmm…intelligent and cocky," he observed, amused. "I'll admit, I haven't been able to just let loose and play like this in a long time. I was beginning to forget how much fun it is,"

"Can I ask you something?" Jessie said suddenly.

"What is it?"

"Don't get me wrong," Jessie told him, "As incredible as it is that you've seen the light, wasn't your dream to run Shinra Inc.? There won't be much of a company left if you don't have mako to profit from,"

"We'll take a bit of a fall, yes," Rufus agreed, "But we'll simply switch back to electric power. If anything, it's even more of a challenge: to rebuild this company into something better. I've got so many plans for the future…and that's why I have no intention of letting some psychotic alien bitch kill me,"

"So hard to believe that this Jenova stuff is really happening," Jessie sighed, "Though it's sure made the feud between Avalanche and Shinra kinda pointless,"

"Since Avalanche won't have any more need to continue existing after I tear down the reactors…" Rufus said thoughtfully, "Would you be interested in working for the company once this is all over?"

Jessie shook her head in disbelief. "Working for Shinra…that'd be so weird…"

"Weirder than playing video games with its future president?"

"You know what I mean!"

"I suppose," Rufus acknowledged. "You don't have to answer right away. It's just something to think about,"

Jessie nodded. The two stood silently for a moment, while the room was filled with sounds of the other people playing.

Rufus looked out the large window at one of the cable cars gliding by.

"That looks fun," he remarked.

"What does?" Jessie asked.

Rufus pointed ahead. "The 'gondolas'. I remember riding them the last time I came out here. You get a great view of the place."

"Really?" Jessie looked intrigued.

"Yeah. Come on," Rufus headed for the door.

Jessie smiled and shrugged before following him out of the arcade.

"All right," Cloud grumbled as he and Tifa stepped off the gondola, "I went to the chocobo races with you. I took you to the game room. I took you to the haunted house, and I took you on the gondola. Do you finally forgive me for messing with the play?"

Tifa grinned mischievously. "You've been forgiven since about an hour ago, actually,"

"What!?"

"Just wanted to see how far you'd go with your whole atonement bit," Tifa giggled.

Cloud stared incredulously at her.

"Oh come on- was it so bad?" she asked.

"…No, I guess it wasn't," Cloud admitted shyly.

"Hey, are you hungry?" Tifa asked suddenly, "My stomach's been rumbling for the past ten minutes,"

"I guess I could go for a bite," Cloud admitted, "Lead the way,"

"So pretty…" Jessie commented as she watched the fireworks going off inside the gondola.

Rufus nodded in agreement.

"Reminds me…" she continued, "…about something Aeris said. It was about two days after we all found out she was a Cetra. Cloud had asked her about the Promised Land. She described it as a land of supreme happiness, where all Cetra would eventually return to,"

"No offense, but that sounds like a fairy-tale to me," Rufus told her.

Jessie chuckled. "That's what I said too. Aeris agreed with me, though. She said that if the promise of happiness lies in death, then what is the purpose of life?"

"She's a smart kid," Rufus commented.

"She said that after this was all over, she was going to find her own version of the Promised Land, in the world of the living. It's a beautiful thought, really, but now…you know, even if she does get better…with the life she's had here, why would she wanna come back? She's probably safer in that other world. Maybe that'll end up being her 'Promised Land'. It was kinda nice having a friend who was a girl- not to mention around my age. I'm always around Biggs and Wedge, it was nice to have something different,"

All that fuss over another person, Rufus mused. But I think I'm beginning to understand finally…

"Like you're tired of the idiocy coming from people your age, so you turn to people who are older?" Rufus guessed. He knew that feeling all too well.

Jessie laughed. "Eh, something like that, I guess,"

He then thought of something. "Why do you hate Reno and Tseng so much? I see how you look at them, especially Reno,"

Jessie stiffened, still not looking at Rufus.

"I hate all Turks," she said quietly, "Maybe Tseng has his head on straight, but Reno is exactly like the type who would get into a huge brawl in the middle of the street,"Rufus smirked. "Probably,"

"And he'd probably end up hurting innocent people as a result," Jessie went on.

"People like whom?" Rufus asked.

Jessie lowered her head. "Like my sister,"

"What about your sister?"

Jessie glared at him suddenly. "What would you care?"

Rufus looked out the window. "…If I didn't care, I wouldn't ask,"

Jessie closed her eyes and rested her head in her hand. Then she began to speak:

"It was a few years ago. My sister was coming home from work. She was walking along her usual route, minding her own business. Then a couple Turks decided to duke it out. One of them pulled out a gun just as she was walking by, and she ended up being hit by a stray bullet,"

"She was killed?"

Jessie shook her head. "We thought she wouldn't make it, but she pulled through in the end. Only, she lost the use of her legs. Of course, that Turk got away scot-free,"

"And that's why you hate them," Rufus concluded.

"Not like you'd understand," Jessie muttered, blinking back tears.

Rufus looked at her. "Look…I'm…sorry I brought any of this up. I wanted us all to have fun tonight. Not to relive painful memories,"

Jessie slowly looked up at the young executive. So different from the pictures she saw. No cold demeanor, no arrogant smirk. Just a guy who seemed concerned for a friend.

"I'll bet I could find out who that Turk was," Rufus told her, "You'd just have to tell me the exact date of that incident. That ought to narrow down the search considerably,"

"You'd do that for me?" Jessie asked in wonder.

"Well…yeah," Rufus admitted.

He then laughed. "God, never did I think I'd find someone close to my age who I thought was worth having a decent conversation with, much less in a group of eco-terrorists. But all that about 'diamonds in the rough', I guess is true,"

"Same could be said for how I feel about you," Jessie agreed.

Rufus raised an eyebrow. "And…how do you feel about me?"

They jerked suddenly as the gondola came to a stop. The two silently stood up and got out."Hope you enjoyed yourselves," the ticket-man said. "Have a good night,"

"…I guess I'm what one might call 'simple-minded'," Jessie said finally as they walked out of the Wonder Square together. "All I've ever thought about was computers, and later on, Avalanche. There's only a few people in my life I really concentrate on. Biggs, Wedge, and the rest of my family. I can't stop worrying about Aeris. And then you turned out to be pretty cool yourself…"

Rufus smiled. "Kind of like my own personal philosophy: most people aren't worth wasting your life on, so just concentrate on the few who are worthy,"

Jessie raised an eyebrow. "'Worthy'? So I'm 'worthy' of your attention?"

"Oh, don't take it that way, I just meant-!"

Jessie laughed. "No, I'm not offended. From anyone else, I'd see it as an insult…but I know that in your own twisted way, that's a supreme compliment you just implied there,"

"So then you wouldn't be completely repulsed if I did this…?" Rufus quickly leaned in and pressed his lips against Jessie's.

Jessie stiffened for a moment, completely caught off-guard. Then after a couple of seconds, she placed her hands on Rufus' shoulders and returned the kiss.

"Hey, get a room!" a kid jeered as he walked around the two of them.

Well, given that the world could end in a few days… Jessie mused as the kiss intensified. Oh, to hell with it! I don't give a shit what the others think…it's my thing to deal with…not theirs.

They finally pulled away, both slightly out of breath.

"So, my room or yours?" Rufus said half-jokingly.

"Whichever's closer," Jessie answered straight away.

Rufus looked slightly surprised at first, but then smirked as he grabbed Jessie's hand and led her down the path to the old hotel.

"Here we are," Cloud announced as he and Tifa reached the door to her room.

Tifa's burgundy eyes shined brightly as she smiled. "Cloud…this night was amazing," she told him.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I had a lot of fun…thank you,"

Cloud looked around to make sure that no airplanes or drunken members of SOLDIER were around to interrupt them. He then closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and delivered a quick kiss to Tifa's lips.

"Goodnight," he whispered.

Tifa blushed slightly, then took Cloud's hand. She pulled him back toward her, and kissed him back, only this time, lingering for a few seconds.

She stepped back. "Goodnight, Cloud," she said softly.

Cloud laughed nervously. "Yeah…"

"We should do something like this again…" Tifa suggested hopefully.

Cloud beamed. "Sure!"

He then stumbled, but regained his footing as he turned and walked away.

No way I'm going to let Jenova win now…Tifa thought as she opened the door and went inside her room.

"Mister Vice-President?" Cait Sith called out as he knocked on Rufus' door the next morning.

A muffled groan came from inside.

"Rufus, sir, it's almost eight 'o clock. Your plans were for the four of you to be assembled by no later than nine. Cloud and Tifa are already waiting behind me,"

The door opened, and Rufus stuck his head out.

"You know, your voice is even more irritating when I've just woken up," he remarked.

"Eh? You look as if you're hiding something," Cait Sith twisted around, trying to look past Rufus. "Miss Jessie?! What are you doing getting dressed in Rufus' bedroom?"

Cloud and Tifa's mouths dropped open in shock.

Rufus grabbed Cait Sith by the scruff of his neck.

"You'd better relay a message to Mr. Tuesti," the vice-president hissed at the robot cat, "He'd better program some goddamn boundaries into your system if he knows what's good for him. If it wasn't for the fact that you've got your uses, I'd rip out all your circuits right now,"

"I'll send him a memo ASAP, sir!" Cait Sith yelped, "Just don't hurt me, please!"

"It's all right, Rufus," Jessie said wearily as she appeared next to him fully clothed, save for her shoes and socks. Her hair was unbound and she absently pushed a lock of it out of her face. "They were bound to find out eventually,"

She then looked at the very uncomfortable Cloud and Tifa.

"You guys have fun last night?" she asked casually, "Loved that performance, by the way,"

Cloud looked away, mortified that someone he knew had actually seen him doing that stupid thing.

"So we'll meet downstairs in the food court in a few minutes?" Jessie suggested.

"Uh…sure," Tifa said, "Come on, Cloud,"

"I'm never going to live this down, am I?" Cloud muttered as Tifa led him away.

Silly selfish Cloud…Tifa thought with a sigh, Jessie's the one who's not going to live things down…man…what the heck did I get myself into?

She then looked back at Cloud, who was still pouting…that adorable pout.

…Got myself into something really nice…she thought as a slow smile spread across her face.