Angel Trapped On Earth

Chapter Seven

. + . Upon The Highwind .+.

"PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!!" Tifa screeched, flailing her arms about. Sephiroth just grunted and held her more firmly.

She gave a huff and just gave up. The men appeared in the distance, and she could already see their puzzled expressions. Vincent looked nonchalant as ever, Barret had a dumbfounded look upon his face, Cid arched on curious eyebrow, Nanaki looked utterly confused, and Rufus--well Rufus just merely smiled. Yuffie hurried over to Vincent's side, and beamed at him. The faintest of smiles appeared on Vincent's face.

"PUT ME DOWN NOW!" Tifa screamed again. Surely her friends would come help her. Right?

In less than a second, she found herself flat on her butt. With all the dignity she could muster, she held her chin up high, got up to her feet and walked off with a loud "HMPH!". She narrowed her eyes dangerously at all the men and even at Yuffie who looked sheepishly guilt-free. She strutted past them, her chin still high and walked onto the Highwind letting the others follow along in amused silence. Sephiroth, however, smirked all the way up. Rufus stopped and looked at him quizzically.

"Er..you're to be travelling on the Highwind with us?" He asked dumbly. Sephiroth blinked. What, was he an idiot?

"If you're recommending I walk--" Sephiroth began, but Rufus shook his head and let him walk onto the platform of the highwind.

"This brings back memories.." Yuffie said dreamily with a sigh.

"Yeh. We used to plan all our battles and celebrate victories on hea'. Why…Sephiroth wuda been dust if it --" Barret began to say, but remembered that Sephiroth was in their company.

He threw a glance at Sephiroth, whose face had clouded over. Sephiroth walked away, letting the breeze ruffle the hem of his cloak, not once looking back. Tifa looked after him with concern obvious on her face. Yuffie beamed at this. She leaned closer to Vincent so that her lips were next to his ears. He flinched a little, then eased.

"I need to talk to you for awhile." She whispered. Vincent nodded and let Yuffie lead him to their quarters on the ship.

Tifa began to go in the direction Sephiroth had taken, but Rufus layed a firm hand on her shoulder. She looked at him with the smallest hint of a frown, and smiled at him.

"Hmm?" Tifa inquiried.

"I need to speak with you, Tifa." Rufus said calmly.

"Oh! Sure of course." Tifa replied with a little shrug.

"We'll meet in the meeting room this evening. You still remember where it is, right?"

"Yeah! Of course I do!" Tifa replied, nodding frantically. Rufus nodded and walked away.

Tifa looked after him with confusion. Why had Rufus requested to speak with her? Probably about the mission and Cloud, she told herself. She was getting too paranoid. Then, she turned in the direction that Sephiroth had gone off to.

She stopped abruptly when Sephiroth came into view. He was leaning across the railing of the ship, gazing intently at the darkening horizon. It was getting dark, due to winter, and so hues of orange-pink and lavender was mingled with the blue sky in the far off horizon. She looked at Sephiroth and wondered in amazement why it never ceased to amaze her how beautiful he was.

His silver hair whipped around his face, and sometimes a loose strand of hair would brush against his face, making Tifa's heart give a little skip. Her gaze lingered upon his masculinely set jaw, and on to his neck where she noted how muscular it was. His adam's apple was most attractive, and she felt her stomach gave a little nervous turn. Of course, she thought to herself, he has such a rich, deep voice. His mako eyes were darker than usual, making it into a dark shade of jade. His perfectly sculpted lips were set into a grim line.

She took a deep breath and took a step towards him, clearing her throat to motion that she was there. He didn't give any signs of acknowledgement. She rolled her eyes and sighed heavily as she took her place by his side. Like him, she too fixed her gaze upon the far off distance. The gentle, cool yet warm breeze danced airily upon her face and she took in a deep breath. It was like heaven, smelling the fresh air mixed with the faintest scent of salt from the ocean. She gave a heavy sigh of contentment, letting her shoulders rise and drop at the notion.

He stole a quick glance at her and had to refrain himself from ravishing her completely right then and there. It was a wonder what she could do to him and not even know it. He fixed his stare on the horizon even more intently than before, and he felt the same irritation he felt when she wasn't there rising again. It bothered him that he was deeply mistrusted. It bothered him Tifa might even hate him. It bothered him that he might never be able to redeem himself. Most of all, it bothered him that he even cared. He gave a grunt of frustration, causing Tifa to look at him in puzzlement. She then smiled a scolding smile, and looked back a the horizon.

"Giving me the silent treatment too?" She asked, smiling.

"There's nothing to talk about." He replied stiffly.

"I see." She said, pushing herself away from the railling and walking away.

Sephiroth wanted to call after her, but his pride and stubborness would never allow him too. He just kept staring hard at the horizon, not moving an inch until he could hear her footsteps ebbing away.

.+.+.+.

"Oh Vincent! It's wonderful! SOOO wonderful!" Yuffie squealed in excitement.

Vincent gave her an affectionate smile, and concentrated his attention on her adorable face rather than what she was squealing about. With all his heart, he truly loved her, and deep inside, he had a little part of Lucretia but Yuffie had a much bigger place in his heart now. He realized that he was going to be in deep trouble if he didn't start listening because she was now looking expectantly as if she had just asked a question.

"Pardon me?" He asked.

Yuffie's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Were you listening to me?" She asked threateningly.

Vincent gave a small nod.

"Liar." She said.

He smiled under his scarf and reached out his arms to wrap around her waist, drawing her close to him.

"So tell me again." He whispered in her ears, and she happily rested her head on his shoulder.

"Sephiroth and Tifa love each other but they don't know it yet." She said.

Vincent nodded to prompt her on. Sephiroth loves Tifa? Tifa loves Sephiroth? This was actually interesting news to his ears, unlike Yuffie's usual rants of materia and other stuff in particular.

"I'm going to help them along." Yuffie said, lifting her head a bit to see Vincent's reaction.

Not a good idea.

"You are?" He asked, his eyes looking at her skeptically. She nodded.

"If you want." He said with a sigh. She beamed at him and hugged him tightly.

She loved how he would let her do anything she wanted, and he supported her whole-heartedly. She loved the freedom he gave her, and the unconditional love they shared. Most of all, she desperately loved him.

"DINNER'S READYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!! WE'RE EATING CANNED FOODS AGAIN!" Cid's voice boomed.

Yuffie laughed and said, "C'mon Vincent, It's time to be tortured again."

.+.+.+.

"Err--Just a moment Tifa, a word with you if you please." Rufus said, motioning Tifa into the meeting room.

"What is it?" Tifa asked as Rufus closed the door behind him.

"Is it about Cloud? Because..after he left, I know nothing else of his whereabouts….or plans. …Well he did say that he wanted to ressurect Aeris and….fame and fortune. He also…said he loved..me." Tifa said, almost whispering at her last words.

"Well..about his plans, we already have a good idea. 'We', as in the ShinRa. I..wanted to talk about Sephiroth." He said, his eyes glanced towards the side.

"…Oh. What about Sephiroth?" She asked.

"You know we don't trust him. It's best if you stay away from him. We don't know what his plans are and we don't exactly know HOW he managed to escape the lifestream….he might be a traitor. He was our enemy before, Tifa. You must remember that." He told her. Tifa felt anger rising.

"But …but he's changed! AND..and back then! He never wanted to those things! He was pressured! He was mislead…and..lied to!" Tifa cried out.

"He killed your father and burned down your hometown, Tifa. Can you forgive him?" Rufus asked softly, his eyes raising to meet her furious glare.

She looked away hesitantly.

"I understand Tifa. That is why it is best you stay away from him. I don't think anyone's forgiven him…"

"No..but he isn't like that anymore." She said softly. "I trust him."

"Trust isn't always the issue. It's whether he's worthy of that trust or not…and of that we don't know yet." Rufus said with a little shake of his head.

"Just keep your distance from him..okay?" Rufus pleaded.

He was right. She would have to stay away from Sephiroth. They didn't know whether he was harmless or really trying to help. She didn't really forgive him completely for his deeds in the past either. Rufus saw the emotions play across Tifa's face, and knew that she had silently agreed.

"Let's go to dinner, Tifa." He said with a boyish smile. She hadn't seen him smile like that ever since she saw him again.

.+.+.+

"Tifa!" Sephiroth called when Rufus and Tifa was walking towards the dining part of the ship.

Tifa turned around, and she was suddenly panic-stricken. What to say? She looeked at Rufus, who nodded to remind Tifa of what she should do.

"Um..dinner's ready." Tifa said hastily, and walked quickly off the dining area with Rufus.

Sephiroth stopped in his tracks and frowned. Was it just him or was Tifa trying to avoid him? No it couldn't be, he assured himself and followed the rest into the dining room, praying that it better be a damned good dinner to make Tifa hasten away from him.

.+.+.+

She was definitely avoiding him. Throughout dinner, she wouldn't meet his gaze. He hadn't spoken much. Actually, he hadn't spoken at all, but when he looked at Tifa, she would glance away guiltily. What the hell was bothering her now, he wondered agitated.

Tifa felt lighthearted besides the fact that she was feeling horribly guilty for snubbing Sephiroth completely. It couldn't be helped, she assured herself as she helped herself to another heap of what looked like canned food. She was a chef, and an excellent taster. Let's just say, this wasn't the best food she had.

"How's the food?" Cid asked, and for a brief moment, Tifa wondered if he had read her mind.

"Err-great." She lied.

"Friggin' liar, but thanks anyways." Cid said with a lopsided smile.

She smiled back and it felt wonderful. It felt wonderful to be among friends again, and she didn't feel so lonely anymore. She found herself smiling a lot more, and she hadn't payed much attention to Sephiroth. At least she tried not to. With every bite he brought to his mouth, she would gaze at his lips only to find that he was staring intently at her, and she would look away blushing.

They had updated with each other on how they were doing, what they were doing, and stuff like that until all of them couldn't eat another horrible bite. Despite the bad food, this was probably one of the best dinners she's had in years.

Sephiroth was deeply irritated by now. Why the hell was she trying to avoid him? Well he would find out soon. The others were soon retreating to their rooms, letting the workers on the Highwind clean the mess they had made. He barely caught Tifa as she left for her quarters.

"Tifa--" He began, but she was caught off by her fake smile.

"GOOD-NIGHT SEPHIROTH!" She smiled and waved goodbye as she made a mad dash for her room.

Now he was thouroughly enraged. He would have to deal with her later, for all her witless friends were watching him. Yuffie frowned at this. This wasn't supposed to be happening. Tifa was avoiding Sephiroth like the plague. She glanced over at Vincent who just gave her another one of his famous glazed over look.

Well, she would just have to do something about it, wouldn't she?

.+.+.+

[ author's note : One of my longer chapters, ne? I'm actually waiting for the laundry as I am writing this. Hehe, wow two chapters in one weekend, pretty amazing update for me huh? LOLz thanks to all of you who are being so patient with me! ^_^ Disclaimer : …*sigh* FFVII is not mine and yadee yadee ya. Well, see you next time! Ja-ne! *waves* ]

Next update : Hopefully by the 20th or 21st. Oh yeah I'm going to watch LoR 2!! Orlando Bloom ( a.k.a Legolas ) is soOooo hot! He reminds me slightly of Sephiroth only a little slightly less dangerous-looking? Hehe !