By: General Quistis (generalquistis@yahoo.com)
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII or Squaresoft. Gyah…
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Rufus looked around, scanning the whole area as he passed by. "I think we made a wrong turn, Dark Nation," he said aloud.
"Meowrrr…" Dark Nation replied, meaning to say, "I can just sniff the ground if you want to," before lowering her nose closer to the ground and started to sniff, trying to recognize the scent, but she stopped and stiffened when she recognized another familiar scent. Then, she lifted her head, sniffing the air around her.
Rufus noticed her sudden reaction and stopped walking as he stared at him. "Anything wrong, Dark Nation?" he asked, studying her.
Dark Nation stopped sniffing and looked up, turning to the building to her left. It was a Church.
Rufus looked up at the Church with a frown on his face, but it soon faded when he realized that the last time he attended a mass was during his mother's funeral.
He did not even pray.
"Can we go inside for a while?" he asked his pet.
Dark Nation continued to sniff the air. "You should go inside, I guess…" she wanted to say to Rufus, but she could just say, "Meowrrr,"
Rufus smiled gently at her as he proceeded to the Church. He slowly opened the door, surprised to see that it was not locked since it was not even a Sunday. As he stepped inside, his eyes grew wide in awe upon seeing the insides of the Church. It was small but it looked very lovely because of the stained glass window designs plus the sunlight seeping through them. Compared to outside, it was cooler inside the Church.
Following the trail of light from the last window, it led his gaze to a familiar-looking girl kneeling down on the front pew with her eyes closed.
She opened them again when she heard someone gasp from the door. She instantly got up, feeling alarmed all of a sudden that it could be some goon again, but when she turned around to look, her eyes grew wide in awe. "R…Ru…" she could not even say his name.
Rufus had this ridiculous thought in his mind: "God must've sent me an angel… and it's Tifa… oh hell, that's the mushiest thing I've ever thought of… well anyway," he stopped his thoughts and flipped his hair as he smiled coolly at her.
Dark Nation stepped inside and she felt overjoyed when she saw Tifa. "Meowr!" she sprinted to her and got up, as if trying to pounce her as she nuzzled her head against Tifa's neck. "Meowrrr," she purred, meaning to say, "Oh, Tifa, it's so nice to see you again!"
Tifa chuckled lightly, happy to see Dark Nation again as she embraced the big panther. "Oh, Dark Nation… It's you!" she said before scanning the panther's body. Her eyes grew wide in awe. "Oh my God… you've gotten fatter…" she stopped when she realized that the black panther is pregnant. Then, she turned back to Rufus who just remained standing by the front door, observing them quietly with a gentle smile on his face.
She smiled shyly at him before she decided to proceed to him. Dark Nation followed behind her until the three of them finally got out.
"I'm sorry if I interrupted your prayer, I didn't know you were in there," Rufus told her as he flipped his hair again.
Tifa shook her head frantically. "N…no, it's okay… I was done anyway," she replied shyly; she could already feel her whole face turning red as she looked up at him and she noticed his smile widening and turning slyer than before. "Damn it, Tifa… you're going to get busted if he finds out that you like him…" she scolded herself silently.
Rufus looked up at the steeple, smiling at the Cross, and then turned back to Tifa when she spoke up with a hesitant tone.
"So, what are you doing here with Dark Nation? It's so unlikely of someone like you to be going to Sector 7 unless spying or something…"
He shook his head. "I was meaning to see you. I came here without any bodyguards that could interfere and disturb us," he said before flipping his hair again. "Damn it… stop flipping your hair… what if it irritates her?" Rufus scolded himself silently as he stiffened a little and turned to Dark Nation who kept on nuzzling her head and the sides of her body against his and Tifa's legs. He raised his eyebrows at her. "Well… at least she's happy…" he thought silently before turning back to Tifa. "So, you wanna… grab a drink or something? I have some questions to ask you about Dark Nation's condition because… I never really had a pregnant pet before… I thought you might know something about those kind of things…" he stammered uneasily before flipping his hair again.
She blinked and nodded. "Of course. I could help you, Rufus," she said with a joyful glint in her eyes, already noticing that he wasn't wearing his usual jackets and that he has a good built. It made her blush even more, so she just turned away.
"Let's go," Rufus said, turning to his side to lead the way, but he tripped on Dark Nation, just as she was rubbing her side against his front legs.
He fell face-first with a loud "Whoa!"
Tifa covered her mouth to stop herself from reacting with a gasp. "Oh my God, are you okay?" she asked as she offered to help him, but he raised his hands to stop her. "I'm okay, not to worry," he said reassuringly with a weak smile as he stood up with trembling knees. He was still shaken by the fall. "This is the second time I fell right in the presence of Tifa…" he thought silently with a miserable look on his face, remembering the night when he fell down the stairs.
Dark Nation was licking her right front paw and she seemed to smile at Rufus when she said, "Meowrrr,"
Rufus narrowed his eyes on Dark Nation as he muttered, "You are such a naughty kitty,"
Tifa approached Rufus and mindlessly brushed off the dirt from his clothes. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, noticing that he was still shaken.
"Yeah, I think I'll be fine…" he said as he walked in a wobbly manner which made Tifa assist him by putting her arm around his waist to support his weight. "Let me help you," she said with a shy smile on her face as they headed for the nearest café with Dark Nation trailing behind them, still purring happily.
Tifa helped him sit down and then sat down herself on another chair facing him and rested her elbows on the table, leaning a little bit forward. "What do you want? I'll get you a drink," she told him.
"I don't know… maybe just a strawberry shake. Haven't had one of those ever since…" he trailed off, not really wanting to disclose much information about his childhood.
But her smile and her line, "Ever since what?" had convinced him to do so. He smiled slightly as he lowered his gaze to the ground. "Ever since my mother died…" he said softly.
She nodded slightly as she looked down to the ground also. "I see… don't worry, I understand…" she said before standing up and giving him a reassuring pat on his shoulder. "I also lost my mother at a very young age…" she admitted before she got inside, leaving Rufus and Dark Nation there.
Dark Nation looked up at Rufus and she seemed to be laughing at him as she thought "Hahahaha! Master is blushing!" she chanted in her mind gaily.
Rufus made a face at her but she just hissed at him.
After a couple of minutes, Tifa came out again with two glasses of strawberry shake.
Rufus turned to her as she sat down again and gave him his order. "Did you pay that already?" he asked.
"Yeah, why?" she asked mindlessly as she took a sip.
Rufus frowned. "Let me pay you back, you should've just let me pay for our drinks." He said with a shy smile on his face as he made a move to get his wallet, but Tifa stopped him, "No, it's okay, really." she said with a reassuring smile.
He felt uncomfortable about just letting it pass, but he just leaned back and started to drink. "Thank you, Tifa," he said with a weak smile on his face.
She just smiled at him.
Dark Nation yawned and sprawled across the floor beside their table.
Tifa was examining his face and noticed the scratch on his cheek. "What happened to your face?" she asked.
Rufus remembered about Dark Nation scratching his face earlier. "Oh… nothing. Dark Nation scratched it." He said.
Tifa reached for her handkerchief and stood up, going to him, and wiped some blood away from his face. "Are you aware that it's still bleeding?" she asked gently.
Rufus frowned slightly. "No…not really… I thought it stopped awhile ago…" he told her as he took the handkerchief from her and applied some pressure against his own face. "Oh well…" he said as he looked at the sleeping Dark Nation before turning back to Tifa. "You're aware that Dark Nation is pregnant, right?" he asked.
Tifa sat down and moved her chair closer to him. "Yeah." She replied.
He smiled. "Do you know who the father is?" he asked.
Tifa frowned slightly as she thought for a while. "It's Red XIII. He belongs to Aerith." She explained with a smile on her face.
Rufus nodded. "Red XIII? He's that… uh… research specimen?" he asked.
"Formerly." Tifa corrected with a wink.
Rufus could feel his face getting warmer.
Dark Nation woke up upon sensing his sudden discomfort. She looked up at them and said, "Meowrrr?" meaning to say "So, when's the wedding?"
Rufus and Tifa looked down at her and raised their eyebrows at her, as if understanding what she wanted to say since they also turned red.
"You really are a naughty kitty," Rufus muttered as he nudged her gently with his foot.
Dark Nation hissed and bit his foot.
Rufus laughed. "Nice-tasting leather, huh?" he asked.
Dark Nation withdrew and spitted before wiping her mouth with her right front paw. "Eww… you should polish your shoes, Rufus," she thought miserably.
Tifa giggled as she stooped down to pat Dark Nation's head.
Rufus studied them as he listened to the music playing in the background from the radio and smiled gently. "You like her, huh?" he asked.
Tifa nodded shyly. "She's very adorable… and she's also very loyal and nice…" she explained before looking at him. "How long has she been with you?" she asked.
"Ever since childhood. My mom gave her to me as a birthday present before she died…" he said with a sad look on his face.
Her smile faded away and she sat up straight again, facing him. "I'm sorry," she said gently.
He nodded slightly before turning back to Dark Nation who was looking at him with a look of sympathy in her eyes. "I was there when your mother died, remember? I could never forget that night… it was the reason why you became so cold and uncaring to more people…" she thought before turning to Tifa and said, "Meowrrr," meaning to say, "…I'm thankful for Tifa. I've never seen you smile so ever since your mother died… until she came into our lives, Master." She thought.
Tifa turned back to Dark Nation and stooped down to stroke to her fur. "Dark Nation, you're a pretty girl, huh?" she asked with a singsong voice as she giggled and tickled the black panther's chin. Dark Nation began to purr loudly before nuzzling her head against Tifa's hand.
Rufus scanned Tifa's features as he crossed his arms across his chest. Then, he stiffened when he recognized the song playing on the radio, "Your body is a wonderland… your body is a wonder, I'll use my hands…" He turned red as he twitched and stiffened before turning his gaze away from Tifa and just continued to drink his shake in a frantic manner.
Tifa turned to him. "Are you okay?" she asked with a concerned look on her face.
"Yeah… I'm fine…" he stammered with a weak smile.