Shades of Gray
Part Six: Actions Speak Louder than Words
Twelfth of December
9:30 PM - A golden hour for all the regulars of the popular "Indulgence" bar. Most of these patrons were men who wanted nothing more than to forget their problems under a waterfall of alcohol. Obviously, catching even a glimpse of the lovely bartender was an added bonus, but no matter who they were, reality would intrude once again when morning came. Dawn, though, was far away and the nights were left to the absence of memory.
The bar had been closed for a couple of days, but the moment it opened, the regular clients came back. It was packed, as usual, despite being just over two weeks from Christmas. Tifa often wondered why these men would rather squander their money instead of spend some 'quality time' with their family. But maybe like her, they had none to return to... but unlike them, she was smart enough to know that getting wasted was not the answer to her troubles.
"Hey waitresh, gimme mo' beer!" Tifa turned her attention to the man at the furthermost table. She had begun to lose count of how many drinks he'd ordered and already let the waitress know to stop serving him. She ignored the man, hoping he would take the hint and leave.
"Girly, you deaf o' shometing'? I shed I want mo', didn't I!" Tifa said nothing. "Heh, can't hear me, can you? I WANT MORE BEER! I WANT MORE BEER! I WANT MORE BEER!" he chanted loudly while pounding his fists on the table.
Ears ringing from all the ruckus he was creating, she finally marched off to where he was. She narrowed her eyes and placed both hands on her shapely hips. "What's all the noise about? If you have any problems, get out of here!"
"Look, misshy... I know ye own thish bar and all. I'd know shince I own a housh too," her brows raised slightly, but she didn't say anything while he leaned forward and almost went flying to the floor, "But I just ashked fer an'ther round and ya didn't gimme even a shingle bottle."
Tifa pointedly eyed him. "We just ran out of beer." She was lying, but it was for his sake.
"No beer! You... av t'be kidding!" He began gesturing wildly with his arms, like a man waving flies away from his head. "That o'er chicky... y'know her? She just gev a copper o' gem...to those fellows..." Tifa squared her shoulders, determined to get this pathetic drunk out of her bar.
"Sorry, those were the last ones." She apologized, not sounding even the least bit sorry. His face turned as red as a ripe watermelon, and Tifa began to be concerned after a moment passed and still he was staring at her.
"In that cashe..." Tifa could only watch as he circled the table, with a speed unlikely for someone as drunk as he was, and grabbed the nearest bottle of booze, which happened to be in the hand of another man. No more than a second later, a fight had broken up between the two drunkards.
"Hey! HEY! You two settle this outside!" Tifa tried to step between the two men who were heatedly exchanging blows, but ended up having a fist connect to her jaw. "F-"
Everything went silent as an immaculately dressed man, easily towering every other man in that room, stepped into the fight. "Outside. Now." The calm voice interrupted the stunned silence of the room. Tifa spun around, more out of her concern for her bar than the customers, and to her relief, saw a bald man, with a cigarette balanced on his lips, holding a shiny black pistol in one hand. The crowd's response was immediate, a handful would recognize a Turk, but everyone recognized a gun. They all scampered out of Indulgence like rats chased away with a broom.
Tifa looked at her friend's boyfriend and sighed. "I didn't want to get rid of al-" she stopped mid-sentence when she saw him bring up the gun to his mouth. She started to make a grab for it, but ended up inhaling a mouthful of cigarette smoke. That damned "gun" was a lighter. She snatched it from him.
"Uh...Surprise?"
Tifa looked up at him, seeing for the first time that he had disposed of his trademark sunglasses. He had such amazing eyes, gray like the clouds that raced across the heavens during a thunderstorm. Why the heck did he hide them behind those ridiculous shades?
"Haha. Funny, Rude." Tifa rolled her eyes and flashed a sarcastic smile before walking back towards the counter to get ice for her jaw. "But thanks for the help... I can't believe that drunkard was able to punch me!"
He shrugged. "Lucky hit." She motioned for him to take a seat, picking up a rag to wipe off the puddles of alcoholic drinks on the table. "...Thought Elena was here."
Tifa glanced at him. "She was. But she went out with Yuffie." She threw away the piece of cloth and rinsed her hands in the sink. "What would you want? It's on the house."
"Water would be fine." Tifa turned around and looked at him curiously. His face remained emotionless and he had no trouble returning the gaze. "Bad for my stomach."
Right. She hadn't seen this coming. Since when did he stop drinking? "I thought you and Reno are drinking buddies?"
"We are." Rude replied matter-of-factly and Tifa placed a glass of water on the table in front of him, waiting for him to continue. "But he isn't here now, is he?"
Tifa's lips tugged upwards, forming a small smile. "Hey, I see Elena's been doing you good. You're more talkative than, well... ever." His face reddened slightly and Tifa smiled wider, knowing Yuffie would have wanted to have the privilege of seeing Rude blush.
"I guess..." his voice trailed off and he averted his eyes to his glass of water. "I've been around Kalm looking for your bar, 'Seventh Heaven.' I came across 'Indulgence', instead."
Tifa pulled a chair and sat down, shocked that Rude was actually starting a conversation. His question made her mind wander back to her days in Midgar, when Jessie helped out with the customers while Biggs and Wedge made their big plans. But, they were all dead - and so was her 7th Heaven bar, which was buried under the remnants of Sector Seven's plate...
"I decided to leave certain things be... If I had kept my old bar's name, I might probably never be able to let go of the past." She replied after a while.
Rude nodded. "There's no point in hanging on to... painful things," He halted briefly before continuing. "But we always end up keeping them. Forever a part of us."
She stared him and said the question she had wanted to ask for so long. "Rude, why did you join the Turks?"
A grim expression crossed his usually impassive face. "Tseng saved me, like he did Reno and Elena..." He scratched his head, searching for the words to continue. "We repaid the favor, even after he died."
"And you know what happened to Aeris." Tifa added, frowning. "I'm not rubbing it in your face, okay? I just... heck, Christmas wouldn't be quite like Christmas when the death of a loved one is haunting you." She didn't like where this conversation had gone and even Rude was showing signs of discomfort, though his eyes were still focused on his glass.
"Of course..." He glanced it his watch before standing up. "But you know, our past mistakes are over. For all of us." He offered one gloved hand. "Actions speak louder than words."
She wanted to apologize -and to an ex-Shinra, no less. She was even quite sure what for. For letting Tseng die? For giving him and his friends a reason to stay with the Company? Maybe he was right about getting over everything that had happened. She flashed a hesitant smile before nodding. On instinct, her hand reached out towards his.
Rude nodded back and stiffly accepted her handshake before stepping out of her bar. Only then did Tifa realize she still had his gun/lighter. She was about to throw it away, but something stopped her. She'd ask Elena to give it back to him.
Added Author's Notes: This was made BEFORE advent children. Hence, the reference to Tseng's "death." (I really thought he died...)
Original Author's Notes: How'd you enjoy the gun/lighter part? I got the idea after I watched the 6 o'clock news and there was this newscast about a hold-upper who used a gun-lighter to scare a girl. Hehehe, THAT had me laughing. Anyway...
"Past is past, it's time for us to move on..." Tifa's own words from part 3 when she was speaking with Reeve. Any one of you remember that? That was one of the reasons why she named her bar "Indulgence" and not the usual "7th heaven." (BTW, I quoted/paraphrased this "I decided to leave certain things be... If I had kept my old bar's name, I might probably never be able to let go of the past." from Tiy She's such a big help, don't you think?)
Oh and if some of you can't understand what the drunkard was saying, allow me to explain: "o...er chicky" is other chick, "cashe" is "case" while "copper o' gem" is "couple of them"
So... Rude's here, Elena, Reeve, Reno and Barret had all appeared... Who's next? Care to give it a guess? Any of you noticed the concept of time (glancing at the watch) in Elena and Rude's chapters? And that the last 3 chapters had Tifa speaking with the Turks? Haha, drop me a line or something. Liked it, I hope? Reviews, comments, suggestions and critiques are highly appreciated! Thank you very much for reading!