A/N: MOO! X.o;
Yeah, it does make this sound it'll be stuck on romance, doesn't it? X_x oy. I guess that's how it'll be for a couple of chapters. Don't worry, I'll do my best to make it as. . .uh. . .spiffy as the summary sounds. XD But for now, deal with the mushy stuff! It's only for a chapter or two!
Disclaimer: FF7 is not my pal. Also Alanis Morissette's song, "Hands Clean," doesn't like me either. o_O I'm so unloved. SOB!
---
Tifa sat on the beaches near Junon--despite the enormous city looming over most of it, it had cleaned up considerably over the years without the use of Mako energy. . .also, the city had been reduced to a minimal size due to lack of *need* for it. She hugged her knees to her chest, tracing along the sand with one finger. She had ignored Rufus Shinra for the past couple of days, and had almost forgotten about his existence if not for his occasional complaints. She peered down at her small sand-doodle.
A "well-drawn" head, with spikey hair, and eyes with strange features. . .
If it weren't for your maturity, none of this would have happened
If you weren't so wise beyond your years, I would've been able to control myself
If it weren't for my attention, you wouldn't have been successful
And if it weren't for me, you would never have amounted to very much
She quickly swept her hand over the small drawing, frowning slightly as she did so. She bit her lip, and her eyes filled with tears--a shame, too, as she had almost pushed that incident out of her mind. . .but, she found out that she couldn't cry. Not even honoring her promise: not to cry anymore. The tears wouldn't fall. For some reason, that relieved her, and the tears quickly dried.
"Lockheart," a cold voice rang out behind her. "Where are we sleeping for the night?" Rufus stood far away--so far away, so as to not be standing on sand. The large Dark Nation sat obediently nexted to his master, being careful not to be hit by his flowing double coats, and made a short roar so as to agree with him.
"Who's *we*?" Tifa retorted, glaring over her shoulder, allowing the light to hit her eyes and give them a peculiar glimmer. Her hand pressed flat on the sand, creating the mark of a hand with a dangerous glove on the grains of sand. The ocean begin to sit on the horizon, creating the ideal scene for some kind of movie, and the sky turned a salmon pink--though, as your eyes progressed more to the East, an indigo color. Rufus looked at her as if she was some kind of idiot.
"We. You and I. Lockheart and Shinra. Do the math." he said slowly, in a tone that would indicate he was speaking to a four-year-old.
"I don't care where *you* go. You could sleep on Meteor for all I care." Tifa turned her head back to face the sunset, though she winced a ltitle at the brightness of the sun. The cool air and the sun made for a relaxing combination.
"Miss Lockheart, I presume you find sleeping on the beach more comfortable then sleeping in a hotel?" he asked, tilting his head in a wiseass kind of way. His arms were behind his back, and his face remained totally devoid of expression, though occasionally an eyebrow or two would raise. Tifa rolled her eyes. Recieving no reply, he added, "The Five-Star Hotel in Junon, if you're interested at some point or another."
With that, Rufus propped his shotgun onto his shoulder and turned, the inner trenchcoat fluttering dramatically in the wind. His head tilted from side to side, creating loud cracks and allowing his blonde hair to shift slightly as did his black turtleneck, and he walked off indifferently, his image soon disappearing from view. Tifa rolled her eyes again and continued to stare at the horizon. She didn't know hoe long she stayed there after that, but as far as she could remember she stared at some fixed point in the sky, and the sun had already set.
//What should I do?// she thought. Tifa was well aware that they were all searching for her in worry, and she hated making people worry. But still, they couldn't tell that she didn't necessarily want them near her.
She was beginning to get a little cold. Her arms folded, and shivering, she stood, brow knitted in contemplation. After this, she limped over to Junon, and slowly walked into town. It was dark, and most of the lights were turned off, except for the street lights which illuminated the stone road slightly. She walked slowly to the elevator and pushed open the door, walking slowly onto the lift. The door closed, and a wave of temporary warmth washed over her body--temporary, as in, disappearing when she arrived at the upper city.
The cold was beginning to sting, and she dashed for the hotel, shoes making quiet sounds against the half-empty streets. As Tifa approached the closed door, she extended her hand and turned the knob slowly so as to not make any noise, then pushed the door open. She was surrounded by the heat, quickly relaxing her and prompting a breath of relief. She tiptoed to the rooms and walked in quietly, trying not to make any noise.
Bed one. . .Taken. Bed two. . .Taken. Bed three. . .Rufus.
Her eyes shifted to the thin sofa, and she edged over to it and sat down. Her rear was suddenly disturbed by a piece of metal, and she let out a small yelp as she jumped up. One hand flew to her mouth, and she stared at the oppressor. The sofa was in poor shape.
Ooh, this could be messy, but you don't seem to mind
Ooh, don't go telling everybody and overlook this supposed crime
//God, it's almost like some horrible twist of fate.// she thought sardonically, eyes once again shifting to the bed occupied by Rufus. She sighed inwardly, convinced this was some terrible conspiracy, and walked slowly to the bed. She took off her shoes and gloves, slowly walking to the opposite side of the bed and slowly lowering herself in. She quickly turned, her back to Rufus. //This is so stupid.// she thought in a very Yuffieish way, biting her lip and rolling her eyes. She pulled the tie out of her hair , allowing it to curl slightly at the tips as she set it aside.
The warmth was comfortable, though, and she drifted off into sleep without even noticing.
---
"We'll split up. Yuffie, Reno, Reeve, and Cait Sith in one group; me, Barret, and Elena in another; Red XIII, Cid, and Rude in the last." Cloud finished, standing at the head of the operations room and folding his arms, staring at everybody with a face empty and blank.
"Splittin' up the Turks, Strife?!" Reno burst out incredulously. He adjusted the sunglasses on his head. "Look, man, I know you're paranoid, but we ain't splittin' up."
"Yes, you are." Cloud seethed, his eyes no longer the normal blue, but an opaque type. It was startling to see the effects of Mako acting up again, and this disturbed people to some ends.
"Reno." Rude gave Reno a look, and he promptly shut up. Reno was indeed the "leader" of the Turks since the passing of Tseng, but there was always this demeanor of Rude's that was always to be respected. The bald man didn't need to act tough in order to command obedience. . .there was something about being tall, and no one knowing your eye color, and only talking in either one complete sentence at a time or one word that was mysterious. Over the years, Reno had also tried to fix up Elena and Rude several times.
"Good." Cloud said, staring straight ahead of him as the Highwind floated aimlessly. He recieved a couple of dirty glances from Yuffie and Reno, a couple of curious ones from Elena, Cid, and Reeve, but he ignored them as he turned around. The sound of retreating footsteps rang in his ears, and as soon as he was thinking everyone had left, he quietly began to sing (or hum) to himself--no specific lyrics, but rather. . .
"Nice song, Strife." Reno's calm voice hit his ears. (A/N: ^_^ Tifa's theme.)
"Reno. . .go away. . ."
"Didn't I used to hear Lockheart sing that to herself in the bar?" Reno asked, flipping a strand of his flaming red hair over his shoulder. Cloud's hands, which were behind his back and clutching the other, slowly dropped to his sides. His head sank slightly, though his blonde spikes were still visible as he faced the board.
"Go away."
". . .Rufus escaped from the medical hospital the other day."
"Rufus. . .Shinra?"
"Cya later, Strife." Reno stood up and walked out.
---
The sun shined in through the windows of the Five-Star Hotel, prancing around in Tifa's eyes. She slowly opened them, blinking rapidly so as to reduce exposure to the sun, and attempted to get rid of the specks forming in front of them. She had slept well that night, from having not too much sleep over the past. . .four days? Her legs slowly moved across the bed and onto the floor, and she slowly pulled herself up, placing her feet into her boots neatly. She stood up, trying to minimize movement from the bed, and slowly pulled on the Premium Heart gloves.
Rufus's back was to her, and maybe if she moved fast enough, she could leave without him. As soon as her gloves were on, she brushed aside the comforter and made a move for the exit.
"Hope you had a nice sleep." Rufus mumbled, his face barely visible from his position in the bed. Tifa flushed, her hand only inches away from the doorknob. //So close, too.// she thought to herself sadly. "I know I did." It was at this moment she took note that Rufus had taken off his black turtleneck and his double coats, each neatly propped on the dresser leaving a white muscle shirt to wear. She flushed again, as she usually did--the only person she was used to seeing with a shirt that would expose the torso was Cloud, and that was because he was hardheaded and would get beaten up by the monsters when he was little. "Your hands seem a lot thinner without your gloves."
". . ." Tifa remained silent, frozen in place in intimidation.
"Lovely night though." Though his words would've had less impact if there was a little skip to them, he said this all in your typical Rufus-type voice--sarcastic, sardonic, monotonous, indifferent, passive, and as Barret put it, "stupid". "Don't feel like staying for another?"
"I'd love to stay and chat, but I'll be going now." Tifa said sarcastically, turning the knob and attempting to make an exit.
"Miss! Did you come in without paying?!" barked the hotel manager harshly, causing her to halt in place again. Her cheeks turned red, as did her ears, and her half-walking pose was kept. "Miss, please answer me!" Though his words were polite, his tone was certainly contemptuous. She winced and turned, hands behind her back and eyes on the floor, toes nudging the floor embarrassedly. She felt like a kid who had been caught doing something wrong.
"Excuse me." Rufus walked in, his coats tied around his waist and his turtleneck on. His white pants were incredibly loose, but not thin enough to bunch around the ankles like the teenagers of the Midgar slums. "She's with me." Tifa began to deny this, but one look from Rufus told her that if she backed out of this opportunity she would obviously not be getting out of this in any simply way. Although she was relieved she was out of trouble, for one thing, she found it rather repulsive of the idea: her and Rufus. Psh. Also, why the hell was Rufus sticking up for *her*?
"O-oh! Mr. Shinra! Well then! I apologize. . .Ms. Shinra!" stuttured the manager, giving salute to honor the "president". Either these people were *not* on the times, or Rufus Shinra had obviously made a name for himself, be it president or something else. . .
"Uh. . ." Tifa began slowly. "It's. . .okay, I guess."
"Lockheart. You forgot this." Rufus carelessly tossed the hair tie to Tifa, where she scrambled to catch it.
". . .Thanks, Rufus. . ." she said slowly, holding it and staring at Rufus with an astonished look, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Let's go." Rufus pulled one coat off his waist, slung it on, and put the other on top, buttoning both slightly in that peculiar style of his. There was a small, barely audible clack, indicating he had his shotgun. "Dark Nation and that chocobo are in Lower Junon." He stalked out of the door, Tifa following rushedly in a less-then-cool manner. Rufus obviously felt like leading the way today, unlike how he was with following Tifa. Tifa rushed to catch up, then ran after him, clamping one hand on his shoulder. "Damnit Lockheart, that hurts." he retorted, frowning yet continuing to streak across Junon.
"Rufus, wait." she pleaded of the former president, her crimson eyes glimmering slightly. ". . .I'm sorry for trying to ditch you last night."
Rufus mumbled something under his breath, something Tifa couldn't hear.
"What?"
"In case you couldn't hear, I said something to the effect of 'I don't care'."
". . .And thanks. I appreciate it."
". . .Hopefully you won't bitch at me when I continue to follow you."
". . .Fair enough."
We'll fast forward to a few years later
And no one knows except the both of us
And I have honored your request for silence
And you've washed your hands clean of this
Yeah, it does make this sound it'll be stuck on romance, doesn't it? X_x oy. I guess that's how it'll be for a couple of chapters. Don't worry, I'll do my best to make it as. . .uh. . .spiffy as the summary sounds. XD But for now, deal with the mushy stuff! It's only for a chapter or two!
Disclaimer: FF7 is not my pal. Also Alanis Morissette's song, "Hands Clean," doesn't like me either. o_O I'm so unloved. SOB!
---
Tifa sat on the beaches near Junon--despite the enormous city looming over most of it, it had cleaned up considerably over the years without the use of Mako energy. . .also, the city had been reduced to a minimal size due to lack of *need* for it. She hugged her knees to her chest, tracing along the sand with one finger. She had ignored Rufus Shinra for the past couple of days, and had almost forgotten about his existence if not for his occasional complaints. She peered down at her small sand-doodle.
A "well-drawn" head, with spikey hair, and eyes with strange features. . .
If it weren't for your maturity, none of this would have happened
If you weren't so wise beyond your years, I would've been able to control myself
If it weren't for my attention, you wouldn't have been successful
And if it weren't for me, you would never have amounted to very much
She quickly swept her hand over the small drawing, frowning slightly as she did so. She bit her lip, and her eyes filled with tears--a shame, too, as she had almost pushed that incident out of her mind. . .but, she found out that she couldn't cry. Not even honoring her promise: not to cry anymore. The tears wouldn't fall. For some reason, that relieved her, and the tears quickly dried.
"Lockheart," a cold voice rang out behind her. "Where are we sleeping for the night?" Rufus stood far away--so far away, so as to not be standing on sand. The large Dark Nation sat obediently nexted to his master, being careful not to be hit by his flowing double coats, and made a short roar so as to agree with him.
"Who's *we*?" Tifa retorted, glaring over her shoulder, allowing the light to hit her eyes and give them a peculiar glimmer. Her hand pressed flat on the sand, creating the mark of a hand with a dangerous glove on the grains of sand. The ocean begin to sit on the horizon, creating the ideal scene for some kind of movie, and the sky turned a salmon pink--though, as your eyes progressed more to the East, an indigo color. Rufus looked at her as if she was some kind of idiot.
"We. You and I. Lockheart and Shinra. Do the math." he said slowly, in a tone that would indicate he was speaking to a four-year-old.
"I don't care where *you* go. You could sleep on Meteor for all I care." Tifa turned her head back to face the sunset, though she winced a ltitle at the brightness of the sun. The cool air and the sun made for a relaxing combination.
"Miss Lockheart, I presume you find sleeping on the beach more comfortable then sleeping in a hotel?" he asked, tilting his head in a wiseass kind of way. His arms were behind his back, and his face remained totally devoid of expression, though occasionally an eyebrow or two would raise. Tifa rolled her eyes. Recieving no reply, he added, "The Five-Star Hotel in Junon, if you're interested at some point or another."
With that, Rufus propped his shotgun onto his shoulder and turned, the inner trenchcoat fluttering dramatically in the wind. His head tilted from side to side, creating loud cracks and allowing his blonde hair to shift slightly as did his black turtleneck, and he walked off indifferently, his image soon disappearing from view. Tifa rolled her eyes again and continued to stare at the horizon. She didn't know hoe long she stayed there after that, but as far as she could remember she stared at some fixed point in the sky, and the sun had already set.
//What should I do?// she thought. Tifa was well aware that they were all searching for her in worry, and she hated making people worry. But still, they couldn't tell that she didn't necessarily want them near her.
She was beginning to get a little cold. Her arms folded, and shivering, she stood, brow knitted in contemplation. After this, she limped over to Junon, and slowly walked into town. It was dark, and most of the lights were turned off, except for the street lights which illuminated the stone road slightly. She walked slowly to the elevator and pushed open the door, walking slowly onto the lift. The door closed, and a wave of temporary warmth washed over her body--temporary, as in, disappearing when she arrived at the upper city.
The cold was beginning to sting, and she dashed for the hotel, shoes making quiet sounds against the half-empty streets. As Tifa approached the closed door, she extended her hand and turned the knob slowly so as to not make any noise, then pushed the door open. She was surrounded by the heat, quickly relaxing her and prompting a breath of relief. She tiptoed to the rooms and walked in quietly, trying not to make any noise.
Bed one. . .Taken. Bed two. . .Taken. Bed three. . .Rufus.
Her eyes shifted to the thin sofa, and she edged over to it and sat down. Her rear was suddenly disturbed by a piece of metal, and she let out a small yelp as she jumped up. One hand flew to her mouth, and she stared at the oppressor. The sofa was in poor shape.
Ooh, this could be messy, but you don't seem to mind
Ooh, don't go telling everybody and overlook this supposed crime
//God, it's almost like some horrible twist of fate.// she thought sardonically, eyes once again shifting to the bed occupied by Rufus. She sighed inwardly, convinced this was some terrible conspiracy, and walked slowly to the bed. She took off her shoes and gloves, slowly walking to the opposite side of the bed and slowly lowering herself in. She quickly turned, her back to Rufus. //This is so stupid.// she thought in a very Yuffieish way, biting her lip and rolling her eyes. She pulled the tie out of her hair , allowing it to curl slightly at the tips as she set it aside.
The warmth was comfortable, though, and she drifted off into sleep without even noticing.
---
"We'll split up. Yuffie, Reno, Reeve, and Cait Sith in one group; me, Barret, and Elena in another; Red XIII, Cid, and Rude in the last." Cloud finished, standing at the head of the operations room and folding his arms, staring at everybody with a face empty and blank.
"Splittin' up the Turks, Strife?!" Reno burst out incredulously. He adjusted the sunglasses on his head. "Look, man, I know you're paranoid, but we ain't splittin' up."
"Yes, you are." Cloud seethed, his eyes no longer the normal blue, but an opaque type. It was startling to see the effects of Mako acting up again, and this disturbed people to some ends.
"Reno." Rude gave Reno a look, and he promptly shut up. Reno was indeed the "leader" of the Turks since the passing of Tseng, but there was always this demeanor of Rude's that was always to be respected. The bald man didn't need to act tough in order to command obedience. . .there was something about being tall, and no one knowing your eye color, and only talking in either one complete sentence at a time or one word that was mysterious. Over the years, Reno had also tried to fix up Elena and Rude several times.
"Good." Cloud said, staring straight ahead of him as the Highwind floated aimlessly. He recieved a couple of dirty glances from Yuffie and Reno, a couple of curious ones from Elena, Cid, and Reeve, but he ignored them as he turned around. The sound of retreating footsteps rang in his ears, and as soon as he was thinking everyone had left, he quietly began to sing (or hum) to himself--no specific lyrics, but rather. . .
"Nice song, Strife." Reno's calm voice hit his ears. (A/N: ^_^ Tifa's theme.)
"Reno. . .go away. . ."
"Didn't I used to hear Lockheart sing that to herself in the bar?" Reno asked, flipping a strand of his flaming red hair over his shoulder. Cloud's hands, which were behind his back and clutching the other, slowly dropped to his sides. His head sank slightly, though his blonde spikes were still visible as he faced the board.
"Go away."
". . .Rufus escaped from the medical hospital the other day."
"Rufus. . .Shinra?"
"Cya later, Strife." Reno stood up and walked out.
---
The sun shined in through the windows of the Five-Star Hotel, prancing around in Tifa's eyes. She slowly opened them, blinking rapidly so as to reduce exposure to the sun, and attempted to get rid of the specks forming in front of them. She had slept well that night, from having not too much sleep over the past. . .four days? Her legs slowly moved across the bed and onto the floor, and she slowly pulled herself up, placing her feet into her boots neatly. She stood up, trying to minimize movement from the bed, and slowly pulled on the Premium Heart gloves.
Rufus's back was to her, and maybe if she moved fast enough, she could leave without him. As soon as her gloves were on, she brushed aside the comforter and made a move for the exit.
"Hope you had a nice sleep." Rufus mumbled, his face barely visible from his position in the bed. Tifa flushed, her hand only inches away from the doorknob. //So close, too.// she thought to herself sadly. "I know I did." It was at this moment she took note that Rufus had taken off his black turtleneck and his double coats, each neatly propped on the dresser leaving a white muscle shirt to wear. She flushed again, as she usually did--the only person she was used to seeing with a shirt that would expose the torso was Cloud, and that was because he was hardheaded and would get beaten up by the monsters when he was little. "Your hands seem a lot thinner without your gloves."
". . ." Tifa remained silent, frozen in place in intimidation.
"Lovely night though." Though his words would've had less impact if there was a little skip to them, he said this all in your typical Rufus-type voice--sarcastic, sardonic, monotonous, indifferent, passive, and as Barret put it, "stupid". "Don't feel like staying for another?"
"I'd love to stay and chat, but I'll be going now." Tifa said sarcastically, turning the knob and attempting to make an exit.
"Miss! Did you come in without paying?!" barked the hotel manager harshly, causing her to halt in place again. Her cheeks turned red, as did her ears, and her half-walking pose was kept. "Miss, please answer me!" Though his words were polite, his tone was certainly contemptuous. She winced and turned, hands behind her back and eyes on the floor, toes nudging the floor embarrassedly. She felt like a kid who had been caught doing something wrong.
"Excuse me." Rufus walked in, his coats tied around his waist and his turtleneck on. His white pants were incredibly loose, but not thin enough to bunch around the ankles like the teenagers of the Midgar slums. "She's with me." Tifa began to deny this, but one look from Rufus told her that if she backed out of this opportunity she would obviously not be getting out of this in any simply way. Although she was relieved she was out of trouble, for one thing, she found it rather repulsive of the idea: her and Rufus. Psh. Also, why the hell was Rufus sticking up for *her*?
"O-oh! Mr. Shinra! Well then! I apologize. . .Ms. Shinra!" stuttured the manager, giving salute to honor the "president". Either these people were *not* on the times, or Rufus Shinra had obviously made a name for himself, be it president or something else. . .
"Uh. . ." Tifa began slowly. "It's. . .okay, I guess."
"Lockheart. You forgot this." Rufus carelessly tossed the hair tie to Tifa, where she scrambled to catch it.
". . .Thanks, Rufus. . ." she said slowly, holding it and staring at Rufus with an astonished look, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Let's go." Rufus pulled one coat off his waist, slung it on, and put the other on top, buttoning both slightly in that peculiar style of his. There was a small, barely audible clack, indicating he had his shotgun. "Dark Nation and that chocobo are in Lower Junon." He stalked out of the door, Tifa following rushedly in a less-then-cool manner. Rufus obviously felt like leading the way today, unlike how he was with following Tifa. Tifa rushed to catch up, then ran after him, clamping one hand on his shoulder. "Damnit Lockheart, that hurts." he retorted, frowning yet continuing to streak across Junon.
"Rufus, wait." she pleaded of the former president, her crimson eyes glimmering slightly. ". . .I'm sorry for trying to ditch you last night."
Rufus mumbled something under his breath, something Tifa couldn't hear.
"What?"
"In case you couldn't hear, I said something to the effect of 'I don't care'."
". . .And thanks. I appreciate it."
". . .Hopefully you won't bitch at me when I continue to follow you."
". . .Fair enough."
We'll fast forward to a few years later
And no one knows except the both of us
And I have honored your request for silence
And you've washed your hands clean of this