Author's note: Yep here's another chapter. I'm getting these up, slowly
but surely. I WILL NOT GIVE UP!! Anywhoo, enjoy the next exciting chapter
of Ice. *Smile*
Disclaimer: No, FF7 is not mine. *Curses slightly under breath* Darn the lucky little ****s that *do* own it. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The young man sat up, sweat pouring down his face. He couldn't believe that dream still made him react this way. He hadn't ever seen the young girl again, why did something that happened 3 years ago still haunt him so? The dream happened regularly, almost every two months; Rufus could almost predict when it would come. He wondered where that girl was now, and if she even remembered him. He couldn't figure out why he couldn't get her out of his head. He untangled himself from the twisted sheets; he'd obviously been struggling again. More shivers ran down his spine as his feet hit the cold floor.
He padded to the bathroom and turned on the lights, wincing as his eyes adjusted to the sudden change. The mirror reflected the effects of the dream. His white t-shirt clung to his skin, almost see-though with cold sweat, he was still breathing hard. He had slightly purple bags under his eyes, a mark of the restless sleep he'd just encountered. Shaking his head and chuckling, he turned on the faucet and splashed water onto his face. The cold liquid soothed his burning complexion. The young vice president sighed, knowing that the dream would just keep occurring, not about to let him sleep decently. One look at the clock told him it was going to be a long night.
He stared long and hard at the face looking back at him through the mirror again, looking at his blonde, blue eyed, sixteen-year-old self, and shook his head again. Her image was burned into his brain for the rest of the night, and he knew he was going to be thinking about her whether he wanted to or not. He wondered how she was; she'd be 15 now, about to be 16. He had no doubt in his mind that she was just as pretty or prettier than she was back then.
Chuckling again, Rufus realized that he'd stayed out of the news a lot lately, she'd probably forgotten about him. He put a hand to his cheek, remembering the sensation of her soft lips on his skin, his first kiss. He never got to tell her how he truly felt. Where did she say that she lived? Was it Nibelheim? Yes it was, she had said that she'd seen him up in their old mansion. A thought crossed the young man's mind. He was going to have to go to Nibelheim in a few days, to survey the land for a new reactor. Could she possibly still live there? He decided that he'd check it out when he got there; it wouldn't hurt to look.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Rufus sat in the helicopter, half bored from the cross-continent trip, half excited that he was minutes away from finding the girl that graced his dreams. They began to land; his heart started racing; something it hadn't done since Tifa kissed him. How could someone he barely knew do this to him? This emotion had never come on this strong.
Soon they landed and checked into the hotel, they wouldn't start surveying till the next day since the equipment took longer to transport. He still had the rest of the day to wander around. He changed into some comfortable clothes, it was a bit warmer here than in Junon than he remembered, and told one of the guards that he'd be "out" all day.
Rufus walked out of the hotel and scanned the homely little town. It looked much different looking at it from where he stood now, opposed to his window overlooking everything. There wasn't much to do in Nibelheim; a café, a few shops, it was all like Rufus remembered from when he'd lived there. The ShinRa mansion still stood, though dilapidated and old.
He began walking toward the café, looking all around him except in front. Due to his not looking where he was going, he abruptly bumped into someone standing in his way; he almost tripped. "Hey, watch it you goon!" Dusting himself off, the word caught his memory. Goon? He looked at whom he almost tripped over. Yes, the fiery unkempt red hair and emerald green eyes matched his memory's description. "Reno?"
The other boy looked up. "Yeah?" His sunglasses were the only things keeping his long tresses out of his eyes.
Rufus chuckled. Knowing Reno, he probably didn't remember whom he was talking to. "We met a long time ago, you probably don't remember me."
The redhead looked him up and down. "Hmm, you do look familiar, Rufus." he said, grinning. Rufus grinned back. Reno beamed. "Can you believe it? I just found five gil!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"So, how's Tifa?" Rufus asked, settling down on one of Reno's couches while Reno himself sat on a mismatched recliner.
"Dude, how'd I know you were gonna ask that question?" The redhead replied, grinning. "Actually, she's fine. *Very* fine, if you know what I mean. She's like, the most sought after girl here in Nibelheim."
Rufus' face fell when he heard this, but he wasn't surprised. "Do you know where she is?"
Reno shrugged. "Probably at home, with a line of wannabe boyfriends breaking down her door."
Rufus looked up. "Wannabe?"
His friend nodded. "Yup, ya know, she's waiting for someone special." He jumped up. "Holy frijoles!! That reminds me, she's coming for lunch!" Reno ran for the kitchen, leaving Rufus confused with his thoughts.
"Hmm, I wonder what kind of 'someone special' she's waiting for?" He felt strange sitting in the living room alone, so he followed Reno's path to the kitchen. "Hey, Reno, I was wondering." he stopped short when he saw that Reno was on the phone. He mouthed "Sorry" and stood there.
The redhead looked up. "Yeah, hold on. Oh uh, hey. Why don't you stay for lunch? I was just ordering a pizza, why don't you go and watch TV? I don't know where the remote is, sorry, you'll have to get up and change the channel manually. Oh, and if you need the bathroom, it's down hall, second room to your right." Reno watched Rufus shrug and walk to the living room. When he knew the blonde was out of earshot, he began speaking again. "Yeah, sorry Teef. My surprise guest it here. Why don't you stop by for lunch? We're having pizza."
The voice on the other end sounded perturbed. "Reno Dawson, if you're trying to hook me up again."
The seventeen year old laughed. "Tifa, would I do that to you?" he said innocently as he could.
"Yes." The answer came indignantly.
Reno grinned. "You're not going to forgive me for trying, are you? Tch, I swear, I can't do anything right." His chuckle was the only thing that told Tifa he was joking.
"Fine, I'll come, but if you try to make me go out with this person, I promise you, I'll strangle your scrawny neck myself." She laughed.
Reno grinned into his sarcastic words. "Yeah, love you too." He hung up the phone and looked up to see Rufus leaning against the doorframe, an eyebrow raised at him.
"You got something going with the pizza guy?" he teased.
Reno shook his head and laughed. "No, uh, actually that was my mom, she called right as I was about to hang up with the pizza guy. She says 'hi'."
Rufus shook his head. "Whatever. Look, I was going to tell you that I found your remote, along with some other really interesting things. Such as, ten gil in change?"
His friend scratched his head. "Well how about that. Thanks bud, I think I have enough now to pay for the pizza! Now go find yourself some government funded television."
"Ha ha, funny." *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tifa hung up the phone. Special guest? Reno had put her on hold to talk to someone; she had heard a male voice. Something was familiar about it, but she couldn't be sure who it was. She changed into some nice clothes, out of her workout pants. She had taken up martial arts about 3 years before, after she had gotten over the shock of the abduction of someone she had a slight crush on then: Rufus ShinRa.
She had taken up martial arts to make herself tougher; she was totally helpless when the soldiers took Rufus. She wondered if he liked it in Junon, or if he was even all right. She imagined what he'd look like now, taller, yet his golden blonde hair would still fall in front of his bright ice blue eyes. "Snap out of it Teef, it's not like he's going to pop out of no where to visit Nibelheim to see you. He probably doesn't even remember me. Not to mention he'd probably got loads of rich, beautiful girls throwing themselves at him to go out with him." She opened the door to her house and started towards Reno's. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Rufus almost jumped when he heard the doorbell. His heart started racing again, his insides felt like they were squirming.
Reno popped up. "She's here! Finally, the *pizza* got here before she did." He ran for the door, leaving Rufus on the couch.
The feeling he had before increased dramatically. He was sure that anyone within a 2-mile radius could hear his wildly beating heart. "I wonder if she'll remember me?" he thought, shaking his head. "What with all the potential boyfriends in the town banging on her door at all times of the day, she probably wouldn't."
"Hey, Teef, welcome to Chateau de Reno, House of Looooove." Reno's voice carried from the hall, getting closer to the living room.
An audible giggle followed Reno's remark. "Reno. Remember what I said before."
"What, your death threat? Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. But there's someone I want you to meet." The redhead walked into the living room, winking at Rufus.
Rufus tried to relax. He saw a female form behind Reno; he swore he was going to explode.
Reno stepped to the side and let the two's eyes meet.
Tifa stood, stock still, blinking, not believing her eyes. It couldn't be. Could it??
Rufus stood up, amazed. She was beautiful. Her long mahogany hair was still in that loose ponytail; her beautiful wine colored eyes searched his six-foot frame for evidence of his identity. Her body was developed beautifully for 16; she had a curvy figure to die for. Her fiery eyes melted his own icy pools. She had changed so much, but hadn't changed at all.
Tifa still stood amazed. This couldn't be who she thought it was. If he was, he was better looking than she had ever imagined. He stood about 6 foot, Tifa herself only 5'5", she had to look up at him. His eyes seemed to shine brighter, their blue depths swallowed her, and like she imagined, his silky blonde hair fell softly across his eyes. Apparently she hadn't been the only one working out, she could see his muscles through the almost tight fitting tee shirt. She couldn't help but giggle at him when he jammed his hands into his pockets, and his face turned a pinker tone.
"That giggle." he smiled, but only slightly. "Tifa?" he ventured, holding out one hand, the other still stuffed into his khakis pocket, expecting nothing more than a handshake.
She giggled again, now knowing for sure that this was the Rufus she'd been with at the Golden Saucer. She ran to him and threw her arms around his torso, pulling him into a friendly hug.
He didn't expect the hug, and only put his free arm around her. She looked up at him, grinning. "What, are you too good to hug an old friend, Rufus ShinRa?" Smiling wider than he had in a long time, he pulled the other hand out of his pocket and embraced her warmly.
Reno rudely cleared his throat, ruining the moment. "ER-EM. Pizza!" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Well, that's it for this chapter, Hehe, finally they meet again!!! Whee! Well, I am getting these up a LITTLE faster. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, PLEASE read and review!!
~Kage
Disclaimer: No, FF7 is not mine. *Curses slightly under breath* Darn the lucky little ****s that *do* own it. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The young man sat up, sweat pouring down his face. He couldn't believe that dream still made him react this way. He hadn't ever seen the young girl again, why did something that happened 3 years ago still haunt him so? The dream happened regularly, almost every two months; Rufus could almost predict when it would come. He wondered where that girl was now, and if she even remembered him. He couldn't figure out why he couldn't get her out of his head. He untangled himself from the twisted sheets; he'd obviously been struggling again. More shivers ran down his spine as his feet hit the cold floor.
He padded to the bathroom and turned on the lights, wincing as his eyes adjusted to the sudden change. The mirror reflected the effects of the dream. His white t-shirt clung to his skin, almost see-though with cold sweat, he was still breathing hard. He had slightly purple bags under his eyes, a mark of the restless sleep he'd just encountered. Shaking his head and chuckling, he turned on the faucet and splashed water onto his face. The cold liquid soothed his burning complexion. The young vice president sighed, knowing that the dream would just keep occurring, not about to let him sleep decently. One look at the clock told him it was going to be a long night.
He stared long and hard at the face looking back at him through the mirror again, looking at his blonde, blue eyed, sixteen-year-old self, and shook his head again. Her image was burned into his brain for the rest of the night, and he knew he was going to be thinking about her whether he wanted to or not. He wondered how she was; she'd be 15 now, about to be 16. He had no doubt in his mind that she was just as pretty or prettier than she was back then.
Chuckling again, Rufus realized that he'd stayed out of the news a lot lately, she'd probably forgotten about him. He put a hand to his cheek, remembering the sensation of her soft lips on his skin, his first kiss. He never got to tell her how he truly felt. Where did she say that she lived? Was it Nibelheim? Yes it was, she had said that she'd seen him up in their old mansion. A thought crossed the young man's mind. He was going to have to go to Nibelheim in a few days, to survey the land for a new reactor. Could she possibly still live there? He decided that he'd check it out when he got there; it wouldn't hurt to look.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Rufus sat in the helicopter, half bored from the cross-continent trip, half excited that he was minutes away from finding the girl that graced his dreams. They began to land; his heart started racing; something it hadn't done since Tifa kissed him. How could someone he barely knew do this to him? This emotion had never come on this strong.
Soon they landed and checked into the hotel, they wouldn't start surveying till the next day since the equipment took longer to transport. He still had the rest of the day to wander around. He changed into some comfortable clothes, it was a bit warmer here than in Junon than he remembered, and told one of the guards that he'd be "out" all day.
Rufus walked out of the hotel and scanned the homely little town. It looked much different looking at it from where he stood now, opposed to his window overlooking everything. There wasn't much to do in Nibelheim; a café, a few shops, it was all like Rufus remembered from when he'd lived there. The ShinRa mansion still stood, though dilapidated and old.
He began walking toward the café, looking all around him except in front. Due to his not looking where he was going, he abruptly bumped into someone standing in his way; he almost tripped. "Hey, watch it you goon!" Dusting himself off, the word caught his memory. Goon? He looked at whom he almost tripped over. Yes, the fiery unkempt red hair and emerald green eyes matched his memory's description. "Reno?"
The other boy looked up. "Yeah?" His sunglasses were the only things keeping his long tresses out of his eyes.
Rufus chuckled. Knowing Reno, he probably didn't remember whom he was talking to. "We met a long time ago, you probably don't remember me."
The redhead looked him up and down. "Hmm, you do look familiar, Rufus." he said, grinning. Rufus grinned back. Reno beamed. "Can you believe it? I just found five gil!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"So, how's Tifa?" Rufus asked, settling down on one of Reno's couches while Reno himself sat on a mismatched recliner.
"Dude, how'd I know you were gonna ask that question?" The redhead replied, grinning. "Actually, she's fine. *Very* fine, if you know what I mean. She's like, the most sought after girl here in Nibelheim."
Rufus' face fell when he heard this, but he wasn't surprised. "Do you know where she is?"
Reno shrugged. "Probably at home, with a line of wannabe boyfriends breaking down her door."
Rufus looked up. "Wannabe?"
His friend nodded. "Yup, ya know, she's waiting for someone special." He jumped up. "Holy frijoles!! That reminds me, she's coming for lunch!" Reno ran for the kitchen, leaving Rufus confused with his thoughts.
"Hmm, I wonder what kind of 'someone special' she's waiting for?" He felt strange sitting in the living room alone, so he followed Reno's path to the kitchen. "Hey, Reno, I was wondering." he stopped short when he saw that Reno was on the phone. He mouthed "Sorry" and stood there.
The redhead looked up. "Yeah, hold on. Oh uh, hey. Why don't you stay for lunch? I was just ordering a pizza, why don't you go and watch TV? I don't know where the remote is, sorry, you'll have to get up and change the channel manually. Oh, and if you need the bathroom, it's down hall, second room to your right." Reno watched Rufus shrug and walk to the living room. When he knew the blonde was out of earshot, he began speaking again. "Yeah, sorry Teef. My surprise guest it here. Why don't you stop by for lunch? We're having pizza."
The voice on the other end sounded perturbed. "Reno Dawson, if you're trying to hook me up again."
The seventeen year old laughed. "Tifa, would I do that to you?" he said innocently as he could.
"Yes." The answer came indignantly.
Reno grinned. "You're not going to forgive me for trying, are you? Tch, I swear, I can't do anything right." His chuckle was the only thing that told Tifa he was joking.
"Fine, I'll come, but if you try to make me go out with this person, I promise you, I'll strangle your scrawny neck myself." She laughed.
Reno grinned into his sarcastic words. "Yeah, love you too." He hung up the phone and looked up to see Rufus leaning against the doorframe, an eyebrow raised at him.
"You got something going with the pizza guy?" he teased.
Reno shook his head and laughed. "No, uh, actually that was my mom, she called right as I was about to hang up with the pizza guy. She says 'hi'."
Rufus shook his head. "Whatever. Look, I was going to tell you that I found your remote, along with some other really interesting things. Such as, ten gil in change?"
His friend scratched his head. "Well how about that. Thanks bud, I think I have enough now to pay for the pizza! Now go find yourself some government funded television."
"Ha ha, funny." *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tifa hung up the phone. Special guest? Reno had put her on hold to talk to someone; she had heard a male voice. Something was familiar about it, but she couldn't be sure who it was. She changed into some nice clothes, out of her workout pants. She had taken up martial arts about 3 years before, after she had gotten over the shock of the abduction of someone she had a slight crush on then: Rufus ShinRa.
She had taken up martial arts to make herself tougher; she was totally helpless when the soldiers took Rufus. She wondered if he liked it in Junon, or if he was even all right. She imagined what he'd look like now, taller, yet his golden blonde hair would still fall in front of his bright ice blue eyes. "Snap out of it Teef, it's not like he's going to pop out of no where to visit Nibelheim to see you. He probably doesn't even remember me. Not to mention he'd probably got loads of rich, beautiful girls throwing themselves at him to go out with him." She opened the door to her house and started towards Reno's. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Rufus almost jumped when he heard the doorbell. His heart started racing again, his insides felt like they were squirming.
Reno popped up. "She's here! Finally, the *pizza* got here before she did." He ran for the door, leaving Rufus on the couch.
The feeling he had before increased dramatically. He was sure that anyone within a 2-mile radius could hear his wildly beating heart. "I wonder if she'll remember me?" he thought, shaking his head. "What with all the potential boyfriends in the town banging on her door at all times of the day, she probably wouldn't."
"Hey, Teef, welcome to Chateau de Reno, House of Looooove." Reno's voice carried from the hall, getting closer to the living room.
An audible giggle followed Reno's remark. "Reno. Remember what I said before."
"What, your death threat? Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. But there's someone I want you to meet." The redhead walked into the living room, winking at Rufus.
Rufus tried to relax. He saw a female form behind Reno; he swore he was going to explode.
Reno stepped to the side and let the two's eyes meet.
Tifa stood, stock still, blinking, not believing her eyes. It couldn't be. Could it??
Rufus stood up, amazed. She was beautiful. Her long mahogany hair was still in that loose ponytail; her beautiful wine colored eyes searched his six-foot frame for evidence of his identity. Her body was developed beautifully for 16; she had a curvy figure to die for. Her fiery eyes melted his own icy pools. She had changed so much, but hadn't changed at all.
Tifa still stood amazed. This couldn't be who she thought it was. If he was, he was better looking than she had ever imagined. He stood about 6 foot, Tifa herself only 5'5", she had to look up at him. His eyes seemed to shine brighter, their blue depths swallowed her, and like she imagined, his silky blonde hair fell softly across his eyes. Apparently she hadn't been the only one working out, she could see his muscles through the almost tight fitting tee shirt. She couldn't help but giggle at him when he jammed his hands into his pockets, and his face turned a pinker tone.
"That giggle." he smiled, but only slightly. "Tifa?" he ventured, holding out one hand, the other still stuffed into his khakis pocket, expecting nothing more than a handshake.
She giggled again, now knowing for sure that this was the Rufus she'd been with at the Golden Saucer. She ran to him and threw her arms around his torso, pulling him into a friendly hug.
He didn't expect the hug, and only put his free arm around her. She looked up at him, grinning. "What, are you too good to hug an old friend, Rufus ShinRa?" Smiling wider than he had in a long time, he pulled the other hand out of his pocket and embraced her warmly.
Reno rudely cleared his throat, ruining the moment. "ER-EM. Pizza!" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Well, that's it for this chapter, Hehe, finally they meet again!!! Whee! Well, I am getting these up a LITTLE faster. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, PLEASE read and review!!
~Kage