Author's Note:
Reeve: What the hell is this?!
Reno: What?
Reeve: The writer is doing a love plot!
Reno: Sweet! Will there be sex?
Reeve: Doubtful. It requires a great amount of effort to make a decent... wait, can we even talk about sex here? This is PG-13, and by American standards, that means we're restricted to stuff you'd only see in a Disney film.
Reno: Yeah, you're right. Canada is way cooler about that kind of stuff.
Reeve: Indeed. Now, how come Rude gets more action than I do? I'm the good looking, rich, business executive who moonlights as the disclaimer guy! That's supposed to get me lots of chicks.
Reno: Wait. Saying the disclaimer gets you chicks?
Reeve: Yeah. When Rude's bald head isn't in the way, at least.
Reno: Awesome! Tyramir doesn't own the rights to Final Fantasy! Now, bring on the ladies!
Reeve: Haha, I can't believe you just fell for that!
Reno: What? ... I hate you.
Reeve: On with the story.
Chapter Twenty Six
Starry Night
Tifa lay on the grass, snuggled up against Rude, looking up at the sky. She leaned in against Rude's side, burying her head into his chest, all the while keeping one eye on the stars. The sky was beautiful, completely unlike the disgusting curtain it had once been when Midgar was still alive. Gone was the ugly shield of pollution that had once marred the sky. Gone was the decay in the earth. In a way, Meteor was the best thing that had ever happened to the planet.
"What're you thinking?" Rude asked, his voice a near whisper.
"Just about how pretty the sky is. I haven't been able to look up at the sky and see it like this since I lived in Nibelheim. Even when I was chasing down Sephiroth, I never seemed to have the time to look at the sky very often."
Rude knew that wasn't entirely true. The way she said it, the wistfulness in her voice... she was remembering something. Probably something to do with Cloud. He swallowed his frustration. He would not be jealous.
He focused instead on Tifa, and the way she was pressing against him. She felt good. Just her being with him felt good. The past month had been odd. After his admission to her, she had stayed close to him, told Red XIII to keep his secret about his past with Soldier. She had made sure the members of Avalanche accept him, and all but physically forced him to stay in Kalm with her. In a way, he supposed she was lonely. He was helping her fill a void she had, taking someone's place...
Again the frustration came. Cloud again. Cloud, who was in love with a dead woman who had been reborn into a monster. Cloud, who seemed to completely ignore the perfect woman in front of him just so he could cling to the romantic idea of being a knight protecting a fair princess.
A prickling sensation hit the back of Rude's neck, and he knew that Cloud was out there, even now, watching him. Cloud still didn't trust him. No. Cloud didn't trust him with Tifa. Well, that would just have to be his problem.
But at the same time, Rude knew it was his own problem, as well. Tifa was caught in a love triangle of sorts, and now Rude was getting drawn into it, turning the situation into a new, odd shape. He frowned. He had never been good at geometry.
Rude rubbed a hand almost absently, yet completely aware, up and down Tifa's arm.
"You're cold," he said. When she nodded, he added, "I'll get you a blanket."
Here it was. The perfect excuse. Tifa thanked him for the offer and moved away from him so he could get up. He stood, dusted his suit off slightly, then walked through the field back towards Kalm. He stopped by a lone tree on the way there, where a silhouette leaned.
"Rude," came Cloud's voice.
"Cloud."
The Turk thought that would be the end of the little encounter. He wanted to say more, but wasn't sure how to voice it. He had never been good with words.
"I want to talk to you."
Rude stopped, turning to face Cloud. He raised a questioning eyebrow.
"I'm going to be truthful," the Soldier washout said. "I don't like you being with Tifa. I think she deserves more."
"Jealous?" Rude wished he could take the word back, but knew it was too late. The argument was a certainty now, a physical fight almost inevitable. Tifa was going to beat both him and Cloud for this.
Cloud's eyes narrowed. "Me and Tifa.... we're not...."
"No, you're not. And you never were. Leave it alone. She's with me, where she wants to be." Rude was surprised at what he said. The words came out of nowhere, but they felt right. Maybe, just maybe he could steer this away from a disaster.
"She deserves better than you, Rude. She deserves better than a mercenary, a hired thug."
Rude's eyes narrowed. He suddenly wanted to hit the self righteous bastard. His fists clenched, and he carefully inhaled, then exhaled. Tifa. Think about Tifa. "You are such a hypocrite. Just because I was a Turk... tell me, Cloud. Maybe Shinra reports are wrong, but before Avalanche, what was your profession?"
Cloud moved away from the tree, his back straightening. So, Rude had hit a sore spot. He also noted now that Cloud had moved that the Soldier washout didn't have his sword with him. In a hand to hand confrontation, Rude had no doubt about who would win. If this turned to blows, he could easily restrain him...
"Fair enough," Cloud said. "Maybe you're right. Part of me wants to sabotage you, make sure you don't get Tifa. You don't deserve her. I don't deserve her, either. But for some reason, she's decided that she wants you. So I'm going to leave it alone."
Rude inwardly heaved a sigh of relief.
"However," Cloud continued, his blue Mako eyes turning cold and hard, unflinchingly focused upon the former Turk, "if you break her heart, I'll break your face."
The Turk nodded. If he hurt Tifa, he would let Cloud hurt him.
The two went their own ways, and Rude retrieved the blanket for Tifa. He returned to her in the field and lay down beside her, putting the blanket over her.
"Did I miss anything?"
She shook her head. "Not much. Just two macho jerks flexing their muscles at each other about thirty feet away. There seems to be some hope for them, though. They didn't need to be seperated and sent to their rooms."
Rude smiled, then leaned over and kissed her. He turned back to the stars and found that he agreed with the girl who had so gracefully entered his life with a punch to his jaw. The stars really were beautiful. He wondered why he had never noticed before.
Author's Note:
I hate romance. I hate it a lot. But surprisingly, I don't think this turned out too badly. Look for a continuation on the Cloud/Rude conversation a little further down the road, but not any time soon. Lucrecia next. (Ug, I'm not looking forward to it. Stupid plot necessity)
Also, I will be going over the whole story shortly and fixing up typos/errors/cleaning some stuff up. If you want to do a re-read, wait for a day or two to pass first.
Reeve: What the hell is this?!
Reno: What?
Reeve: The writer is doing a love plot!
Reno: Sweet! Will there be sex?
Reeve: Doubtful. It requires a great amount of effort to make a decent... wait, can we even talk about sex here? This is PG-13, and by American standards, that means we're restricted to stuff you'd only see in a Disney film.
Reno: Yeah, you're right. Canada is way cooler about that kind of stuff.
Reeve: Indeed. Now, how come Rude gets more action than I do? I'm the good looking, rich, business executive who moonlights as the disclaimer guy! That's supposed to get me lots of chicks.
Reno: Wait. Saying the disclaimer gets you chicks?
Reeve: Yeah. When Rude's bald head isn't in the way, at least.
Reno: Awesome! Tyramir doesn't own the rights to Final Fantasy! Now, bring on the ladies!
Reeve: Haha, I can't believe you just fell for that!
Reno: What? ... I hate you.
Reeve: On with the story.
Chapter Twenty Six
Starry Night
Tifa lay on the grass, snuggled up against Rude, looking up at the sky. She leaned in against Rude's side, burying her head into his chest, all the while keeping one eye on the stars. The sky was beautiful, completely unlike the disgusting curtain it had once been when Midgar was still alive. Gone was the ugly shield of pollution that had once marred the sky. Gone was the decay in the earth. In a way, Meteor was the best thing that had ever happened to the planet.
"What're you thinking?" Rude asked, his voice a near whisper.
"Just about how pretty the sky is. I haven't been able to look up at the sky and see it like this since I lived in Nibelheim. Even when I was chasing down Sephiroth, I never seemed to have the time to look at the sky very often."
Rude knew that wasn't entirely true. The way she said it, the wistfulness in her voice... she was remembering something. Probably something to do with Cloud. He swallowed his frustration. He would not be jealous.
He focused instead on Tifa, and the way she was pressing against him. She felt good. Just her being with him felt good. The past month had been odd. After his admission to her, she had stayed close to him, told Red XIII to keep his secret about his past with Soldier. She had made sure the members of Avalanche accept him, and all but physically forced him to stay in Kalm with her. In a way, he supposed she was lonely. He was helping her fill a void she had, taking someone's place...
Again the frustration came. Cloud again. Cloud, who was in love with a dead woman who had been reborn into a monster. Cloud, who seemed to completely ignore the perfect woman in front of him just so he could cling to the romantic idea of being a knight protecting a fair princess.
A prickling sensation hit the back of Rude's neck, and he knew that Cloud was out there, even now, watching him. Cloud still didn't trust him. No. Cloud didn't trust him with Tifa. Well, that would just have to be his problem.
But at the same time, Rude knew it was his own problem, as well. Tifa was caught in a love triangle of sorts, and now Rude was getting drawn into it, turning the situation into a new, odd shape. He frowned. He had never been good at geometry.
Rude rubbed a hand almost absently, yet completely aware, up and down Tifa's arm.
"You're cold," he said. When she nodded, he added, "I'll get you a blanket."
Here it was. The perfect excuse. Tifa thanked him for the offer and moved away from him so he could get up. He stood, dusted his suit off slightly, then walked through the field back towards Kalm. He stopped by a lone tree on the way there, where a silhouette leaned.
"Rude," came Cloud's voice.
"Cloud."
The Turk thought that would be the end of the little encounter. He wanted to say more, but wasn't sure how to voice it. He had never been good with words.
"I want to talk to you."
Rude stopped, turning to face Cloud. He raised a questioning eyebrow.
"I'm going to be truthful," the Soldier washout said. "I don't like you being with Tifa. I think she deserves more."
"Jealous?" Rude wished he could take the word back, but knew it was too late. The argument was a certainty now, a physical fight almost inevitable. Tifa was going to beat both him and Cloud for this.
Cloud's eyes narrowed. "Me and Tifa.... we're not...."
"No, you're not. And you never were. Leave it alone. She's with me, where she wants to be." Rude was surprised at what he said. The words came out of nowhere, but they felt right. Maybe, just maybe he could steer this away from a disaster.
"She deserves better than you, Rude. She deserves better than a mercenary, a hired thug."
Rude's eyes narrowed. He suddenly wanted to hit the self righteous bastard. His fists clenched, and he carefully inhaled, then exhaled. Tifa. Think about Tifa. "You are such a hypocrite. Just because I was a Turk... tell me, Cloud. Maybe Shinra reports are wrong, but before Avalanche, what was your profession?"
Cloud moved away from the tree, his back straightening. So, Rude had hit a sore spot. He also noted now that Cloud had moved that the Soldier washout didn't have his sword with him. In a hand to hand confrontation, Rude had no doubt about who would win. If this turned to blows, he could easily restrain him...
"Fair enough," Cloud said. "Maybe you're right. Part of me wants to sabotage you, make sure you don't get Tifa. You don't deserve her. I don't deserve her, either. But for some reason, she's decided that she wants you. So I'm going to leave it alone."
Rude inwardly heaved a sigh of relief.
"However," Cloud continued, his blue Mako eyes turning cold and hard, unflinchingly focused upon the former Turk, "if you break her heart, I'll break your face."
The Turk nodded. If he hurt Tifa, he would let Cloud hurt him.
The two went their own ways, and Rude retrieved the blanket for Tifa. He returned to her in the field and lay down beside her, putting the blanket over her.
"Did I miss anything?"
She shook her head. "Not much. Just two macho jerks flexing their muscles at each other about thirty feet away. There seems to be some hope for them, though. They didn't need to be seperated and sent to their rooms."
Rude smiled, then leaned over and kissed her. He turned back to the stars and found that he agreed with the girl who had so gracefully entered his life with a punch to his jaw. The stars really were beautiful. He wondered why he had never noticed before.
Author's Note:
I hate romance. I hate it a lot. But surprisingly, I don't think this turned out too badly. Look for a continuation on the Cloud/Rude conversation a little further down the road, but not any time soon. Lucrecia next. (Ug, I'm not looking forward to it. Stupid plot necessity)
Also, I will be going over the whole story shortly and fixing up typos/errors/cleaning some stuff up. If you want to do a re-read, wait for a day or two to pass first.