Hi! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far.
I really like the way this chapter came out. I hadn't planned to do much with Cloud, but he pretty much wrote himself into the plot. I guess it's the Main Character genes reasserting themselves or something. And I love the Rufus bits in this. I hope you guys enjoy it too.
Love is Like a War
Chapter 4: Symphony of Loneliness
He'd been walking for hours. He didn't fear the dark the way some did; there weren't many bandits or monsters who were a match for his strength even in his distressed emotional state. All he knew was that he just had to leave there, to get away from that lie of a life he'd been living.
Tifa was right, of course. He didn't understand how he hadn't seen it before, seen how he was deceiving himself and how damaging it was for both of them.
He couldn't feel angry. Somewhere within him he'd probably known all along that this day would eventually come. But his life had become too convenient an escape. And he'd become so good at living it that it almost started to take the shape of truth…
Cloud snorted into the darkness, realizing the irony of his thoughts. After all, it's not like this was the first time he'd lived in some kind of made up world. Reality was just too easy to manipulate once you were equipped with the right tools…
He hoped Tifa would be alright, and that he hadn't hurt her too badly in his selfishness. Because he was selfish; he was self-centered, too. He wouldn't even help a friend in trouble if it meant he might have to risk bringing the memories to the surface again…not for the first time, Cloud Strife wished he were a better man.
She made me a better man… A better person…
He shook his head as though he might dislodge her from his mind. Aeris – would he never be free from her?
And did he want to be?
Somehow he needed to find the key to all of this, but he had no clue where to start. Hell, he didn't even know where he was going.
It would be morning soon. He was pretty sure he was nearing the Chocobo Ranch. Maybe they would sell him a meal and a hay loft to rest in for awhile. Maybe he could figure out what he was doing or at least decide where he wanted to go. He needed some sleep, but that was a perilous operation. She was always waiting in his dreams…sometimes he wondered if he'd ever wake again. When had he become so weak?
Maybe that's what love does to you, he mused. The tall grass of the pasture whispered around his ankles as the day began to dawn…
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Rufus frowned as he adjusted the collar of his coat in front of the large mirror in his office.
God, I look like father when I'm angry…
He had just finished reading a completely idiotic memo from Heidegger suggesting that he re-hire Scarlet to design new weapons in case a "situation" arose with Lord Dio.
Why do I surround myself with such imbeciles?
Heidegger's idea of a good way to stop a tidal wave would probably be to fire nuclear missiles at it – but he did have his uses…talents, even.
Scarlet, on the other hand, was one problem he didn't need to deal with. He didn't even know where she was now.
Hopefully far, far away.
His face contorted into something between a cringe and a sneer as he remembered their last meeting…
OoOoFLASHBACKoOoO
Rufus looked up from the papers on his desk as he heard the door click open. Scarlet walked in, wearing a red trenchcoat and high heels.
Strangely conservative, he thought. But you can still smell her cheap perfume a mile away…
"You're here awfully late, Scarlet. Whatever business you have, couldn't it wait until morning?"
Scarlet's lips twisted into a small smirk.
"Actually, this is more of a…social visit. I have a proposition for you."
"Oh?"
Rufus arched an eyebrow. I don't like the sound of this…
Scarlet stepped closer, standing beside his desk and biting her full bottom lip.
"I want to offer you something…something no one else has been man enough to handle…"
She deftly untied the belt of the trenchcoat and began to pull it open.
Rufus froze. She cannot be serious.
The trenchcoat dropped to the floor, leaving Scarlet in nothing but a lacy red bra and panties. Rufus diverted his eyes to the window.
"Scarlet, what in hell do you think you're doing?"
She stepped closer, until she was near enough that he could feel the warmth from her skin.
"Surely you've thought about it. I've seen the way you look at me. I'm not blind. You're getting to be that age, Rufus. The age when a man wants to start a family."
She reached out for his hand as she straddled his lap. She guided the hand to rest at the curve of her hip. Rufus stared at her in disbelief. She mistook his expression for entrancement under her seductive power. She leaned in to whisper in his ear.
"Imagine what we can achieve together. The perfect marriage of brains, power, and sex appeal…we could rule the world and then pass it on to our gorgeous, merciless little children…"
She moved her lips toward his. He could smell the courage of several gin martinis on her breath. He squeezed his eyes shut. What a nightmare…
He could almost feel her grin, catlike and triumphant, interpreting his inaction as compliance.
"What do you say, love?"
His eyes snapped open, radiating the full force of their icy wrath. Hearing such an endearment from her foul mouth had snapped him out of his incredulous trance. His mouth set into a steely line.
"Get. Off," he whispered through clenched teeth.
"W-what did you say?"
He tasted the fear in her voice. She should be afraid…
"I said GET OFF," he spat with malice. He stood up suddenly, knocking the scantily clad woman to the floor. She stared up at his vengeful form. Her perspective made him seem larger than life, like an angry god. Her pleas stuck in her throat.
"Rufus, please—"
He let out a short, mirthless laugh, fists clenched at his sides.
"Please? Please what? Please choose a power-hungry whore for my wife? How about please tell me you're joking! Are you completely delusional? Even father knew his cheap sluts weren't marriage material. God, how many drinks have you had tonight?"
Rufus didn't see the tear that rolled down Scarlet's face. She got to her feet, eyeing him desperately.
"You don't understand…I love you…like I've never loved a man before! Where else will you ever find a woman as devoted to you as I've been? I know I can make you happy, Rufus!"
She tried to approach him again. He threw up a hand and stepped back. The light from a ceiling fixture shined down from directly above him, causing his hair to look like it was on fire. His eyes held a slightly manic look.
"You love me? Now there's a laugh. Love my bank account perhaps."
He picked up her coat and threw it at her.
"You're the last thing that could ever make me happy, Scarlet. You don't know the first thing about me. Go clean out your desk. I want you gone."
A glacier held more warmth than Rufus' voice at that moment. Scarlet was devastated and confused by the harshness of his words and the suddenness of her defeat.
"But I—" she feebly began. Rufus fixed his steel blue, furious gaze upon her face.
"Get out of my sight!"
Shinra's young President turned to the window and the twinkling city beyond as Scarlet stumbled out of his office and into the cold night like a wounded animal, broken and whimpering.
OoOoEND FLASHBACKoOoO
That was over a year ago now. He hadn't seen her since, and he'd told no one about what happened. What had she been thinking? She couldn't have seriously expected him to want to marry her…
'Love…'
He felt a shadow of the burning rage he'd experienced when she had called him that. Empty, hateful word…
'Love…'
That had been what the old man called his mother when he wasn't screaming at her or running around with his latest mistress. Only his father could take a word that was meant to represent something so beautiful and make it sound so vile.
Rufus certainly wasn't ready to get married; and if he was, Scarlet probably wouldn't even stand a chance of being invited to the wedding – never mind attending as his bride.
Maybe someday he'd find a woman – one woman – who he could love without all the showy passionate escapades that most people got mixed up in. Someone…unobtrusive. Quiet. Mild Mannered. He was too busy to be bothered with a tumultuous relationship. That sort of thing was for fools. Rufus heard voices outside the door.
"…Gyah…"
He rubbed his temples. Speaking of fools…
Heidegger and Reeve came in, followed by Rude and Elena.
Time to get back to reality, Rufus told himself. He motioned the two Turks to sit down and relax, and began to deliver their new orders.
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Wow; Scarlet, you slut! All the office gossip was true! Poor Rufus. Poor Cloud. Poor….Scarlet? ::sigh:: I sometimes feel bad for giving the characters so many problems (yeah, right!).
In chapter 5 we'll pay a brief visit to Barret in North Corel. Another member of the old gang is there with him. Can you guess who? It's not like there are that many choices! We'll also see more of Scarlet's scheming and catch up with Tifa in Midgar. I hope you'll check it out.