Right Hand of Evil
Chapter 9
oOoOo
5 months later…
"Still no luck on finding Rufus?" Aerith asked as Cloud got home one night just before dinner was about to start.
Tifa looked up at the two as she remained seated on her chair in the dining room.
"Sephiroth and Vincent thought they had a lead, but no. Wrong information." He answered.
"Well anyway, join us for dinner here," Aerith told him with a sweet smile on her face.
Cloud nodded. "Sure. I'll just put my stuff upstairs." He said with a smile before rushing upstairs.
Aerith walked back to Tifa. "He's doing Rufus's duties since Rufus isn't here…" she said.
Tifa felt Rufus tapping her wrist. She instantly knew what he wanted to ask. She spoke in behalf of him, "Is he even doing a good job at it?" she asked.
"Of course he is. He's friends with Rufus and he was trained by him." Aerith answered proudly.
Denzel and Marlene arrived from outside.
"How come they live here?" Tifa asked. She did not care whether Aerith or the others thought that she was a nutcase or not. She just asked them questions whenever she felt like she needed to. That was what Rufus had taught her in the long months that they had been together: do not mind what other people will say about you, just do whatever you want to do and say whatever you want to say.
"Barret's working and he cannot usually attend to them so…" Aerith answered with a smile on her face as she sat down with Tifa.
Tifa was just quiet, eyeing Aerith sadly.
Aerith wondered why Tifa was staring at her. "Is there anything wrong?" she asked in concern.
Tifa took a deep breath and smiled uneasily at Aerith. "Nothing… I just… don't feel well. I think I'll… just go to bed early." She got up and went upstairs, going straight to her room.
She unwrapped the bandages and placed them on top of her bedside table.
"What's wrong with you?" Rufus asked her.
"It's been 5 months now and I still don't know how to get rid of you…" she answered miserably.
"You want to get rid of me?" he asked with a frown on his face. "Fine, chop me off from your hand if it makes you feel better." He said.
"No… I mean… oh never mind," she shook her head in confusion.
"What? Tell me." He demanded, crossing his arms. He had a stern look on his face. He was not in the mood to play mind games at that moment.
She sighed heavily and smiled sadly at him. "Rufus, I'm glad that you and I got to know each other well in those long months that we've been attached to each other… but I don't want to be attached to you anymore!" she said.
He was confused by what she said, but before he could make a remark, she spoke up again, "Tell me how you feel about me,"
He was overwhelmed. "What?" he asked.
She looked at him with a serious gaze, but she was unsure whether she should repeat the question.
Unknown to her, Aerith and Cloud were listening from outside her door. They were stunned to hear Tifa talking inside… with Rufus ShinRa.
"So he's been here all along?" Cloud whispered to Aerith.
Aerith just pursed her lips, not knowing how to explain the situation.
Rufus ShinRa just stared at her, not knowing how to answer. "N…no." he finally said.
She took a slow intake of breath as she stared at him in disappointment. She placed her "hand" down on the bed, making sure he was turned away from her and could not see the miserable look on her face.
"This isn't working out well, huh?" she asked with a voice that seemed to falter as she kept her eyes glued to the wooden floor.
He could tell that she was crying. He could feel it… somehow; maybe because he was attached to her. But he wondered if he could still be capable of feeling her emotions and knowing what she feels deep inside if he becomes separated from her. But what can he do? He just kept quiet and pretended that nothing was wrong. Besides, how could someone like Tifa possibly feel something towards him? For him, he was such an unlikable person. He was aware of his rotten attitude and he was completely aware that no matter how handsome or rich he was, he no one could like him the way Tifa does.
He just shook his head in confusion. He heard her sniff; he felt her shudder but when he tried to look at her, he realized he could not because she had turned him away from herself.
"Blimey, she's crying…" he thought silently to himself, rolling his eyes. His inner conscience was scolding him to do something, but he had no intention to listen to it.
"Tifa?" they heard Cloud call out from outside.
"Leave me alone!" Tifa cried out in annoyance as she slammed her left hand against the bed and got up frustratingly.
"Look, if I'm the reason for your misery…" Rufus began, but he trailed off when he saw the tears streaming down from her face. It was for real.
She angrily got the bandages again and wrapped it around him as fast as she could. She did not want him to see her crying, especially if it was because of him, but as she wrapped him, he kept his eyes on her. He was not saying anything even as the bandages reached up to his mouth, up his nose, and then finally covered his eyes.
She stopped for a while, taking a look at the uncovered blonde hair. Finally those blue eyes cannot look at her anymore as long as those bandages are covering them. She took a deep breath as she finally finished covering her whole "hand".
She turned back to her bed and removed the covers before plopping down. She stared up at the ceiling while making sure that her right "hand" was away from her as much as possible. Moments later, she fell asleep crying quietly.
Rufus felt like he was going to suffocate. The atmosphere around him felt so gloomy. He was familiar with that kind of environment because it was similar to where he had spent most of his childhood right after his mother left him to the care of his father. Unfortunately, for him, this time, it felt more painful.
Later on, with a heavy heart, Rufus ShinRa fell asleep, wishing that he could have said something to Tifa to make her feel better… and wishing that he could have told her how he felt.
oOoOo
Rufus recognized the sound of his mobile phone ringing. He instantly opened his eyes and sat up, looking around. He was in awe to find himself back in his bedroom in the ShinRa HQ in Midgar… and he was not attached to Tifa's hand anymore!
But when he lifted his right hand to reach for his ringing mobile phone on his bedside table, he saw a small sleeping Tifa attached to his hand. She was naked but his sleeve was long enough to cover her chest. His eyes widened but he did not say a word. Somehow, he felt relieved that she was there.
He just used his left hand to grab his mobile phone, checked the caller ID and then answered the call. "Yes?"
"Happy birthday, Rufus!" he heard multiple voices speaking all at once, but he easily recognized the domineering one: Sephiroth's voice.
He narrowed his eyes. "What timeline am I in…" he was thinking before saying, "It's my birthday?"
"Silly, you're 23 today!" he heard Aerith say.
"Are you guys on speakerphone?" Rufus asked in annoyance. He felt Tifa slowly waking up because of the noise.
"Yeah, we are. So, what time is your party?" Cloud asked him.
Tifa opened her eyes and gazed up at Rufus, then at herself. She looked miserable but she did not say anything.
"I… have no idea…" Rufus turned to the digital clock on his bedside table and saw that it was only 6:30. He rolled his eyes and plopped right back on his bed, lying down comfortably. "I'll have someone call you guys up later," he said, feeling uneasy about the fact that he currently has friends whom he was never close to before, except for Sephiroth.
Tifa kept quiet while trying to keep herself covered with his sleeve.
Rufus hung up and he put down his mobile phone by the clock again before taking a deep breath. "Good morning, Tifa." He greeted rather bluntly.
She was quiet.
"Looks like it's my birthday today." He said.
She still kept quiet.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" he asked.
"If you're 23 today then I'm still supposed to be 21 right now… and I'll turn 22 sometime later…" she said glumly.
"Really. When's your birthday?" he asked.
"May 3. What's the date today?" she asked, trying to sound like she was interested.
"January 15." He answered.
"So you were born on the same year as Cloud." She said.
"Yes. Looks like it. But I'm older by 7 months." He explained before yawning. "Go back to sleep." He told her before closing his eyes again.
She wondered why he was so relaxed and she was feeling so miserable and panicky that she was still attached to him as his right hand. "Blimey, when is this going to end? How could you sleep at a time like this?" she asked.
"Because I don't usually wake up until it's 7:30." He told her.
"Rufus!" she whined.
"Yes, Tifa?" he asked, opening his eyes. He was beginning to feel annoyed.
"Why are you so calm?" she asked in an exasperated manner.
"What do you want me to do? Panic like it's the first time I've ever seen you in my hand? That's passé." He stated airily as he ran his left hand through his hair, letting his fingertips comb through his blonde locks. "Relax, Tifa. Everything's going to be alright. I'm better at keeping dirty little secrets…" he said, referring to her with a sly but teasing smile on his face.
She frowned at him. "Rufus, I am naked and I am uncomfortable." She snapped.
"So? Like it's the first time I've seen you…" he trailed off, realizing what he had just said.
She was mortified, but before she could say anything, Rufus hid her under the covers to contribute to muffling her voice.
His face was red and he was taking slow deep breaths.
"Rufus, get me out of here, I'm going to suffocate! And get me some clothes!" she begged.
He slowly brought her out again. "Sure." He said as he got up and went to his dresser and opened a drawer where he could remember putting the doll's clothes from before. But there was none. "I guess we're in a different period…" he muttered before going to the intercom and pressed a button. "Rufus here. Anybody there?" he called out.
"Yes, sir?" Elena answered.
"Purchase some doll's clothes… similar to those porcelain dolls. Bring them to my room." He told her before hanging up.
"I'll bet they're going to wonder all over again why I need doll's clothes…" he muttered before going to the bathroom. Tifa closed her eyes.
"I'm going to throw a party and I want to invite everyone." He told her.
"That's really nice. But aren't they going to be surprised because you're usually… cold?" she asked directly.
Rufus checked his reflection on the mirror. "Definitely not. I'm a warm-blooded creature…" he said with a sly smile on his face as he raked his left hand's fingers through his blonde hair.
She giggled. "Oh please, stop acting like you do not know what I am talking about." She told him.
He looked at her and his smile softened, knowing that she could not see him because her eyes were closed. But he was quiet.
She smiled softly. "You changed, Rufus." She said gently.
He thought of what to say to her as he unbuttoned the top part of his white pajamas. "Is it required of me to say that you changed too?" he asked, not knowing what to say. He did not want to sound sarcastic, but he did not really know what else to say to her.
To his surprise, she said, "Yes."
He raised his eyebrows and stared at her unbelievably. "Really now?" he asked, unconvinced.
"Yes, I did. I feel I changed… in a way maybe you could never understand." She answered with a proud smile while keeping her eyes closed.
"Really now. You think I cannot understand anything?" he asked.
"Well… nobody is perfect." She stated flatly.
Rufus felt a little irked by what she had just mentioned because he had always kept in mind that he was the epitome of perfection and that he was perfect; he never made any mistakes. "Try me." He said sternly, meaning to challenge her.
"Well I don't think I would like to tell you right now…" she said with a playful tone.
"And why not?" he asked with an annoyed tone. He was rather annoyed at the fact that she was not afraid of him anymore and they were.
"Because you don't need to know everything that I'm thinking of." She answered simply with a determined tone.
He frowned at her. He was making annoyed faces at her already, taking advantage of the fact that her eyes were closed. However, he was taken aback and he froze when he heard her say, "And I know you're making faces already so stop it. I never knew you could be so childish!"
He was silent for a few moments before he regained his composure and retorted, "I'm not making faces, mind you."
"Don't deny it, Rufus. I can feel you." She told him sternly.
"What?" he asked in disbelief.
"You heard me, I can feel you." She told him.
"That is ridiculous. Are you claiming that you can feel whatever I am doing and feeling just because you are attached to me?" he asked.
"Yes." She answered simply.
Rufus eyed her ridiculously but he did not say anything more that could give her any more ideas that could make him more confused. "Well if what she's saying is true, then I'll just shut up and speak through my mind, perhaps." He decided quietly.
He proceeded quietly with his business. Tifa was quiet, waiting for him to speak up again and make a remark, but she just felt that he had no intention to speak. She sighed heavily. "I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that maybe if you keep quiet and instead, speak through your mind, I'll still be able to understand you." She told him.
"You're a very good mind reader," he thought. And he smiled softly.
She felt him smile and she was glad by his response. "Not really," she pointed out.
His facial muscles stiffened and his smile faded away.
"You're not smiling anymore," she said.
He took a deep breath as he walked over to his closet.
"You're exasperated about something, Rufus," she said.
"Oh could you do me a favor and shut up?" he told her in a demanding tone.
She giggled.
"What?" he demanded.
"You're just saying that but you do not really mean it. You're confused, Rufus." She told him.
He rolled his eyes.
"I totally felt that." she told him.
"Really now?" he asked.
"You rolled your eyes." She pointed out.
"You peeked. Shame on you." He told her.
"I did not peek, mind you." She said sternly. She sighed heavily. "Blimey, why can't you just trust me and have faith in what I'm saying?" she asked.
"Because how can I know if you could be trusted?" he asked her.
"I can be trusted. We're friends, aren't we?" she asked innocently.
He was surprised with what she had just mentioned. "I never really considered it that way…" he began with a hesitant tone.
"Right." She said, although she was sarcastic.
He opened his closet and grabbed a random white suit and a random black turtleneck sweater.
"You want an explanation for that?" she asked.
He was impressed with her. She had become braver and more outspoken towards him. However, before he could answer, she already continued to speak, "Well we've been together for almost a year now, Rufus. And I'm afraid I've gotten to know you so much better even though you seldom tell me so much about yourself."
"Is that how you base your judgment from on when you can call someone your friend?" he asked rather haughtily.
"…Not only that. I trust you, Rufus." She told him.
"I beg your pardon?" he asked, surprised by what she told him.
"You took care of me for months, then I took care of you when you became a part of my hand. I entrusted my life to you and… I hoped that when you were my right hand, you learned to trust me too; because I didn't want anything bad to happen to you. I only wished for your safety, Rufus." She told him.
He looked at her. Her head was bowed down but her eyes were still closed. He knew she could keep her word; that if she promised to keep her eyes shut, she would keep it shut until he could say that she could open them. She had always been so sincere with him.
"What are you trying to tell me?" he asked.
She smiled gently. "I changed, Rufus. I… never knew I could… uh…" she stammered.
Rufus waited for her to continue but she was just quiet afterwards.
Rufus looked up at his reflection in the mirror. He could sense from her that she would like to say something important to him, but he was unsure of it. For all he knew, he also wanted to tell her something, but he was afraid to surprise her.
"Never mind. Let's talk about it later after I'm finished planning the party for tonight." He told her sternly.
Tifa just bit her lower lip and shuddered, nodding her head slightly.
oOoOo
For the rest of the day, Rufus remained in his office attending to financial and business matters regarding his company. He still managed to kept Tifa bandaged up and hidden under his desk as he worked, struggling to sign papers with his left hand.
"Really, Rufus, what happened to your hand?" Sephiroth asked for the nth time that day when he entered the President's Office around 2 in the afternoon to submit some papers regarding SOLDIER.
"It's… some kind of allergy." Rufus answered.
"Something you ate?" Sephiroth asked.
"…Yes." Rufus answered plainly as he continued to sign papers.
"Can I see?" Sephiroth asked.
"No." Rufus answered sternly.
"Have you let a physician check it out?" Sephiroth asked.
"It's just a minor allergy; nothing too complicated. I've taken antihistamines for this one and I apply ointment on it twice a day; one in the morning and one at night." Rufus explained flatly.
Sephiroth, however, was unconvinced. "You think it's going to go away tonight for your party?" he asked.
"I hope so." Rufus answered mindlessly as he continued to write, but he stopped when he felt Tifa move. He frowned slightly and looked up at Sephiroth as he let go of his pen. "Where's Elena?" he asked.
"Turk Office, I suppose," Sephiroth answered.
Rufus eyed him quietly while thinking about what to say to Sephiroth, "Go away! Why are you prying into my life? I know you're curious about this bloody hand but don't you know how to mind your own business for once?" he wanted to say that, but he did not want to provoke his friend. Tifa was thinking of something in the same lines as what Rufus was thinking, but she could not speak up; otherwise, Sephiroth will be surprised. Who knows what else could happen when somebody else finds out about her being in Rufus's right hand?
Rufus looked away, taking a deep breath as he got up from his chair. "I'm going out for a latte." He told Sephiroth before grabbing his mobile phone and placed it in his pocket. "You can reach me through my mobile phone for emergencies." He continued.
"Wait a sec, you're not taking me with you?" Sephiroth demanded with a frown on his face.
"Why? Are you my personal bodyguard?" Rufus asked sarcastically as he shoved his bandaged "hand" inside the pocket of his blazer.
Sephiroth gave him a look of annoyance. "Well duh, you assigned me to be your personal bodyguard, remember? Along with Zack and Cloud?" he reminded him.
Rufus gave him a dumbfounded stare. "Zack?" he asked.
"Zack?" Tifa repeated in her mind.
"Isn't he dead?" Rufus and Tifa were thinking at the same time.
"Yeah, Zack." Sephiroth answered.
They were interrupted when Aerith suddenly arrived with a clipboard in her hands. Rufus was surprised to see her wearing a pink business suit with white heeled shoes instead of her usual pink dress, brown boots and pink jacket. "Uh… yes, Aerith?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
"I just came here to ask for your approval of the location so that we can start fixing it up for the occasion later on." Aerith told him with a smile on her face.
"What occasion?" Rufus asked in confusion.
"What's wrong with your head? Is that allergy giving you memory loss or something?" Sephiroth asked impatiently as he grabbed hold of Rufus's right hand and started to unwound the bandages. Tifa felt like she was being suffocated as he kept his hands tightly around her head.
"Blimey!" Rufus felt that his hand got strangled so he withdrew her instantly away from Sephiroth. "Leave my hand alone. I'm perfectly fine. I'm just a little… sleepy. I need caffeine to perk me up, now if you'll excuse me, I have to go." He told him as he adjusted the bandages again to keep it snug and in place as he walked away.
Tifa thought she was going to die, but she was relieved that Rufus was quick enough to move her away from Sephiroth. "That's what I call a killer grip…" she was thinking to herself.
"Oh and in case you're asking, it's your birthday party tonight that we're planning," Aerith reminded Rufus as she and Sephiroth followed after him.
"Why are you following me?" Rufus asked in annoyance as he sped up towards the elevator.
"I'm your bodyguard. You're not leaving this building without me." Sephiroth told him sternly.
"And I'd like to ask you if you would like your party to be at the convention center or at the ballroom on the 7th floor?" Aerith asked him.
"Ballroom is fine. Make it formal. The motif is white." Rufus told her.
"What is this, a wedding?" Tifa thought to herself, but then again, it was Rufus's favorite color.
"Red and white." Sephiroth corrected him.
"Why?" Rufus asked.
"You want it to look like you're gonna get married or something?" Sephiroth asked.
"Fine, red and white…" Rufus decided.
Aerith nodded. "Alright. Your grand entrance will be at 8 in the evening. I've already confirmed with your guests. I've invited everyone from your list." She said before going on separate ways from the two. Rufus observed where she was heading for while waiting for the elevator. "What's she doing here?" he asked Sephiroth.
"She's your Public Relations and Advertising Manager." Sephiroth reminded him.
Tifa could tell that he was already confused with Rufus's situation.
While aboard the elevator, Rufus listened as Sephiroth made a call to Cloud and Zack, informing them that Rufus would be leaving the building and that the car needs to be parked by the front lobby to accommodate him. He also instructed Zack to drive.
When they arrived at the lobby, Rufus saw flowers being delivered. He saw one of the Turks with the long brown hair in a high ponytail instructing the deliverymen to bring the flowers to the 7th floor ballroom. Rufus could not completely recall who she was, but he knew she was one of the best Turks.
The female Turk eyed Rufus. "Good afternoon, President Rufus," she greeted pleasantly before turning her gaze to Sephiroth who was looking at her with a sly smile on his face. Her facial expression turned sour and she stuck out her tongue at him.
Sephiroth just snickered and turned away as he continued to walk with Rufus to the white car that was waiting for them outside the building.
"What's her weapon again?" Rufus asked.
"Shotgun." Sephiroth answered.
Rufus looked back at the Turk and then shifted his gaze to Sephiroth. "Did she just make a face at you?" he asked.
"She does that all the time." Sephiroth told him.
Rufus frowned. "No she doesn't." he said. From what he could recall, Sephiroth was one of her superiors aside from Tseng and Veld, since she trained in the ShinRa Military Academy. He knew Sephiroth hated it when his cadets showed any sort of disrespect towards him.
Sephiroth looked at him unbelievably. "I think you really need the coffee." He told him.
Rufus just kept quiet.
When they got out of the building, they saw Cloud Strife waiting outside the car while Zack was already seated inside and starting the engine.
Rufus saw that Cloud was already wearing the First Class SOLDIER uniform. He did not say anything but Cloud greeted him pleasantly, "Hey, Rufus." He opened the door for him.
Tifa was surprised to hear Cloud's voice.
Rufus hesitated for a moment but he got in. Cloud followed after him, eventually sitting beside him.
Sephiroth sat on the front passenger seat.
"Where to, Rufus?" Zack asked.
Rufus and Tifa were surprised. The three obviously work for him but they were also buddies with him. He felt disturbed yet enlightened at the fact that he actually had friends… and he could tell somehow that those were the faithful kind. There were a lot of changes around him too. He could actually see the clear blue skies in the daytime, his employees seem to be more at ease, happy and secure with their jobs and the atmosphere in the building seemed much lighter and less stressful compared to what he could remember.
"Somewhere I can get a fix of caffeine…" Rufus managed to answer flatly.
Cloud noticed the discomfort in his tone. "You okay?" he asked.
"…He's just sleepy. Better keep him awake for tonight. Heheh." Sephiroth told them.
"Haha! Oh yeah." Zack cheered as he began to drive.
Rufus could feel that the three were planning something bad for him. "…what are you talking about?" he asked.
Tifa was beginning to feel restless. She could feel Rufus getting nervous.
"Are you nuts? We've been doing this for a long time ever since you turned 18!" Sephiroth told him.
"We… we do?" Rufus asked.
"After your formal parties, we head down to 7th Heaven for drinks." Zack told him.
Tifa felt her heart stop for a moment when she heard that.
Rufus drew his right "hand" closer to him.
"Man, he's cracking me up." Cloud told Sephiroth and Zack while stopping the urge to laugh. "I can't believe you'd be this disoriented without caffeine!" he told Rufus.
Rufus was dumbfounded. "We do this everytime there's a birthday?" he asked.
"No, just your birthday." Cloud answered.
"Unfortunately, tonight, Tifa's not around." Zack told them.
Rufus's eyes widened. "Oh really? What happened to her?" he asked.
"Whoooot! He's worried! Haha!" Zack cheered happily.
Cloud nudged Rufus in a teasing manner.
Sephiroth smiled coolly and took a deep breath. "Nobody knows. She just disappeared." He said.
"We really need to feed him lots of espresso to perk him up. He can't even remember that he sent a search party to search for her." Cloud told Sephiroth and Zack.
"Shame on you, Rufus! Is that how you treat the girl you've have a crush on ever since you were 15? You just tend to forget her when you're sleepy like that?" Zack asked with a disapproving look on his face.
Tifa's mouth dropped open.
Rufus felt his cheeks getting warmer. Tifa felt him getting warmer.
"I beg your pardon?" Rufus asked, trying to keep his poise and trying to sound calm.
"You have a crush on Tifa." Cloud pointed out.
"I do?" Rufus asked.
"Yeah." Sephiroth answered with a silly smile on his face.
"No, I don't." Rufus told them.
Tifa clenched her fists and her jaw. "What the bloody hell is going on?" she thought in confusion.
"Right. Deny." Zack said, rolling his eyes. Cloud and Sephiroth laughed at Rufus.
Tifa was surprised to hear Cloud and Sephiroth laugh in a manner that exuded fun. "They're… so different. They sound so happy… I've never really heard Cloud laugh that way before…" she realized.
"Don't be embarrassed around us, Rufus. We all know about you having a crush on Tifa…. And aren't you planning on telling her how much you care for her tonight at your party?" Zack asked.
"What? I planned that?" Rufus demanded in shock.
"Yeah," Cloud answered.
"Too bad she's missing. I guess she won't be there… maybe some other time when you find her…" Sephiroth began, but Rufus retaliated, "Oh stop talking!"
The three were surprised by his reaction. "… anything wrong, Rufus?" Cloud asked.
"Do you want anyone else to hear you?" Rufus demanded, his face totally red.
Cloud raised his eyebrows when he saw how red Rufus's face was.
"What's wrong? It's only the four of us here." Sephiroth reminded him.
"No, actually, there's five of us…" Rufus was thinking quietly as he wished secretly that Tifa was sleeping and could not hear anything that they were talking about. "…never mind. I don't want to talk about it." He told them.
"You don't want to talk about it? You just bought her a ring yesterday." Cloud reminded him.
Tifa was beginning to get excited. "Oh if only…" she was thinking to herself with a soft smile on her face. Imagining Rufus ShinRa proposing to her was something she hadn't dreamed of and the likes of it happening was making her giddy.
"No, I don't want to talk about it…" Rufus answered, but he was curious on where he hid the ring. "I bought her a ring?" he asked.
"Hahah. He said he didn't wanna talk about it but how come he's asking about the ring?" Sephiroth asked with a sarcastic smile on his face.
"Because I forgot where I placed it." Rufus told him.
"Who knows where you placed it? We weren't really there when you hid it. We were just with you when you bought it." Zack answered.
"Damn." Rufus muttered.
"Anything wrong?" Cloud asked.
"I forgot where I hid it…" Rufus fibbed.
"He's really playing along quite nicely…" Tifa was thinking to herself, trying to convince herself that Rufus was just playing along. "Dream on, girl. He will never have the intention to get engaged to you." She thought. Although she kept on wondering about the Rufus that Sephiroth, Cloud and Zack knew at that moment. Did Rufus really have a crush on the Tifa that they kept on mentioning?
"Rufus, how could you forget about the ring!" Zack told Rufus, interrupting Tifa's thoughts.
"… I just did! I think I… drank too much last night…" Rufus answered.
"You were drinking last night?" Zack asked unbelievably.
"I was thirsty. I thought it was water but it turned out to be vodka. Silly me. I must've been too exhausted to notice." Rufus fibbed.
His friends were quiet.
"You're planning to propose to Tifa tonight. You want her to be your girlfriend and you want her to be your fiancée. Now do you remember?" Sephiroth reminded him.
"Unfortunately, the girl is missing. Too bad." Zack told him.
Rufus was just quiet, trying to figure out what else to say, but he was speechless. He was still secretly wishing for Tifa to be asleep while the conversation was on-going.
Tifa swallowed hard. "Damn…" she thought miserably with a pout.
oOoOo
5:30pm…
Rufus returned to his bedroom, already wide-awake because of the coffee. Tifa also felt the jolt caused by the caffeine intake of Rufus because they practically shared a circulatory system. Rufus locked the door and carefully removed the bandages around his right "hand". "There you go," he told her half-heartedly.
She took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Finally. I can breathe well…" she muttered. "What time is it?" she asked.
"5:30." He told her before he took off his white blazer and placed it neatly on a chair. "I'm going to get ready for the occasion later." He said.
"Isn't it too early?" she asked, remembering that the party starts at 8.
"It normally takes me an hour and a half to get ready, but since you're attached to my hand, I might need an extra hour or so…" he answered before realizing that he had to get dressed so he wrapped the bandages around her again.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
"I'm going to bathe, I'm going to get dressed; therefore, you need to keep your eyes shut." He told her.
"This is abuse. I can just close my eyes!" she told him in protest.
"Well as long as you're attached to me, I guess I can abuse you as much as I want to." Rufus told her playfully with a mocking tone.
She hated the way he sounded but she could not see his face anymore because he was finished wrapping the bandages around her. "I swear once I grow back to my original size, I'm going to kick your arse." She sneered.
He smiled at what she said. "Really now?" he asked, feeling amused.
"Bloody hell, yes!" she answered.
He observed his wrapped "hand". He could tell that she was struggling to move because the bulges around the bandages were moving. She kept on blabbing to him about how much she would want to get the bandages off because she wanted to breathe properly, but he just listened quietly as he drew her closer to his face. Tifa felt that he just raised her up but that did not stop her from nagging him.
He had a faint smile on his face, knowing he could freely express some emotion on his face because nobody else could see him. Then quickly, he brushed a kiss on her head.
She stopped talking. "What was that?" she asked.
Rufus just eyed the bandaged Tifa in front of her.
"What did you just do to me?" she demanded in annoyance. She hated it when Rufus took advantage of her whenever she was wrapped in bandages and could not see.
He smiled and brought her down again. "Nothing; I just tapped your head with my finger." He answered as he headed for the bathroom to prepare his bath.