Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII. It belongs to Squaresoft. I am just an adoring fan girl.
The Art of Redemption
Chapter Four:
Sweet Talk
It was Tifa's second sleepless night that night. Rufus Shinra showing up at the church today was more than just coincidence. Had they shared the same dream from the night before? It sounded like it, from the little he had told her. She wished now that she hadn't interrupted him. Actually, after replaying the day's events over in her head, she wished she hadn't been so unpleasant towards him. In retrospect, most of her behavior, if not all of it, had been unwarranted. Especially considering he did not say or do anything to provoke her. The one reason she did have to treat him poorly, he had apologized for from the beginning.
Rolling over in bed, she groaned and buried her face into a pillow. Why was she defending Rufus against her rude behavior? Had she forgotten that he was the President of the company that her and her friends fought against because of its corruption and destruction towards the Planet? Had she forgotten that his company was responsible for most of, if not all, the loss she had suffered throughout her life? Her father. Her hometown. Her friends. Her Cloud. Shinra was responsible for her losses in one way or another. So why did she feel like she wasn't allowed to hate him anymore?
She recovered her face from her pillow and rolled onto her back, eyes staring up into the darkness of her bedroom. The situation confused her to no end. She shut her eyes and tried to remember most of the dream, hoping it would give her clues.
She was taking a walk, idly gazing at the dirt and ruin around her. She held a sad smile on her face. They had helped save the Planet, but not enough of it. She looked up as a drop of water landed on her head and many more followed. It was raining. She looked around for cover and spotted the old church. She ran inside, but was startled to find someone already there, standing over the ethereal flower bed.
The man wore all black and kept his back towards her. He must not have heard her. She stepped quietly, hoping the dust on the hardwood floor would soften the sound of her boots. As she got closer, she realized in horror that he didn't just wear black, but that he was covered in black. He wore black, mostly by his trench coat. But what he left exposed - his hands, neck, and face - the skin was covered in black. Stepping even closer, she noticed that it was Geostigma. She started to back away, to run away from the sight, but the man suddenly turned. She froze, rooted to the spot.
His piercing blue eyes had grown duller since she last saw him. The blonde hair fell to cover them. He made a move to brush them aside, but stopped, as if he was almost too weak for the simple motion. Then he spoke.
"Tifa..."
She shook her head. She didn't want to speak to him. She wanted to run, but her feet felt like lead. He stepped closer to her.
"Please..."
She shook her head again. She tried to yell "No!" but it only came out as barely a whisper. Why couldn't she run? He reached out a hand toward her. She tried pleading with her eyes for him not to touch her. She watched as his hand landed on her shoulder and it suddenly turned to a pale white. She looked back at his face and it had changed too. A smile was playing at the corners of his mouth.
"Wake up!"
Tifa jolted awake to someone yelling at her and shaking her shoulder violently. She blinked several times and rubbed her eyes until a very familiar face swam into vision.
"Cloud?"
He sat down on the side of the bed as she sat herself up against the wall, still rubbing her eyes. "You were having a bad dream," he said.
She struggled to remember the dream but the details were slowly fading from her memory. "Was I?" she asked.
Cloud shrugged. "It sounded like it. But I came to wake you because you have...a visitor."
Tifa noticed Cloud sounded strange when he said the words "a visitor." He didn't sound thrilled to mention it. Then it hit her. She looked at her clock on the nightstand and saw that it read "8:07".
"Dammit..." she threw the sheets off of her and jumped out of bed, nearly causing Cloud to fall off the side. He regained his balance and called after her as she headed for the shower.
"It would be nice to know what's going on," he said.
Several minutes later, Tifa reemerged with soaking wet hair and a towel around her body. Cloud politely got up from the bed and left the room, shutting the door behind him. Leaning against the closed door, he spoke again.
"So what's the deal?"
There were a few seconds of silence before Tifa replied. "I really don't know. And if I did, I wouldn't feel comfortable telling you right now."
Cloud frowned. He was confused. When he and Denzel had arrived earlier that morning from their route, he wasn't expecting Rufus Shinra and Reno to be knocking on his door, hoping to come in and share a cup of coffee. Of course, that was the least of his worries. When Rufus finally asked him when Tifa would be down to join them, that's when he grew very concerned.
Finally, he heard the door nob move and he pushed himself away from the door. The door opened and he found Tifa dressed in her usual attire. Black on black on bottom with black on white on top. The only thing different was that she had tied her hair back into one big braid due to not having time to dry it.
"So it's not a date?" he asked, half-jokingly.
Tifa punched him playfully in the arm. "No! Of course not. Besides, who goes on dates this early in the morning dressed like this?"
Cloud half-smiled. "That's what I was thinking. But you won't tell me what's really going on?"
Tifa shook her head. "Not right now. It's...weird. I'm still figuring it out."
Cloud sighed. He was hoping for a better answer. "Well, when you do figure out, do you promise to tell me later?"
Tifa smiled reassuringly. "Of course. I'm not trying to hide anything from you." She gave Cloud a quick kiss on the cheek. "But I've really got to go. We were supposed to leave at eight..."
And Cloud watched her walk quickly down the hallway and down the stairs. He decided not to follow, but head to the shower instead. It had been a long trip...
When Tifa finally made it downstairs and into the front of the bar, she was quite surprised to find Rufus sitting at the counter, drinking a cup of coffee and skimming the day's newspaper. Once again, he had opted out of the white suit for mostly black attire, but trading out the midnight blue shirt with a white one. He looked oddly similar to the way Reno was dressed in his Turk uniform, who was actually sitting at a nearby table talking to Denzel.
She walked towards him as he looked up at her. "I thought 8:00 was fine for you," he said.
He didn't look up from his newspaper and she was glad for he missed the blush creep onto her cheeks out of embarrassment.
"I overslept. I was really tired last night."
Rufus looked up from his paper and looked at Tifa, who was now standing next to him at the counter. He smirked. "I didn't keep you out that late, did I?"
Tifa stared at him, wondering if he said that on purpose or if she was just taking it the wrong way. Before she could respond though, Denzel ran up to her. "Tifa!"
"Hey! How was your trip?" she asked, as she ruffled his hair. She was always stunned to see how tall he was getting.
"It was great! The bike Cloud and I put together ran really well. But Reno was just telling me about flying a helicopter. Do you think I could ride in one some day?"
Tifa smiled. "Sure, some day."
"Yes!" Denzel turned around and ran back to Reno. "Did you hear that? She said sure!"
Reno grinned and gave him a high five. "Awesome. Hey, let's go outside and check it out."
Denzel ran to the door and Reno followed behind him. He turned around before heading out the door. "We'll wait out here for ya, that cool boss?"
Rufus waved a hand to dismiss him and turned his attention back to Tifa.
"He is not riding in that helicopter," he stated.
Tifa laughed. "Who said it had to be your helicopter?"
Rufus smirked. He then changed the subject. "Forgot to tell Cloud I would show up."
Tifa smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that."
Rufus shook his head. "No need to be. I like to think we've somewhat settled our differences. However, I'm not sure he likes to think the same. But I think he was taken aback...especially when I mentioned I was here for you, and not him."
There was a strange silence that hung between them for several seconds. Tifa stared at him, basking in it, unable to come up with an appropriate response. She could hear the shower running upstairs and it seemed much louder than usual.
"Did you tell him anything?" he asked.
Tifa shook her head. "No. He asked, but I didn't tell him anything."
Rufus sighed. "Good. I forgot to mention last night...you're the only one I've told. I'd like to keep it that way."
Tifa raised an eyebrow. "Not even Reno?"
Rufus looked away. "No. He thinks it's a wild hair. But he's used to those by now." He looked back up, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, but he didn't show it.
Tifa released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. His face had looked too much like the one in her dream. The dream she hadn't been able to remember moments ago, but suddenly came swimming back to her. She shivered involuntarily.
Rufus looked mildly concerned. "Are you feeling well?"
Tifa nodded her head fiercely. "Yes, I'm fine. Shall we go?"
Without any more questions or thoughts about Tifa's health, Rufus gracefully slid off the bar stool, brushing off one of his sleeves as he did so. "Let's go then."
When Reno saw Rufus and Tifa finally exit the bar, he looked to Denzel, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat with a headset on.
"Hey, it looks like their ready to go. You'll have to get out. I already know the boss don't want any kid passengers."
Denzel frowned and removed the headset. "Maybe he'll lighten up one of these days. I haven't heard many good stories about him."
Reno smirked. "That's because there's not many. But maybe some other time."
Denzel looked skeptical. "Yeah, sure." He started to jump out of the aircraft, but looked back at Reno. "You're not bad though. Take care of Tifa for me, will ya?"
Reno laughed. "Sure thing." Then he watched Denzel jump out and run back towards the bar, waving to Tifa and Rufus as they passed.
Once they reached the helicopter, Rufus climbed into the aircraft gracefully. He turned around and noticed Tifa looking at him, confused. "How'd you do that?" she asked.
"Here," he replied. He extended a hand to her. She grabbed it with her right hand and placed her left foot up onto the platform. He then pulled her up and she stepped into the helicopter smoothly.
She smiled. "Thanks."
Rufus didn't respond. Instead, he slid past her through the small space and shut the door behind her. She could smell the scent of his cologne. It was light, subtle, not overly pervasive, but still stimulating. She decided it was time to take her seat. As she did so, Reno turned around and handed her a headset. "Here you go sweetheart."
Tifa quirked an eyebrow. "What's this for?"
"You'll see," Rufus responded as he sat down and adjusted his own headset.
Reno winked at her and then turned around to face the controls. He flipped a switch or two and the blades came to life. As they reached full speed, Reno pushed his left foot onto the left pedal and they were hovering just a few feet above the ground. Reno pushed a lever forward and pushed his right foot onto the right pedal. They began moving forward and higher and within a few seconds, the buildings were just below their feet.
Tifa had never experienced anything like this. The ride was loud and shaky and she looked out the window beside her nervously. It was weird not being higher in the sky. She turned to look at Rufus. He caught her eyes with his own. His lips moved, but she couldn't hear him over the din of the rotors. Leaning over to her, he placed one of his hands on the back of her seat for support and used the other to push a button on the side of her headset. His voice was suddenly inside her ear.
"You're used to the airship," he said.
She caught not only the irony in this simple statement, but also the sardonic glint in his eye. It was impossible for her to respond. She looked away. Feeling slightly victorious, Rufus leaned back over to his own seat. Neither of them spoke for the remainder of the trip.
Close to twenty minutes later, they landed just outside the church. Rufus opened the door and jumped out first. He turned around and waited for Tifa. "Watch your head," he warned her.
Just as she was about to jump out, she looked up and saw that the blades were still spinning dangerously, albeit slowly. She ducked her head and then jumped.
"Reno, do you mind staying with the helicopter?" Rufus asked as Reno walked around while lighting a cigarette.
"No problem-o. Don't need me anymore, remember?"
Rufus refrained from acknowledging the comment. He started walking towards the church with Tifa. He noticed she had a smile on her face.
"Something funny?"
Tifa looked at him. "Reno."
Rufus rolled his eyes. "I'm sure he appreciates it."
Rufus walked into the church first with Tifa following close behind. She was more apt to walk in slowly and take her time to admire the antique beauty, even if most of it was broken pews and half-shattered stained glass windows. She thought it gave it character. Rufus, on the other hand, seemed only focused on one thing -- the flowerbed. She watched as he walked at a quick gait towards it and stopped.
"Tifa..."
She turned her attention from one of the broken windows to her name, which sounded foreign coming from Rufus' mouth. He turned his head to look over his shoulder to see if she was paying attention.
"Does it normally do this?"
Tifa had to step closer and really focus her eyes in the direction of the flowerbed to see what he was talking about. It was sprinkling lightly just above the flowerbed, and the flowerbed only.
"I've seen it a few times. It's not often," Tifa finally answered. She was now standing right by Rufus' side as they both stared at the phenomenon.
"What is so special about this church? Besides the fact that it's a church."
Tifa turned, staring squarely at him. "Why do you find it so special?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't be here."
Tifa smiled. "The reason why the church is so unique is dependent on the individual. Anyone who visits here has their own reason or destiny."
Rufus turned his head towards her, a questioning look revealed upon his face. Her smile was pleasant but made him feel uneasy. No one smiled at him, except for Reeve or the Turks, but they didn't count.
"Do you think all of this is coincidence?" she asked.
He turned away from her and lifted his gaze upwards, staring through the hole in the roof to the sky. He shut his eyes and recalled the energy blasts from WEAPON careening towards him. He remembered the day it rained and he was cured of Geostigma. He remembered a particular conversation that followed days later.
"Diamond WEAPON, Geostigma, Kadaj and his gang; if you don't mind me saying so, but I think you're invincible sir."
"No, Elena. Far from it. They've only proven that I am not."
"With respect sir, I'd like to disagree. I think they've proven something...or someone else is on your side."
Rufus had thought she meant the Turks. Opening his eyes and concentrating on Tifa's question now, he realized she meant something more boundless, perhaps divine. The Turks never dealt in coincidences or destinies. They operated on detailed orders and unfailing loyalty, no questions asked. He looked at her, hesitant to answer; unable to comprehend what it might mean.
"No," he finally replied.
Tifa felt relieved. She didn't want to recount her dream of him, to him, to explain that this couldn't possibly be some strange series of chance occurences. As she began to wonder though, she became concerned by what it might be instead.
"You seem anxious," Rufus remarked, trying to conceal his own unease. Her smile had disappeared and her eyes looked distant and afraid. Resenting and questioning his action later, he placed a hand on her shoulder when she didn't respond. She jumped and immediately swatted it away, as if it had stung her. She looked downwards, staring at it now by his side. Then she looked at him, a very peculiar expression on her face. Was she sorry or embarassed? It seemed a mixture of both. She still said nothing.
"We'll go now," he said. He turned and began walking towards the door, not waiting for her to follow.
