Chapter 3: Confused

Location: Streets of Midgar

Time: 8:00 pm Friday

Yuffie's POV:

"I wish I could join." I said quietly, as I watched a group of black suited men glaring around at the people surrounding them.

It was weird. Half of the people who were here were scared of these 'SOLDIERS', and yet they still came to see…if you could call it a 'show'.

So far all they had done was stand around and remain secretive as they conversed with a man dressed in an outfit of blood red. Over his longish black hair he wore a thick bandana of the same colour. His skin was like snow and his eyes, which I had caught a few glimpses of every now and then were a luminous auburn colour. He seemed so secretive and to me…he seemed quite attractive.

But these thoughts were swept away with the passing wind every time I felt Reno pull me closer towards him. I felt myself smiling on the inside and outside every time he reminded me of his presence.

He was so adorable…at times he was real goofy. But then he was a real romantic…like last night with the flowers.

I cringed as I thought about it. I should have kept my big mouth shut. Why had I said those hurtful words to Tifa? Well it seemed like she had long forgiven me anyway…so I guess I had nothing to feel sorry about anymore…right?

"Hey Yuffie…look who it is." Came Reno's voice in a low whisper.

I stared up at him and his face seemed to be in utter shock, as if he had just seen the walking dead.

As I followed his gaze, I too gasped in astonishment. I guess I wasn't too far off about the walking dead theory.

Location: Seventh Heaven

Time: 8:30 pm Friday

Tifa's POV:

"Barret go home to Marlene…she's probably worried about where you are." I said to yet another regular drunk who was now lying next to Cid…except he wasn't drooling.

"She's a big girl…she can take care of herself." He mumbled into the counter; facedown.

I sat down a glass I was wiping and leant down so that my face was level with his, if he ever decided to look up.

"She's barely eight years old. You can't just put her to bed every night and then come out here and drink your life away." I said trying to make him see reason.

This time he looked up and propped an elbow up on the bench, allowing his head to rise up, so that he could rub his face with his hand.

"I dunno…I'm not thinking straight lately…I need some time to think." He said quietly.

I nodded in agreement and replied, "Well you sure won't be able to do that in this place."; Now returning to cleaning the glass.

He opened one eye to stare at me lazily and thoughtfully.

"Hey…you know you could help me out." He said, as he seemed to be contemplating something.

I looked at him with interest and prompted, "Go on."

He smiled slightly and continued, "Well…you've got this place…you have plenty of room and all the rest…"

I cut in; suddenly realising what he was getting at, "Barret…I can't take care of Marlene. My life's a mess just like yours. It wouldn't make any difference".

He shook his head and said, "That may be so…" he trailed off as he guzzled down the last of his drink, slamming it back down on the counter as if to prove that he was a man in every way.

"But at least you're sober." He finished, giving me a look of pleading.

I stared back at him with a look of defeat and sighed.

"Barret…I have no experience with kids…I'd sooner let them drown in the bath then act as the mother Marlene deserves." I insisted, as I turned to another patron who wanted something to drink, yet again.

When I returned to Barret he continued, "I'll pay you of course."

I shook my head and leant back against the backbench and said, "It's not the money…I just can't see myself taking care of a kid."

This time Barret rose into a proper sitting position and said, "Look at me…I ain't exactly the perfect parent…but I managed somehow…all I ask is that you take her in for a month or two…until I get things sorted out with myself." He implored sincerely.

I gazed at him through the strands of hair falling over my eyelashes.

I don't know why I did it but I blurted out, "Fine…I'll take her in for a while. But you better keep your end of the deal and get yourself sorted out. I'm not going to take care of Marlene forever." I said firmly; daring him to go against my wishes.

He sighed deeply and sat in his seat quietly for a moment before looking up once more and saying, "Thank you."

With that being said he flopped back down onto the counter once more and allowed himself one last night of being a drunken fool.

Suddenly the bar door burst open and Yuffie; followed by Reno, came running into the room with worry written all over her face. However as soon as she saw me she flashed me a smile, which told me that everything was all right.

"Teef…there you are." She smiled, as she reached the bench, only to be greeted by a loud snore from Cid on her left.

She glanced at him quickly with a jolt, startled by the noise and then turned back to me.

I smiled back and said simply, "As always."

This time I decided to grab a cloth and start wiping down the tables, which were scattered throughout the bar. Even though I knew that they would be made a mess of as soon as I cleaned them.

Yuffie followed at my heels and suggested, "How about you go upstairs for the rest of the night and I'll take over from here?"

This confused me. Why would she want to work at this hour, especially since she hated the bar because of all the dupes that entered it?

I bent down; began to wipe down a table and thought I'd let her off easy, "No it's okay. I'll be done soon anyway."

It was then that I noticed that a fair amount of people were starting to head down the street towards the bar.

I hope there isn't going to be a lot of them tonight. I might just have to take Yuffie up on her offer.

"No I'll finish up. It's okay." She offered once more, as she tried to pull the cloth from my hands.

I however kept my grip on it firmly and stated very clearly, "Yuffie…let go of the cloth."

When she didn't, I summoned all of my strength and yanked it out of her hands.

However she didn't stop there.

"Come on Teef…let me close the bar for once…you never let me do it." she whined.

I stood up from my hunched position and screwed my face up in both annoyance and confusion and inquired curiously, "What do you mean? You hate the bar. You don't want anything to do with it. Why are you acting so weird all of a sudden?"

I turned my face then to the calls of men at the counter, who were in desperate need of a drink.

So I gave Yuffie one last curious glance and then walked over to them. She once again followed and stood at my side behind the bar; never letting me move so much as an inch away from her.

"Come on Teef." She complained.

"I'll have a whisky." Came a patron's loud voice.

"Make that three." Came another voice.

"Tifaaaaa." Yuffie whined, dragging out my name to make her point clear.

I continued to do my job however and ignored everyone's ranting and ravings…only listening to what they ordered.

"Hey you…pass me some ice will ya…this beer's too warm." Came an irritated voice from the opposite end of the bench.

I bent down to grab a pitcher of ice from the ice dispenser and slid it along the bench, without receiving so much as a 'thanks'.

"Tifa go have an early night. I'll lock the doors and everything." She continued, as she followed me back out to the tables where I retrieved a few empty bottles and went to dispose of them behind the counter.

She still kept following me the whole time.

"Hey Yuffie…tell Tifa to let us take over." Reno spoke up, trying to gain my attention.

I was starting to lose my patience and forced myself to remain calm.

"Another top up over here." Came slurred speech.

I sighed and closed my eyes; trying to think of a place that was quiet and peaceful, as I poured more liquor into a glass.

"Oh please Tifa…come on."

"Get me a…"

"Teeeeefaaaaaaaa…"

"I'll have…"

"You're really stubborn sometimes…you know that?"

"Hey you…get here and fix me a drink NOW!"

That was it…I just totally lost it. I threw the cloth I had in one hand onto the counter and screamed, "WILL EVERYONE JUST SHUT-UP!"

Silence soon followed my 'little' outburst and I swear I could hear crickets chirping from all the way outside.

I stared around at the mass of annoyed and curious faces then turned to Yuffie. I frowned at her and said in a low voice, "Now listen here…I…"

"Reno…take her upstairs." Instructed Yuffie, who stood aside for him to pass.

He came in and wrapped his arms around my waist, lifting me over his shoulder in one easy motion.

I didn't even have time to register what was happening…let alone fight back.

"Hey…" was all I managed to say as I looked at Yuffie; trying to figure out if she was being serious or not.

She smiled cheekily and also as if to say, 'well I told you to let me take over'.

She then turned to a customer and the bar was alive again.

"Reno put me down." I demanded, as he made his way towards the stairs at the back of the bar.

He didn't answer, but it was then that something caught my attention. I saw a convoy of stony-faced, rough looking men dressed in black, making their way to the door and I swear that they had something to do with Yuffie's strange behaviour.

Maybe this was that 'SOLDIER' group and she wanted to be noticed by them or something.

She could have just told me though, if that was the reason.

"Reno put me down now!" I insisted once more, as I began to pound into his back with my fists.

"I will…when we get to your room." He said defiantly.

"No, you'll put me down now." I stated.

But he was already headed up the stairs and I could do nothing more right then.

Location: Tifa's Bedroom

Time: 9:00 pm Friday

Tifa's POV:

He plonked me down on my bed and began to leave the room. But I stood back up and ran, to try and get outside once more. However, he was too fast and caught me by the arms before I could do anything else.

"Tifa, why are you making things difficult?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

I stared at him in disbelief as if to say 'excuse me?' and said, "Me? Making things difficult. You and Yuffie are acting like crazy people. Why does she want to take over the bar so badly for anyway?" I questioned.

He looked away, let go of me and shrugged, "She wanted to help out I guess."

I frowned, knowing that wasn't the only reason, even if it was part of it.

"You're not telling the truth." I stated, as I tried to search his eyes.

He was hiding something, but I wasn't sure what.

"Reno I'm going downstairs and this time you're going to let me pass." I instructed, as I gave him my most daring stare.

I knew that he wouldn't want to take me on. I had already whipped his ass at least fifteen times before.

I saw him seem to give up and he stood back away from the door. I wasn't sure if he was going to try something once I walked past, but I decided to take my chances.

So I brushed past and began to quicken my pace as soon as I exited my room. However it wasn't too long after that he managed to grab a hold of my arm, as if deciding at the last minute not to let me go.

I spun around to face him and yelled angrily, "Let go of me!"

It was then that he brought a cloth to my mouth and held it there. I tried to scream…I tried to fight back…but my senses were slowly coming to a standstill. My knees began to grow weak and I was on the verge of falling. But before I did, he placed his arm around my waist and pulled me in towards him. I felt my body being hoisted up into his arms and the last I saw was my ceiling as I drifted off to sleep.

Location: Tifa's Bedroom

Time: 11:00 am Saturday

Tifa's POV:

"Teef…" came a distant voice.

I slowly opened my eyes, only to see a vague impression of a girl.

"Huh…" I trailed off confused, as I began to rub my eyes to gain a better vision of this person.

A damp cloth met my forehead and as I opened my eyes once more I saw that it was Yuffie staring down at me with concern.

I hadn't remembered much of what had happened yet…but I did remember our little argument last night.

"Mmm…what happened to me…?" I groaned, as I sat up straight in my bed, letting my aching head hang.

"You had a little too much to drink last night." Came her answer, causing me to face her in perplexity.

"What…" I spat out, not believing a word she said. "I don't drink like that…I don't drink at all."

She laughed nervously, pulled the damp cloth onto her lap and began to fiddle with it.

"I wasn't being serious." She replied.

Suddenly the vision of our dispute ran through my mind causing me to frown.

"Yuffie what was that all about last night?" I questioned, noticing her beginning to wring the cloth between her palms.

"Yuffieeee." I dragged out, trying to make her talk to me truthfully.

She sighed in an annoyed manner, looked up at me and said, "Look, I really wanted to see the 'SOLDIER' recruits last night…they were all headed towards the bar…so that's why I wanted to take over."

I stared into her dark brown eyes for a moment and then said, "Okay…fair enough…but why didn't you just ask me?"

It looked as if she was about to say something…but she caught her tongue between her teeth at the last minute and stuttered, "Uh…well…I dunno. I guess I was just excited that's all."

She now stood up and began to leave the room.

"Yuffie I'm not done talking to you yet."

"Yeah well can we continue the convo later? I gotta go meet Reno." She called out, as she disappeared around the corner of my door.

I didn't even bother to call out after her…it's not like she'd listen anyway.

I sighed and flopped down onto my bed once more, letting my hand run over my face in frustration. My long, chocolate-brown hair was sprawled out around me and I thought of how much fun I was going to have brushing it this morning.

Not.

I opened my eyes then and turned to face my alarm clock…not that I ever set an alarm.

'11:09' it read in large fluorescent purple figures.

I wouldn't have to open the bar until 7:00 tonight. Saturday was supposed to be the day that I could sleep in and work late.

Another eight hours and I'd be handing out liquor and cleaning up barf and broken bottles again.

I don't wanna think about that right now. What I want to do is go to sleep and wake up just in time to get ready.

So without another thought I drifted back off to sleep for the remainder of the day.

A/N: Well the third chapter is up and I hope I'm doing good. I really enjoy writing this story. I know some of you probably want to see the love of Tifa's life right NOW! But yeah he'll make an appearance soon. So keep reading. Probably at the beginning of the next chapter we'll see him.

P.S. Sorry it took me so long to update. I've been having computer problems. Ah well here it is anyway. Thanks to Aurum Potestas Est, squishysquashy and Initial Dreamer for the great reviews.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters and everything associated with this story all belong to Square Enix.

Yunie Tidus