Tifa stared at the ceiling of her cell. She was trying to forget the events of the day. Dinner had been awful, both Scarlet and Rufus were giving her death glares and no one seemed to notice. Tifa rolled over and faced the wall. She moved her hand to her cheek and winched from the pain of touching it. Stupid Scarlet. She had no reason to slap her like that, Tifa guessed that Scarlet was having a bad day or something but that still gave her no reason to hurt her. Pulling the blanket over her Tifa closed her eyes and fell asleep. She was so tired, her body ached and she was more then happy to slip into a deep slumber.
"Hey girl, wake up" Elena called to her in the morning. Tifa could barely open her eyes. She had slept so solidly it was hard to wake up. She sat up and rubbed her eyes while Elena unlocked the door.
"Sorry" Tifa sighed and walked out. She headed into the shower. This was something she had waited for. She scrubbed her skin in every spot Rufus had kissed her. She practically made her skin bleed in the effort to feel clean. Tifa finally stopped, she knew this wasn't going to help her. She washed her hair and with that she left the shower. She felt clean again, to some extent, and that's what made her happy.
That's when she decided to totally change her mood. Tifa was letting Rufus win by getting to her and making her sad. No matter what she would remain happy just to see him go crazy. Tifa left the bath room and brushed her hair. That's when Elena notice the mark on her cheek.
"Tifa? What happened?" She asked and looked closely at the mark.
"Oh, Scarlet hit me" Tifa admitted, "But don't tell anyone!"
"What! Why?' Elena was confused.
"I don't need to draw attention to myself okay. I'm already not needed at ShinRa anymore and so I think if I lay low they wont kill me"
"Oh, um good plan?" Elena tried and shrugged. The two girls walked up to the lab and Elena left her. Tifa was surprised to find Mr. Shinra and Rufus waiting for her. She bit her lip.
"Morning Mr. Shinra" Tifa greeted trying to sound polite. She noticed Scarlet and Hojo were not here making her feel less safe. At least if they were here she'd have a shield.
"What's that on your face Miss Lockhart?" Mr. Shinra asked when he saw Tifa's burse. Tifa quickly moved her hair over it.
"I… um… bumped into… the cell's door" Tifa thought of some excuse. She didn't know why she was defending Scarlet but she didn't want to cause any trouble.
"Be more careful next time" Mr. Shinra told her and Tifa gave a nod. Rufus eyed her suspiciously. "We came to talk to you about your stay at ShinRa" Tifa gulped, she knew this was going to happen. Stupid Rufus! Curse him for telling his father there was no use for her.
"Oh" Tifa simply said. Rufus started to shift uncomfortably and Tifa wondered why. He looked mad but nervous. When he noticed Tifa was looking at him Rufus straightened up and turned his head away.
"You see I made a deal that if Rufus wasn't married in two weeks I would assign him a wife" Mr. Shinra start. Tifa could see where this was going and she was looking for a window to jump through. "So I'm making him live with you, if in a month he does not love you, you'll be killed for your treason and he'll fine a new girl to tryout, possibly Elena" Tifa's eye grew wide.
"But I…" Tifa started, what was she going to say? I'm married, I don't want to, I'm gay? All those lies would get her killed faster. "Nothing"
"Fine then, report to Rufus' room you are no longer needed in the lab" Mr. Shinra pointed towards the door. Tifa left and headed into the elevator.
"I still can not believe you making me and her do this" Rufus frowned even deeper.
"I want a heir and your attitude is not going to get in the way of that. Plus Tifa is the best looking person in ShinRa. Just be grateful I didn't put you with Scarlet" Mr. ShinRa snapped at his son. Rufus narrowed his eyes. The old man would be dead soon, that though alone got him through his days.
Tifa wondered into Rufus' room. It was one of those everything-in-one rooms. Tifa saw there was a kitchen in one corner, TV and couch in another and a bed in the third corner. Then in the last corner there was a door. Tifa opened it. It was a bathroom, as she suspected it would be.
She flopped down on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. Great. Now she was doomed for sure.
"Elena can I talk to you for a moment?" Rufus was asking her a question he already knew the answer too.
"Yes" Elena walked over to him. Rufus had notice that Her and Tifa were becoming close friends.
"Where did Tifa get her burse?" Rufus glared down at her. Elena shrunk in stature and looked around the room. She did not want to meet Rufus' eyes for if she did he would know if she was lying.
"She hit her cheek on the door of her cell" Elena used the excuse Tifa had told her too. Rufus wasn't buying it. A woman as smart as Tifa would not simply walk into a rather visible door.
"Are you lying to me?' Rufus sneered. "Look at me" Elena was force to look into his eyes.
"Yes" She almost cried.
"Then tell me the truth" Rufus snapped.
"Scarlet hit her" Elena looked to the floor after she delivered her answer "Please don't do anything to her, Tifa said it was partly her fault"
"Do you think she's lying about that?" Rufus asked.
"Yes, but she wouldn't say anything other than that" Elena was telling the truth and Rufus knew she was. Elena was shaking and wanted to run off into Reno's comforting arms but she could not until she was told to go.
"Fine, you may leave" Rufus watched Elena take off and disappear from his sight. He went up to his room to have a chat with Tifa.
Tifa was still looking up at the ceiling when her view was obstructed by Rufus leaning over the couch.
"Go away" Tifa snapped.
"Don't talk to me like that" Rufus hissed back. He walked around the other side of the couch and sat her up. He sat down on the couch and placed Tifa on his lap.
"Hey!" Tifa squirmed a bit but Rufus held her in place. She had no idea what he was doing.
"Sit still" Rufus commanded and Tifa stopped moving. She was tired, to tried to fight anything that was about to happen to her. Rufus moved his hand and softly touched her cheek. Tifa jerked back when the pain shot through her. Rufus pulled her face towards him once again and continued to touch her cheek.
"Rufus that hurts" Tifa tried to pull away again. Rufus removed his hand and looked into her eyes. Tifa wasn't sure what he was trying to do.
"Scarlet hurt you, didn't she?" He questioned her as if he already knew the answer. Tifa figured Elena had told him.
"Yeah" Tifa admitted.
"Why?" Rufus continued to ask questions.
"I was crying about… about what you did and she slapped me, harder then she intended to I think" Tifa was trying to make things sound better.
"Do you want me to punish her?" Rufus asked, Tifa was shocked he was even asking her.
"No" Tifa shook her head. She didn't want to see anyone hurt or murdered on her account. She looked at him carefully. Tifa wasn't sure about him at the moment. He seemed to be getting nicer but she could be horribly wrong. She studied his face intently trying to see if his intensions were genuine. When he was like this and not throwing her against walls he was actually kind of nice. Tifa could see a glimpse of amusement in his eyes. "What?" She had to ask.
"I'm not that pretty, you can stop staring now" Rufus smirked. Tifa rolled her eyes.
"Get over yourself" Tifa slid off his lap and laid down on the couch once again. "Now go away, I have a ceiling to stare at."
"Enjoy" Rufus got up and left. Tifa was speechless, he actually did was she told him too. Was this how she was destined to spend her days? Staring at the ceiling and doing nothing. Tifa would be bored to death before they had a chance to kill her. Looking at her watch, Tifa realized it was time for dinner. She walked out into the hall and headed to the dinning room. She entered and saw that Mr. Shinra was already there. She sat down at her usual spot .
"Wrong seat, my dear" Mr. Shinra spoke up. Tifa blinked and saw he was gesturing to the seat across from where Rufus usually sat.
Oh" Tifa rose from her seat and sat down in the other chair. She looked down at her old spot. The room looked so different from up here. Tifa wasn't sure if her liked it. She waited patiently for the rest of the members of the staff arrived. Tifa fiddled around with the folds of her vest. Reno marched in dramatically followed by Elena who was rolling her eyes and Rude and Rufus who were barely hiding their smirks.
"Tifa baby, I haven't seen you in like a day" Reno peered down at her through his sun glasses. Tifa smiled.
"I know, I've miss you so much" Tifa said sarcastically. Reno chuckled and sat down in his usual place. Reno was the one things that brightened her day, he always found something stupid to do that made her laugh. Today was happier for her. It was part of her plan to remain happy no matter what. She planned to drive Rufus crazy with her joy, if she could keep it up long enough to do so.
Tifa sat quietly through dinner. She did not look at Rufus even once and never said a word. Eating her food in peace had become a daily tradition. Elena came over to her to led her out. She hadn't needed to do so but Tifa thought that Elena might have sensed her want to leave. Tifa walked out the door with her.
"That's what it's going to be like for a month" Tifa sighed and Elena smiled.
"It wont be so bad, I hope he keeps you, if not I'm next' She shook her head in disbelief. "Look Tifa, I'm sorry I told Rufus about Scarlet hitting you" Elena told her as they walked down the hall.
"It's okay. He forced you to, didn't he?" Tifa asked. Elena nodded slowly.
"He's just so scary" Elena breathed.
"I know" Tifa knew all to well. She thought about the previous times he had scared her half to death. Tifa was surprised he still hadn't hit her. Maybe that day would come soon. It would give her a reason to run away from him. Tifa gave a slight wave to Elena as she entered her room. Tifa wasn't looking forward to this, there was too many things that could happen over the course of a night.
Walking over to the couch, Tifa was surprised to find pyjamas laid out for her. Tifa held them up, she was more than happy for them. They were light pink, the top was long sleeved and baggy. 'At least he's not perverted enough to put me in something skimpy' Tifa smirked in triumph. She entered the bath room and had a shower. She did it quickly so she wouldn't be caught by him and possibly yelled at. After drying herself off she put on the pyjamas.
Tifa headed back into the room. She flopped down on the couch once again. She planned to spend her days here if she wasn't allowed to go wonder outside the doors of this room. Tifa closed her eyes, she had suddenly grown tired. Trying to sleep wasn't working so she just lay there and waited for Rufus to return.
The door clicked open and someone padded into the room with light foot steps. Tifa was half asleep but she knew it was Rufus, would else would venture into his room without a death wish. The bathroom door clicked shut and Tifa let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding. Shaking her head she told herself not to fear him like this. What happened to being brave and happy? Tifa knew that plan had failed the minute he walked through the door. His sheer presence was haunting her.
The bathroom door clicked open once again and the foot steps made there way over to the couch.
"Come to bed Tifa" Rufus ordered.
"I'm fine here" Tifa told him. Did he actually expect her to sleep in the same bed as him. No way! Rufus frowned.
"Are you disobeying me again?" He snapped and Tifa knew that this was going to lead to another fight.
"No," Tifa lied, "I just don't want to sleep near you and so I'm staying here" Tifa's tone was slightly defiant but she tried to keep it to minimum. Her wrist was grabbed and Tifa knew what was going to happen next. She was yanked up and spun around to face a angry faced Rufus. Tifa glared at him, she was to tired to deal with this right now. "Let me go"
"You're telling me what to do?" Rufus sounded almost amused, "There's one thing you always seem to fail to pick up on. I'm in charge, I think I've had to tell you that many times since you've got here"
"Then learn that you're not in charge of me" Tifa hissed trying to find the energy to fight back. He always did that to her, got her blood broiling and pulse racing.
"Oh but I am, remember before in the office?" Rufus knew that she did all too well and just to remind her he slid his finger long her collar bone. Tifa jerked away. "You thought so may things and I knew them all. You think you have me figured out? Not even close or else you would've known how far I would've gone" Tifa was almost in tears. How dare he remind her of that. She had been so sure he'd do anything to win his little mind game and she was still sure of it. But the way he was talking it sounded like he would've done noting serious. Tifa didn't believe it for one second. He was twisted and she knew he would've gone to far.
"Rufus, stop it" Tifa said firmly and attempted to move away from him. Rufus narrowed his eyes.
"Get into bed, you're tired" He said with authority and Tifa decided her was too tired to fight him. Tifa walked over to his large bed and got in. She pulled the blankets over her head and stayed as close to the edge as possible. Tifa heard the TV playing in the other corner of the room. Tifa closed her eyes and tried hard to fall asleep. If she was able to maybe she wouldn't have to deal with him until the morning.
It was 1 a.m and she still had not fallen asleep. Tossing and turning for an hour had not helped her get comfortable and since Tifa refused to face anything but the wall she was stuck in her uncomfortable spot. The TV was shut off and Tifa heard Rufus walking over to the bed. Oh crap. Tifa closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She hadn't moved for a while and so she hoped Rufus would buy it.
Two arms snaked around her waist and pulled her up against a solid, bare, chest. Tifa cringed as Rufus ran a hand down her side and across her stomach. He moved his chin over her shoulder so he could whisper into her ear.
"28 days to go" Rufus said the oddest thing to her. Tifa shivered in disgust and he hugged her closer to him. Tifa knew why he was doing this. He wanted to see her cry, and be uncomfortable. He wanted her to fear him and become confused and enraged by his words. Tifa hated him for it but she decided to beat him at his own game. Tifa placed her hands over his and held them gently. She could feel his shock as she did so. Tifa smirked, this was too easy.