Disclaimer:I don't own FFVII
A/N:Thank you reviewers!!! Your rock! Enjoy!
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The restaurant wasn't too packed, and Tifa was thankful for that.
"Oh my gosh! I am so glad Barret finally got us some new aprons. Those other ones were so boring!" Her good friend Aeris told her walking in the kitchen.
Tifa looked down at her new pink and yellow work outfit. She didn't really like pink but Aeris was in love with the color.
"I just wonder why Barret decided to go with these colors instead of the usual brown color." Tifa giggled. Aeris followed suite.
"Maybe Marlene finally convinced him that the old ones were boring." Aeris stated before her tray came.
"Ugh. So much work! I'll talk to you later Teef."
She waved bye to Aeris and got her tray shortly after.
"Alright Tifa , don't let those guys bother you." She muttered to herself.
Table 5 was filled with the clique of the most popular boys in school. Reno, Rude, Tseng, and Rufus. Those guys were so cocky! Well, except Rude. He wasn't that bad.
She walked over to the table and set the food down.
"Alright, if you need anything just call." She smiled.
Reno nudged Rufus as she turned away.
"Wait! There is something I need." He called out, grabbing her attention.
"Yes?"
Rufus slicked his hair back and she raised a brow.
"I was wondering if you would like to go to my place later." He grinned.
Her eyebrows shot up and she bit her tongue to keep from laughing. Was he trying to come on to her?
"Uh..." Momentarily she didn't even know what to say.
"I'll take that as a yes." Rufus interrupted leaning back into his chair.
She snapped out of her thoughts.
"I'm really sorry but I have plans." With that she turned and walked away. Gossip was sure to start now. I mean, Tifa Lockhart rejecting the infamous Rufus Shinra? Nobody turned down Rufus.
She walked into the kitchen and groaned. Elena, the dishwasher, looked at her. "What's wrong Tifa?"
Tifa looked up. "Rufus Shinra just asked me to go to his house tonight!"
Elena dropped the dish she was holding and screamed.
"Are you serious!? Oh my gosh! What did you say?" Elena quickly noticed that water was dripping all over her and took off her gloves.
Elena had been wanting to fit in with the group for ages. Tifa and Aeris had scolded the girl time to time for being absolutely ridiculous when it came to 'things to do' to join the little group. She kind of was in, but the boys always teased her and didn't really pay too much attention to her. Although... Tifa had caught Tseng glance at Elena during work numerous of times when she wasn't in trouble and washing the dishes.
"Well... I said no."
Elena's eyes had gone wider, if possible.
"Tifa you have to go back out there and tell him you change your mind!" She yelled while pointing to the door.
Aeris came in and stopped to see what was happening.
"What did I miss?" She asked.
Tifa quickly waved her hands in a dismissive manner. "Nothing big happened."
Elena turned to Aeris. "Rufus just asked her out!"
Aeris gasped and turned to Tifa and gave her a hug.
"Oh, congratulations!" She cried.
Tifa huffed and pried her good friend off of her. "I told him no."
Aeris quickly dropped her arms. "Oh."
Tonight the neither of the girls were able to take Tifa home, because she had to close up, so she sent a text to Cloud. Soon after, Barret came out of his office and helped Tifa.
"Damn Teef! That eye don't look too good. What happened? Did that foo hit you again!?" Barret was very intimidating and sometimes Tifa felt that she should open up more to him, but some things were best left unsaid.
Barret Wallace had been with Tifa one time when Ray was mad . He had given her a ride home after work and saw Ray come out of the house and push her inside, yelling things. When he had confronted her about it the next day, she had waved it off and asked him not to tell anybody, and reluctantly agreed. But only on one condition: He would be able to beat his ass if it got too far.
"Barret! Calm down. I actually walked into a door. Silly, really. I wasn't paying attention." She told him hoping he wouldn't make a big deal about it. Luckily, he didn't.
"You need a ride home or somethin'?" He asked getting his things together.
She shook her head. "No, Cloud's going to take me home."
Barret smiled inwardly. This Cloud fella seemed pretty attached to Tifa. He always came by when Tifa needed him or somethin'.
"Alright. Oh, and I was wonderin' if you could watch Marlene fer me this weekend?" He asked.
Tifa stacked the last chair and then turned to him. "Ooo, you gotta hot date?"
He scratched the back of his head in a bashful way. "Yeah, sorta."
Tifa ran up and hugged him. "Really!? Oh, I'm so happy for you! What's her name?"
"Elmyra Gainsborough."
The name sounded oddly familiar to Tifa...
"Oh! That's Aeris' mom!" She exclaimed. She heard the roar of the bike outside and said goodbye to Barret.
The night was crisp and smelled like rain. Tifa tugged her jacket around herself tighter and shivered.
"Hey." Cloud greeted.
She smiled and took the extra goggles. "Hey."
"How was work?" He asked.
She shrugged. "It was alright I guess."
He tilted his back back. "You guess?"
"Yup... You know Rufus Shinra?" She asked then felt him tense.
"Yeah. He's a jerk." Rufus and Cloud hadn't been on good terms since the fourth grade. Fights between them happened a lot but not recently, thankfully. "What about him?"
"He asked me if I wanted to go to his house tonight." She stated and once again felt his body tense.
"And what did you say?" He asked while she wrapped her arms around his middle.
"Well... If I said yes, I wouldn't be here with you now, would I?" She joked and smiled broadly when she felt his body relax and release a chuckle.
When they arrived at her house, it had started to sprinkle.
"How's your eye?" Cloud asked, when she got off the bike. She handed him the goggles and said it was fine. He cupped her face and her breath hitched. She desperately fought the blush that was creeping up her cheeks.
Cloud was too concerned for her at the moment than notice how close they were. "You should put some ice on it."
She snapped out of her daydreaming and nodded. "Alright." She kissed him on the cheek.
"Goodnight Cloud."
"Goodnight Tifa."
He watched her walk to the door and walk inside. He was worried for her. That bastard Ray could be awake or something. He sat there for awhile just listening to the rain.
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