Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII.
A/N: To be honest, I don't really expect this story to be a crazy masterpiece; it's actually going to be pretty short, like, under ten chapters short. I just need to get this story out of my system, and I'll post it just to see how it's received. If you like, fantastic! That makes me smile =) but if you don't, it doesn't really matter much. Anyway! Time for chapter one! Hope you like!
Can't Buy Me Love
Chapter One
"Engaged?" Yuffie repeated, eyes bulging out of her head.
Tifa laughed nervously and let the ninja grab her hand, turning it this way and that, the ring catching the light and shining on her friends' faces. She'd called together the whole AVALANCHE gang to announce the news, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do. But if she was going to get Rufus off her back, she had to play along. And that meant plastering on a big smile while she showed off her bling.
"Mm-hmm!" she chipped.
"Since when?" Yuffie pouted, dropping her hand. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"It's been a sort of… recent development," Tifa answered truthfully.
"Shit!" Barrett cussed. He slammed his fist down on the table in front of him. "I don't like this, Teef. It's ShinRa!"
"Barrett!" Yuffie scolded, slapping him upside the head. "This is Tifa's decision, and we need to be supportive!"
"It's a dumb %^&*#$ decision," Cid mumbled.
"That's true." Tifa frowned at this. "But still! Be! Supportive!" With each word, she hit Barrett's cheek with the broad side of her Pinwheel.
"You never mentioned this before," Vincent remarked, eyeing Tifa with suspicion.
Shit. This was what she'd been afraid of. "Well, like I said, it's a recent development."
"Still, it would make sense that you'd tell at least one of us that you were seeing him."
"Yeah!" Cait Sith yowled, pinning her with his yellow-eyed glare. "Why didn't ya tell us? I'd like te think yoo and me are close!"
Tifa rolled her eyes quickly; no one seemed to notice. "Alright, guys, I get that you don't like it, but this is how it is. Rufus and I are engaged –"
"Rufus?" Barrett exclaimed in outrage. "Callin' him by his first name –!" Yuffie cut him off with another smack to his head.
"– whether you like it or not," Tifa continued, looking pointedly at Barrett. "We'll be getting married in a month, and I have a lot to do. I need your help."
"A month?" Yuffie and Barrett exclaimed, the ninja smiling broadly and the gunman open-mouthed in outrage. Yuffie grabbed a dishrag and stuffed it in his mouth, hopping over to Tifa as he tore it out and spat. "I think we both know who the maid of honor's gonna be, riiiight?" she asked, poking Tifa in the chest.
Tifa couldn't help but smiling. Even when faced with something like this, the ninja never stopped thinking about glory. I'm sure if Tifa wasn't already the bride, Yuffie would gladly take over the position just to feel all those eyes on her.
"Of course!" Tifa cheered, and Yuffie clapped.
"I'm picking out my own dress, by the way," she said. "I won't let you stick me in some ugly bride's maid dress."
Tifa opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off as the phone started ringing. Puzzled at who could be calling, she walked to the landline and picked it up. "Strife Delivery Service, you name –"
"I need your cell number," Rufus interrupted from the other side. "Calling the landline is degrading and impersonal."
Tifa gritted her teeth. Even when no one could see him, all he cared about was impressions. "Oh, hi, sweetie," she replied, voice oozing with sugar. "I was just telling everyone about our happy news."
She could practically feel him smirking. "I assume they can hear you?"
"Yuffie's going to be my maid of honor," she continued in her mock excited voice, sending a smile to the ninja, already drawing sketches of a custom kimono.
"Wonderful," he said flippantly. "You keep a charade quite nicely, Lockhart." Moving on to the next subject, he said, "Come to the ShinRa building in one hour, in fine attire, please, if you have any. We must discuss our next move. And Lockhart?"
"Yes?"
"Love you, darling."
"Oh, I love you, too, honey," she snarled, clenching the fist her friends couldn't see. "See you soon." She refrained from slamming the phone down on the receiver, instead setting it down lightly and turning to the group with a smile.
"ShinRa, huh?" Cid asked. "You two sound legit."
Tifa frowned – was Cid using popular slang? – but recovered her happy attitude easily. "Well, we are. I really… love him." She'd have to brush her teeth after that one. "Well, I have to go see him soon, and I look like a wreck, so…" She trailed off, figuring they would understand.
Barrett stood up first. "No problem," he said, his words clipped. "We get it." He was out the door before Tifa could say anything else. She stared after him sadly, wishing she could tell him the truth. He'll hate me forever after this…
One by one, the group filed out, finally leaving behind only Cloud. He stood up and locked eyes with the brunette. "Tifa," he began, "are you sure about this? Is this really what you want?"
No! she wanted to scream. Help me, please! Don't let him do this to me! But she couldn't. It was for Marlene, for her own livelihood, for her life. So instead, she smiled again, and said, "Yes, it is. I love Rufus, and I'm going to be very happy with him."
Cloud looked at her for another moment before nodding. "If you're sure, then. I'll leave you to it." He turned and left, following the others, closing the doors, oblivious to the tears in the corners of Tifa's eyes.
She blinked them away, blowing out a breath, and convinced herself to clean up. After all, Rufus did say fine clothes.
She chuckled to herself. Wouldn't it be great if she showed up in a lumberjack shirt and jeans just to spite him? Or, worse, the first outfit he'd seen her in, that white shirt, booty shorts, and suspenders? Throw in the ripped gloves, and voilá! Her finest ensemble.
But it wasn't worth it. She still had to do as he said, or this deal would never work.
She showered, put on her makeup, and picked a pretty yet sensible outfit: dark wash jeans, black heels, and a gray top underneath a purple trench coat, a barricade against the chilling air. Just for safety, she tucked her gloves into her pocket and her PHS and emergency pistol into a silver purse slung over her shoulder. She didn't expect anything to happen, but when dealing with an enemy, one couldn't be too prepared. She wrapped a blue scarf around her neck and went on her way.
Even though she didn't disobey Rufus in terms of clothes, she figured she could still push his buttons in little ways. Like being five minutes late. To an overscheduled workaholic like him, five minutes was like falling into oblivion.
Tifa approached the secretary's desk exactly five minutes later than she should've been there, a childish grin on her face. She felt like a teenager again.
"Hi," she said timidly, feeling intimidated by the stereotypical blond bombshell of a secretary sitting on the other side of the desk. "I'm here to see Ru- President ShinRa." Stupid; don't call him Rufus in public. Like you're the best of friends…
The secretary giggled. "Don't be so formal!" she grinned. "Just go in; I know who you are."
Tifa blinked. "Y-You do?"
"Of course! The President's fiancée! You are one lucky girl." She gestured to the door. "Go on in. He's expecting you."
"I know he is," Tifa mumbled to herself, a rebellious excitement making her heart pound. "Thank you."
She entered his office, shutting the door behind her. It was a far cry from the massive room it used to be, with two staircases leading up to an ornate white desk. It was now a typical rectangular room with a desk that looked like it came straight out of Office Depot and a black swivel chair. Papers littered the floor and the desk, piling up here and there. File cabinets were either forgotten or overstuffed on either side of the room, making the room comparatively smaller than it could be without the clutter. Tifa felt like she was trapped in a cage with a potentially dangerous animal; one wrong move and she wouldn't be able to escape.
Turns out she'd already made that one wrong move.
Rufus, who had previously been tapping the end of a pencil against his desk, sitting in his swivel chair, rose to his feet the second she shut the door. Even from across the room, she could see the fury in his eyes. "You're late," he growled.
Tifa would never admit it, but she felt intimidated. Normally she wouldn't hesitate to insult him or the like, but something seemed different. Maybe it was the room. His old office, his old life, had been so pristine and official. This… pigsty was nothing like that. He really has lost everything, she realized.
Nonetheless, she wouldn't let her fear show. "I got held up," she lied smoothly. "What's the big deal?"
He slammed his hand down on the desk as she came forward. "I expected you. You had me wait around for five minutes. Do you have any idea what I could've gotten done in that five minutes had you not dawdled?"
"Obviously nothing, in this mess," she pointed out, gesturing around her.
Rufus pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a breath. "Sit down," he told her. "Take off your coat."
"In that order?" she asked rhetorically just to screw with him.
He glared at her for a moment, then smirked. "Would you rather I take it off for you?"
Tifa blushed and scowled. "You're a pig."
"You're a child," he countered.
She brushed off the insult and untied her trench, draping it over the back of the chair opposite him before sitting and crossing her legs. She noticed Rufus looking her over. "What, making sure your trophy is shiny enough?" she asked maliciously.
He chuckled. "Anything I have must outshine the sun itself," he said, sitting down languidly, resting his elbow on his desk and his chin on the back of his hand. "And you do not disappoint."
"I'll have to wear black next time, then," Tifa spat, trying to force back her blush at the compliment.
"All the more flattering."
"Let's talk seriously, Rufus," Tifa said, changing the subject. She was getting tired of this constant jab-and-duck flirting of his. "We only have a month to plan this wedding, right?"
He leaned back in his chair, resting his hands on the armrests of his chair. "That's what wedding planners are for, aren't they?"
Tifa stammered. "Then why'd I have to come here? If I don't have a say in anything –"
"Would you like a say?" Rufus asked, studying her closely.
Tifa opened her mouth, then caught herself. If she said she did, then it would seem like she actually cared. "Doesn't matter to me," she shrugged. "It's not a real wedding, anyway."
"Nevertheless, it must be believable. Tell me, Tifa, what happens at weddings?"
"People get married."
"Well, that was a wonderful piece of unknown information. Anything else to share?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"Decorations. A guest list. A cake. A dress. A dance. Sound familiar?"
Tifa crossed her arms. "Is that a check list then?"
"Precisely." Rufus stood up and began walking around his desk. "The wedding, while fake, needs to fool even your closest friends, rabble though they may be. It has to have a touch of your personality in the decorations, the cake, the dress. Also, I assume your 'maid of honor' will want to help you with all this?"
Tifa nearly cussed out loud. Yes, she loved Yuffie dearly, but being stuck with her and her conceit day in and day out? This would be a very long month. "Alright, fine. I can take care of that. What will you do?"
"The guest list, of course. I can't have you inviting unmentionables."
"Unmentionables?" She was flabbergasted that he would even use that word to describe other human beings.
"The dance, however, will be a joint endeavor." Rufus leaned against his desk a few paces away from where Tifa sat, locking eyes. "Our first lesson is in a week, every Thursday at 4pm."
"Lessons?" Tifa asked, suddenly feeling exhausted. She got that the wedding had to be realistic, but she didn't think it had to be perfect. "Can't we just wing it?"
"Tifa, that would look ridiculous. We have to keep up appearances. Have you any idea the amount of press that will attend?"
Tifa sighed. "I was just starting to forget…"
Rufus was silent for a moment, and in that time Tifa was able to ask what had been on her mind since she'd agreed to these demands.
"Rufus," she started, drawing his attention. "I get that you need me and all, but what do I get out of this? I'm not just doing this out of the goodness of my heart, after all."
"You get to keep your job, your home, and your orphan. Isn't that enough?"
"No. I won't help you just because you're threatening me. Give me something better than that, or I'm walking out."
Rufus pinned her with a narrowed stare. "You would risk that?"
"You need me, Rufus," Tifa said, confidence growing. She turned toward him in her chair and leaned back, making herself comfortable. "So, how much do you need me? Make me an offer."
Rufus made an indignant face. "I am President ShinRa; I do not bargain with vigilantes!"
Tifa shrugged and stood up, pursing her lips. "That's too bad," she said, gathering her coat in her arms. She kissed the air at Rufus's cheek and turned to the door.
"Wait." Tifa stopped, her back still facing him. "500,000 Gil a year."
"How many years?"
Rufus thought for a second. "Ten."
"Twenty."
He hesitated. "Fifteen."
Tifa contemplated this. Marlene was six, Denzel was eight; in fifteen years, both of them would be well on their way to college and finished with high school. 500,000 Gil a year would definitely help in the way of school funds…
Tifa turned back around to face him. "Fifteen it is, then." She smiled and held out her hand for him to shake.
Rufus eyed her hand for a moment before clasping his around it, meeting her eyes. She could see his promise reflected in them, and had a strange sense that she could trust him.
She stepped back, slipping her purse onto her shoulder. "So, where's this wedding planner?"
"You will meet with her Friday at 11am," he said, flipping through a desk calendar. He looked up to meet her eyes. "Don't be late."
"No need to worry, sweetie," Tifa purred, blowing him a kiss. She walked out of the room, blissfully unaware of the way Rufus watched her as she shut the door.
A/N: What do you guys think so far? I like it! Please let me know how you feel in a review! =D