Eye Drops

"This doesn't change anything."

Tifa wasn't lying. Or at least she didn't think she was lying. This thing – that kiss, that fleeting moment where she seemed to have forgotten to let her brain do the walking and talking – it didn't change anything between them.

It couldn't.

Because that would demean everything she stood for. Everything she believed.

She had been insanely stupid. And now she was going to have to deal with the repercussions of her actions.

Rufus had had that big, stupid grin on his face. That big, stupid, smug look that was so Rufus Shinra it was nauseating. An 'I told you so' if she ever saw one. It made her nauseous. It made her want to go back in time and slap herself upside the head. It made…

Tifa paced the front of her downstairs landing, contemplating when her head would be clear enough to enter 7th Heaven again. She needed air – needed it before she had even gotten inside to begin with. Now she'd done it. Now he would never leave her alone. This situation would go on and on and.

At least he wasn't a bad kisser.

Tifa stopped in her tracks and made a point of pretending the thought had not crossed her mind.

Part of her wondered if she hadn't been that bad a kisser either, though.

It had been… a while.

"You're out of you mind, Lockheart!" Tifa kicked a nearby rock and listened for the crunch of it hitting some dead underbrush. Then she resumed her pacing. And paced. Paced.

She had always hoped that things would work out in life. That they always moved toward the best, most ideal reality that the Planet could muster. But this – oh, this. Tifa wasn't sure anymore. She wasn't sure in the slightest. Could things ever right themselves? Could things ever become normal again now that she fell into his trap? Now that she did that. Did that with him?

Maybe if she played along with it.

Maybe if she decided to pretend that everything was going to change.

But what if it went too far?

Tifa stopped in her tracks again, and stared up at the lit windows of her bar. Her fingers felt numb and the pit of her stomach went hollow. What if things really did end up changing?

What if? What if? What if?

In the end, the ball wasn't even remotely in her court anymore. In the end, this wasn't up to her. She would have to see what he decided to do about their situation.

Blowing a few wayward strands of hair out of her eyes, Tifa began her trek up the wooden planks toward her front door. Sitting out here wasn't getting her anywhere. It was only serving to confuse her.

Opening the door, Tifa tried to think sensible thoughts. Tried to think of things and people who she actually liked. Tried to think about the orphans. About her friends. About Cloud Strife and his smile.

But no matter how hard she struggled, she could only picture the near perfect blue of Rufus Shinra's eyes.

Note: I hate notes, don't you?

Short chapter to bridge together both arcs of this story. Never fear! I have two more chapters completed. They will be coming very soon.

Thank you for following this story, and I apologize for the hugely long spans of time between updates. :)