Disclaimer: Final Fantasy does not belong to me...however much I may like it to. I own no characters, places etc. etc. so please don't sue me! I'm a nice person :)
Author's Note: Chapter Sixteen...PLEASE review as I really enjoy reading your views and they inspire me to get better! It would make me very very happy! Anyway stop reading this and get on with reading the fic! Hope you enjoy! :)
Chapter Sixteen: Stirring Reads and Fueled Attacks
Tifa heaved a sigh of satisfaction as she walked from the kitchen, and into the hallway; for once, she felt as if she'd bested that smug, arrogant blonde, even if it was just for one, swift moment.
The silence that had proceeded to settle just made her achievement that little bit more real, after all, the President was not one to let himself be belittled or placed as a figure of 'amusement', which had meant she had left him, at least to some extent, speechless.
She folded her arms tightly as she allowed her warm gaze to travel, as she drifted gracefully into the living room, which she had spotted earlier when she'd been lead to the dining room.
It was somewhat surreal; being there, in the President's home, especially when she considered the fact that he wasn't exactly following her every move.
She never thought for a moment that it was because he 'trusted' her, that wasn't it, but rather that he didn't believe her capable, or even daring enough, to pull anything that might cause him 'distress'.
"Huh."
A slight curl formed at the left corner of the young brunette's mouth.
The room had seamlessly taken on the design of his office; the clean cut lines, the perfect blend of calm, non-offensive colours, the smooth fabrics and impeccably placed art works which added that extra touch of elegant finery.
It was all so new, so unused, so 'un-lived in'.
It all fit so perfectly, and she wouldn't have imagined it to look any other way.
Her heals scuffed gently against the cream, weaved carpet, as she slowly made to follow the line of the bookcase.
Every book had been placed perfectly, so none came forward, any more than the others, even though some were clearly larger.
It must've taken him ages…
Again, a small smile hinted upon her pale pink lips.
The idea that Rufus spent any amount of time, painstakingly lining up his texts was brilliantly amusing.
One might have thought he had a slight case of obsessive-compulsive disorder, but then, who didn't; Tifa had, on more than one occasion, lined her collection of Chocobo figurines, so as to have the largest leading the smaller, which each one perfectly descending in size order.
Most of the books appeared to be Shin-Ra related, or, at least, connected somehow to their dealings.
There was a collection of five focusing purely on Mako, whilst a set of ten, rather large, encyclopaedias, detailing everything, and anything about Materia, and there, in amongst the various spines, lay six boxed texts.
Each of the volumes had been bound in beautiful, dark brown leather, with a gold leaf border embossed within each cover's edge; each one being well formed, and designed to a traditional perfection, yet they appeared to be the only texts to have been somewhat 'well-read'.
Tifa's brow rose in slight interest; there being no title or informing wording upon the covers, there contents remained something of a mystery.
She hesitated for only a moment, before her hand found its way over to the shelf, upon which her gaze was directed.
Within seconds the young female had slide one of the texts from its unmarked, collector's box and was excitedly, yet carefully, flicking through its contents, her curiosity desperately seeking some fulfilment.
It wasn't exactly what she'd expected; the pages were filled with accounts, documentations, and newspaper prints, each one in turn, detailing Shin-Ra's history.
Most of it was self-advertisement, or promotion; each article and media publication as company-formulated as the last, with every word made to either to damn their competitors and enemies, or to mask what their projects really entailed.
It was somewhat nostalgic, to see, and read about such things again, though it was definitely not pleasant to experience them again.
They had always been there, in Tifa's world.
Shin-Ra had done so much, had been such big players, had caused so much damage.
They had created Sephiroth.
They had ravaged the planet.
They had destroyed Sector Seven.
They had forced everyone to live in fear…
They had controlled them…
For a time after meteor, she had thought maybe, just maybe they were free of them, after all, everything they had worked for had been destroyed, and yet, here they were, maybe not as strong as they once were, but they were still alive, seemingly 'untouched'.
Her crimson-tinted gaze glinted as a thin screen of moisture began to form; the memories of everything that had happened, were once again surfacing, and swiftly taking affect upon her emotionally.
She wasn't like Cloud, she hadn't hidden it, she hadn't tried to run away, but neither had she really ever taken it in, she'd just gotten on with it.
It wasn't just Shin-Ra and the destruction it had caused, it was what she had done as well.
It ate her up inside, every morning, every day; she'd wake up from haunted dreams, to find herself facing what she was now forced to live with.
She'd done terrible things; true she'd done so with slightly more 'honourable' intentions, but that wasn't the point, the fact was that she'd done them.
Tifa had never been sure of what she should have done, to make up for everything she'd done in the name of AVALANCHE, but she had always felt it, the need to try.
Rufus on the other hand appeared to show no remorse, no real understanding, or comprehension of what he'd done to the world, to her world.
She couldn't understand how he did it.
Her brunette hair whipped through the air, as her head turned swiftly towards the door; a gentle creak being emitted as it was pushed open by the young male, whom had supposedly finished up in the kitchen alone.
His brow furrowed for a moment as he became aware of her position, before he cocked a solitary eyebrow.
"What are you doing?"
The young female stared at her rather cold host briefly, before her gaze flicked back around to the bookcase.
"Nothing."
She quickly closed up the book which lay within her hands, and carefully slid it back into place.
Rufus hinted at a smirk as he slowly drew himself across the room.
"I hope you haven't marked anything."
He stopped at a cabinet beside the brunette and opened up a compartment to reveal what Tifasoon identified as a rather expensive looking bottle of whiskey, and a set of crystal tumblers.
As the amber liquid washed over the glass's base, its pourer raised his gaze momentarily to the young woman, who was watching him with a curious intent.
Soon enough his glass was filled, and he was smoothly re-capping the bottle, not even hinting at an offer of the same to the brunette, though she didn't seem too bothered by it; she hadn't expected him to ask.
He lifted a finger from the hand wrapped around the tumbler, and directed it loosely towards the bookcase.
"Find anything interesting?"
Tifa kept her gaze locked upon the President as she answered, though his attention appeared to be consumed elsewhere.
"Horrifying seems to be a better description."
For a moment she thought she heard him chuckle, though she could not tell entirely; his face angled slightly downward, enough to hide his real expression.
He took a few steps towards her, stopping just inches from her, and with his free hand, stroking along the shelf's line, halting the movement when his fingertip arrived at the collection of books that had been previously revealed by the female to have been her choice of study.
The young male turned to Tifa, with a raised, if slightly amused eyebrow.
"Reading up on Shin-Ra's history?"
Tifa emitted a short huff.
"No need to…"
Her arms made to slowly cross, as her stance took on a defensive edge.
"I already know what your company has done…I lived it remember."
Rufus seemed somewhat 'bored' by her answer, as his brow raised and his gaze diverted once again to the tumbler of whisky within his hand.
"Ah yes, is this were you tell me how sorry I should be, and what me and my company have put you through, and how we are all evil bastards.''
He began to slowly draw the beverage up to his thin lips.
"What can I say?"
The rim was barely brushing against his mouth, as he halted briefly to allow a smirk, before taking a smooth taste.
"Get over it."
Tifa froze for a moment, before her eyes appeared to darken in their intensity.
"You bastard."
The young male's brow lowered, as his cold, ice blue gaze narrowed is slight confusion, simmering anger and irrefutable curiosity.
"Excuse me?"
He seemed to be rather unimpressed with her somewhat tempered response, though he clearly didn't feel anything of 'remorse' for his own utterances, which, of course, were the source of her disgust.
The brunette shook her head in a mystified disbelief at his apparent indifference.
"What's wrong with you?"
The question seemed almost rhetorical, and yet she still undoubtedly wanted some sort of reply, though, of course, she received no such thing.
Instead, the young male remained silent, one brow cocked in bewilderment at this new 'attack' on his behaviour; he had come to expect them, and yet not completely understand their reasoning.
Tifa studied her host for a few moments, before making her inquiry in a hushed incredulity.
"Do you even feel…anything?"
The silence that settled was undeniably uncomfortable, at least from the President's viewpoint; any questioning that revolved around the subject of 'feelings' was not the kind he would be tempted into pursuing.
He raised one brow with a hint of amused apathy.
"You really are rather peculiar Miss. Lockhart."
His guest once again shook her head.
"And you are really rather pathetic."
Although her remark was not spoken with any particular 'bite', its meaning was enough to light the President's temper, causing the usually slow burning embers to spark suddenly.
His icy blue gaze locked upon hers with no evident flicker.
"I'd watch your tongue if I were you."
Usually such a threat would not be sufficient enough to withhold Tifa, but she was not without sense, and the ferocity masked behind the male's calm tone and expressionless face was enough to make her heart deaden, even if only for a moment.
Her crimson-tinted gaze swiftly averted, and became supposedly held by one of the President's glass tumblers standing within the cabinet.
The pause between them felt different than the other; calm, almost reflective, each seemingly processing the new rush of uneasiness within their minds.
Tifa's fingertips clutched at her trouser pockets, the action becoming almost comforting in the unfamiliar environment, which was failing, unsurprisingly, to make her feel secure.
Eventually her attention became, once again, directed at the blonde.
She didn't appear to be awaiting some 'response' or 'conversation, but was rather attempting to 'read' him; this new, peculiar motion not going unnoticed by its subject.
Rufus's gaze trailed over the female's form, with his expression almost hinting something of disgust.
"What is this?"
The 'this' was accompanied by a slight gesture of the hand from the male, his fingers firm, whilst his palm lay open as it was directed in the general direction of the brunette.
She wavered for a moment, though her lips did slowly part, and eventually managed to utter something, even if at first it was not exactly a straight explanation.
"I don't understand..."
She stared at him for a moment open-mouthed, before her warm-shaded gaze flickered to the space around him.
"I don't understand how you can go through life like this; so emotionless, so controlled!"
Her fist clenched, as her brow lowered in both anger, and confusion.
"So cruel…it's like you're not…''
She paused for a moment, as if she wasn't entirely sure of how to explain it.
"…you're not-"
She frowned at her own incapability; words seemingly escaping her completely.
Her host had been viewing this display without a hint of emotion in sight.
A small, if slightly misplaced smirk revealed itself upon his thin lips.
"I'm not sure of your point-"
Both the apparent smirk, and started 'brush off', seemed to bring some sort of clarification to the young female.
"Your life is empty!"
Her voice continued to rise, as her 'accusations' continued to fly out.
"You don't connect- you haven't connected with anyone, ever in your entire life!"
Tifa emitted an almost child-like huff of annoyance.
"How can that not bother you?''
Although the President was unable to hide his 'shock' at her outburst, it did not appear to anger him, but rather 'fuel' his own side of attack.
He gazed down at his tumbler as he swirled the small amount of remaining whiskey.
"I could ask you the same thing."
The young female looked somewhat taken-aback.
"I have friends."
Tifa crossed her arms defensively; the swiftness and look of unconcerned amused that followed was something to a little too close to 'play-acting'.
"I do! And I love them, and they…"
Her firmness flickered for a moment.
"…and they love me."
The smirk reappeared upon the President's thin lips, though this time it was joined by a raised brow.
"Is that so?"
He took a step closer.
"It seems to me that they've gotten on with their own lives now."
His eyes narrowed, though not with cruelty, but rather knowing.
"They don't exactly need you anymore."
The young female emitted a huff.
"You're not going to upset me…"
She took a step closer now, and raised her brow defiantly.
"…your game won't work."
She was now but a few inches from her host.
"…I know my friends."
Her voice had been hushed, but firm and her eyes were hiding any hurt, or distress he might have caused her by his recent questioning, but of course, Rufus was no fool, and he could spot an act, especially when that act held some easy flaw to be used to full affect.
He smiled lightly, leaning in closer as he did so.
"Well then, I'm happy for you."
With the somewhat 'friendly' smile still upon his face, the male slowly took a few steps back, whilst keeping his ice gaze looked upon the brunette, before turning slightly and refilling his tumbler.
The amber liquid flowed over the glass's base with a smooth perfection.
"So, how is that Strife fellow?"
He turned back towards the female, twirling the drink in his hand.
"Seen him a lot of late?"
Her crimson-tinted gaze flared.
"Shut up."
Her crossed arms tightened their position as if attempting to both withhold, and protect herself.
"He's just been…busy."
The male gave a short, swift nod; every inch of him condescending.
"Oh course."
Even though his utterance had, in appearance, been one of agreement, the young female grew more irritated in its presence.
She flung her arms down with a hint of the dramatic.
"It wasn't…it's not like that!-I…"
Words once again escaped her, and she ended with a sigh of both aggravation and sorrow.
"You wouldn't understand…"
She took a moment to clam herself, allowing her breath to return to its original rhythm
"You don't know anything."
Her host took a sip of whiskey, emitting a huff once the tumbler had parted from his lips.
"I know what I know."
Tifa's brow contorted, whilst Rufus leaned backwards against the cabinet, flicking the few stray silver-blonde strands of hair from his icy-blue gaze.
"And I know you were quite obviously harbouring over misapprehension."
The female's brow furrowed even further.
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"You loved him, he didn't love you."
Rufus hand a general gesture with his hand towards the brunette.
"At least not in the way you desired."
He allowed his eyes to roll over the female's form; almost imagining her past behaviour right there and then.
"…and yet you pattered after him like some silly school girl."
He took sighed before taking another sip of whiskey.
"It would be rather amusing if it wasn't so pathetic."
Tifa's eyes seemed to shake with anger, but she said nothing; a few deep breaths and a slight clench of the fist appeared to steady her temper, but although her crimson-tinted gaze was averted, it still burning furiously.
Without a word to the President, the young female glided over to the cabinet behind him, and filled up her own tumbler of whiskey; drinking it down the instant it was poured.
She lowered the glass slowly, and began stroking the rim, almost as if she was deep in thought, devising something.
Rufus chuckled lightly, amusement evident, and yet there was still a slight suspicion behind his eyes.
Noticing the distinctive grip the female had just placed upon the tumbler the President furrowed his brow, and almost jokingly rearranged his position to one of a more secure nature.
"I hope you're not thinking of using my glassware as some kind of weapon."
Tifa huffed with a dull sort of amusement.
"No…"
She slid the tumbler back over beside the whiskey bottle.
"…that would be a waste of glass."
A small smirk hinted at the corner of her soft, pale pink lips.
"My fist on the other hand..."
Her form moved so swiftly that she almost seemed to blur, the only evidence of her sudden, yet forceful attack being the sharp, resounded 'thump' that came as her fist collided with the President's cheekbone.
The attacked stumbled backwards with the impact; grabbing onto the back of a chair for support.
When he'd steadied himself, he made to rub a few fingers over the abused area of his face, silence filling the air.
The young brunette swayed nervously; the full realisation of her resonant action seemingly hitting her with the same shock as the male had felt at the moment of attack.
Suddenly, Rufus lifted his head, though did not attempt to make eye contact, instead keeping his focus upon the floor, as though this time, it was him doing the devising.
A slow, deep breath was drawn from the blonde.
"Miss. Lockhart…"
This time the blur was formed around the male, his own movements rivalling the rapidity of Tifa's, and with a gracefulness that came from years of trained control.
Before she could realise it, her arm was within a vice-tight grip and her form was flung forcibly against the opposite wall.
Tifa's body shook weakly under the male's grasp, the sudden, and unexpected action leaving her completely unprepared and unsure.
His face was held barely an inch from her own, and his gaze pierced strikingly through the female's; the icy-blue seemingly overpowering the warm, crimson with a dangerous ease.
His thin lips parted, though did make to hint at his usual arrogant smirk.
"You are never to do that again."
His tone again was soft, almost as if he was whispering so form of affectionate utterance, but of course, it was nothing of the sort, with the reality of threat practically dripping from every syllable.
Rufus viewed his captive with a interest, she was shocked, clearly, but it was the glint of fear within her gaze that drew his curiosity.
Does she really think I would hurt her…?
He studied the female for another moment.
Maybe I would…
His grip loosened upon the young woman's wrist, and he somewhat unsteadily backed away.
His body appeared to be shaking, though not out of nervous display, but rather his own system was failing him; his shade paling, as his skin trembled, whilst his breathing became caught and unregulated
He rather precariously stumbled over to the cabinet and poured himself another drink, quickly proceeding to gulp it down, before lowering himself into a nearby chair, rubbing his head as he did so.
Tifa, who had been observing the scene, narrowed his gaze in concern, all thoughts of the recent series of attacks by them both, seemingly forgotten.
She lighted herself from the wall and took a few steps closer to the male, before taking a seat opposite the President's own.
"Are you…ok?"
Rufus didn't bother to raise his gaze, and instead continued to stroke his temple with a soft sort of rhythm.
"I am as well as my body allows me to be."
At the contortion of the female's brow, her host emitted a sigh of light aggravation.
"Diamond Weapon."
"It still affects you?"
Rufus lifted his head so as to manage another deep, steadying breath.
"It never stopped…"
His gaze dropped, as though, for once, he was ashamed of the truth.
"It was not able to be."
The disbelief was clear within both the female's voice, and tone.
"But…you seem so…well, you don't look ill."
She viewed her now, rather paler host, and sighed to herself.
"Not usually anyway."
The male once again, began stroking the rim of his tumbler, the action seemingly comforting in some way.
"The damage is…"
He huffed as though the statement offended him.
"…it is unique."
Tifa's gaze had to latched upon her host was an almost 'fascination', the sudden bout of information increasing both her confusion and her curiosity.
"That day…what happened?"
For a moment, she thought he was going to deny her a response, though for some reason he was becoming more and more open by the second; the vast amounts of whiskey consumed seemingly taking affect on his usually vast-held boundaries.
"I was in my office…overseeing…overseeing the operation."
He took a sip from his tumbler.
"The Sister Ray…well it did its bit."
Rufus's ice-blue gaze held its point of fixation straight ahead; his mind clearly focused upon one memory and one only.
"And then I saw the lights…"
The male froze for a moment, though not out of fear, or nervousness, but rather some sort of defiance, and Tifa caught it.
"I stood there, that moment…I knew what would happen and I waited."
Tifa's mouth hung lightly open in a sort of disbelieving awe.
"You just stood there?"
For the first time during the train of conversation, the President turned and locked eyes with his guest.
"What else was I going to do?"
"Weren't you…afraid?"
Rufus smirked, and though it appeared somewhat 'lacklustre', his ice-blue gaze gleamed with a certain 'pride'.
"I embody the very heart of Shin-Ra, I am power itself, and I have to remain so."
He raised his brow meaningfully.
"Even when there is no-one there to see."
Rufus reverted his attention, and once again made to focus upon the air in front of him.
After a few silent mintues has pasted, he rose his brow lightly.
"It's late."
Tifa's lips formed a small, soft smile.
"It's early."
The room was coated in a dull silence, with only the lightest of sounds to disturb the quiet.
A small tick resonated with a perfect regularity from the well-crafted wooden-panelled clock that hung upon the wall.
The curtains whipped gently as wisps of chilled air flowed through from the window left slightly open in order to maintain a certain 'clarity' to the environment.
Soft breaths wisped un-seen from the figure laid out upon the sofa; her body curled slightly into itself, forcing her clothes to ripple, and fold against themselves, whilst her hands were held beneath her face, so very much like an infant.
Her form was almost completely still; the gentle rise and fall of her chest, and the odd facial twitch being the only signs of life emitted.
The other disturbance was no more than a dry rustle, created from the slow turn of the crisp, thin pages from the young male, whom sat, quietly reading, in one of the armchairs residing besides on of the further-off corners.
After their 'heated' confrontation, the pair had done little more than glance at one another, and yet the atmosphere was no longer hostile in any way, if anything, it had been calm, almost pleasant.
They'd sat without conversation now, for quite some time, and whilst Rufus didn't exactly mind his guest's sleeping state, he was somewhat plagued with a mild confusion as to how she was able to be so in his presence.
Both had stayed within the living room for the remainder of the evening, and even though they didn't interact with one another, both found something to interest them.
Her tumbler of whiskey, which she had refilled at least twice, had 'entertained' the young female for a while, before both the contents and the time had rather manipulated her body to tire, thus she had finally allowed sleep to claim her.
Rufus on the other hand had managed to occupy himself with a rather newer book from his collection, the contents detailing recent advancements and discoveries concerning Materia; he never really read fiction, it was all to 'illusory' for his tastes.
Another light inward breath from the female sounded softly within the air, causing the President to glance.
The quiet was usual for him, though being within the same room as the sleeping female was really quite an unusual experience; it was almost 'intimate'.
However the peculiarity of the situation was not enough to tempt him to wake her; that might be worse in the long run with her argumentative history, plus there was no denying, not even by him, that she did look rather magnificent within her present state.
Rufus emitted a sigh, as a slight dizziness came across his mind; his body now too, becoming consumed by the late hour.
He looked over the page his gaze had currently been studying, and made to flip the cover leaf over and between the two sides of paper, before shutting the book with a dull, small thud, and sliding it onto a nearby table.
The young male remained seat for a few more moments, before rising and crossing over the room, coming to a halt only when his form arrived just forward of the doorway.
There was no hindrance or obstruction, in fact there was no reason at all for his pause in motion, other than his attention had been drawn to the sofa laying close by.
He edged closer, his form lowering and his head tilting partially as he did so; it was so strange, to be so near, to be so admiring, without having her know.
She moved slightly within her sleep, causing a few strands of her deep brown hair fell forwards and brushed against her pale, smooth cheek.
Automatically the young male reached out to brush the dark locks away, though his fingertips came to an abrupt stop before they'd even come close to achieving their goal, as his mind actually took note of what he was about to do.
He appeared frozen for a moment, though soon relaxed, swiftly drawing himself up, and away, back towards the door.
When he arrived there, he halted once again, though only briefly.
His cold, ice-blue gaze drifted over the young female's form.
Maybe there is something…
Rufus grimaced the moment the thought entered his mind, before swiftly turning his attention away, and proceeding through the doorway, shaking his head as he went.
A/N=
I just watched ACC and it was AWESOME, it looks ever so pretty XD and the etc scenes are just too droll worthy! And lucky for us Rufus fans there's lots of extra President goodness XD
Anyway, onto the chapter…
I know that technically there hasn't been any 'romantic action' between Rufus and Tifa yet, but I just don't think he'd be one to rush into that sort of thing, he wouldn't be one to just kiss someone because he liked them, and he definitely wouldn't admit an attraction so easily, but don't worry, all good things come to those who wait :-)
Oh and I've always loved that moment in FFVII when the Weapon's attack hits Midgar, and that moment with Rufus, because he does just stand there, and watch and I think it's just one of those real 'Rufus' moments, because it's not as though he's 'giving in' to death, but rather standing their, in all his arrogant pride, almost daring the beams to destroy him…