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 Eighteen...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 Eighteen: Lonely Rooms and Empty Conversations
The small metallic machine beside the bed beeped away with a surreal kind of brightness; although its purpose was indeed 'beneficial', its surroundings and its ultimate reason for being there was not, in any way, pleasant.
She wasn't used to this environment. In all her time as a member of AVALANCHE, not once had she been made to enter a hospital; when they were injured they fixed themselves, or allowed themselves to die, simple.
It was strange to her, though not unwelcoming in some respects. Everything was clean, decorated 'nicely', the rooms were well lit and the people there were safe, but still that did not stop it from feeling cold; though not in terms of temperature.
So many people were chosen to be born there and the majority of them would also end there, within those same walls. It amused her that a place where people spent such significant moments would feel so emotionless, almost as if it had been drained, and all that was left was a pale, hollow shell.
What was she even doing there?
She had been too shocked the first time she'd been led into that bleak room to really think about anything.
It wasn't the fact that he was injured that shocked her; she was fully aware of what his job entailed and the dangers he might encounter, but rather just how lifeless he was.
He was one of the loudest, most confident, flirtatious, cheeky, and ultimately rebellious; the last aspect always puzzling the female, with his choice of such a strict profession.
The silence now surrounding him seemed so bizarre; it didn't feel like Reno anymore.
His body was still; the only movement being the steady rise and fall of his chest, as the life support created a consistent supply of oxygen to his debilitated internal frame.
The young brunette edged further into the room; her gaze narrowing slightly as she came close enough to focus clearly upon his facial contours.
He didn't look like he'd been beaten, not really; a few reddened scratches and a flush of purple bruising was all that marred his appearance.
Part of her couldn't understand why he could be so ill, and yet look as if he'd just drunk a little too much and was now in a bit of a comatose state; his body refuelling as 'sleep' took over his senses.
As she lowered herself into the seat beside Reno's bed, the young male nurse who she had assumed had been checking on the Turk, made to leave, and as he pulled the door open, she sneaked a brief glance at the outer corridor; a blonde, pale blur signifying Rufus was still present.
Tifa facial contours softened briefly, as her mind wondered.
I wonder if he'll wait for me like last time…
Her fingertips brushed against the hard metallic arm of the chair; the cold surface gliding smoothly upon her skin with a numbing iciness.
Part of her couldn't help but think Reno's unconscious state was something of a blessing, for him at least; he'd rather be in a coma than awake and immobile in such a dreary environment.
The sight of him so helpless seemed somewhat pathetic to her and she knew he would hate for anyone to see him in such a way.
Once upon a time the very idea of a Turk being 'disabled' had been somewhat unheard of, but then AVALANCHE formed, and Sephiroth rose, and everything became so much more dangerous, but so many years had pasted since his defeat and Midgar's destruction that Tifa had thought his work might have decreased somewhat, or at least become safer.
After spending a few moments studying the Turk's pale form, Tifa edged her seat closer to him; emitting a soft sort of grunt as she repositioned herself upon the chair, with its shape and material making it really quite uncomfortable.
Almost instinctively, the young female out stretched her arm and began brushing her fingertips over a few of his flame red strands.
For some reason she felt a strong desire to comfort him, even though she knew there was nothing she could do.
His complexion was ashen almost, his lips dry, and his once sparkling aquamarine eyes hidden.
She sighed thoughtfully as her gaze rolled over his still features.
"I wish I knew what had happened to you…"
Her brow cocked as she continued to stroke the side of his face; a few locks of red hair tickling her hand as she did so.
" …or rather how it happened."
Tifa's hand ran down from his cheek, to his shoulders, to his side; her features contorting as her fingertips came into contact with the sheet covering him.
The material was stiff, and yet almost prickly, and she found it hard to fathom how anyone could stand it against their skin.
Her attention diverted as her gaze roamed over to his left hand that lay rested by his side.
A thin, hollow tube had been attached to the young Turk's wrist, running from him, over to a drip beside the machine which Tifa had mentally labelled 'the beeper'.
She emitted another sigh, though this time its tone was closer to exasperation.
But then…maybe I'd rather not know…
"Not that you'd tell me anyway."
A small smile tugged at the corner of her pale pink lips.
"It's strange…having a conversation with you were you actually listen."
The room soon echoed lightly with a soft laughter, though the female swiftly sealed her lips once again; the realisation of what she was doing, and the fact that she was doing it all by herself being both embarrassing and discomforting.
A hushed calm settled down upon the room, with the heightened beeping from the hospital equipment the only sound breaking through the silence.
She propped up her arm upon the unused side of the bed's mattress and rested the side of her head against the palm of her hand, her crimson-tinted gaze unmoving, almost dreamy, though she did not feel tired.
For a few moments she stayed like that; still, watching, thoughtful, though in truth she wasn't sure what she was actually meant to be thinking about.
Eventually she allowed her lids to close tightly over her dry eyes and remain as such whilst her voice sounded softly, and ever so slightly unsurely from her lips.
"I don't even know if you can hear me..."
Tifa features furrowed lightly.
"I mean, I've heard that people in your…condition, can sense things…you know, pick up on words…phrases. Kinda like when people listen to those tapes while they sleep to help them quit smoking…"
Her head tilted back as she ran her outspread fingers through her brunette locks; self-frustration evident in the groan that sounded from her throat.
This feels so stupid…
It hadn't felt so ridiculous the last time, but then she had been so overcome with emotion that she hardly had the sense to think about what she was doing, or seeing.
Her eyes snapped open as her body lunged itself forward so she was merely tittering upon the chair's edge; her chin nestled within her cupped hands.
"Why do you have to be so reckless?"
Her brow rose of its own accord.
Ok, that was unfair…
Tifa rubbed her forehead as she emitted a long, deep sigh, before quickly proceeding to rise from the young Turk's bedside and begin to pace the room without purpose.
After circling a few times, her feet found themselves directed towards the large panelled window which practically covered the entire wall, with only the door at its left to accompany it.
As the female's body leant against the small slither of untouched wall separating the door from the window, she allowed her hand to slide underneath the blind that was currently shielding the room from any natural light and lift it ever so slightly in order to view the corridor outside.
Her crimson tinted gaze flickered over the pale space; the blonde male was, like herself, leantagainst one of the windows, his back to her and yet his face tilted just enough as to allow the female to observe him clearly.
The President was still, in fact he was near to being even stiller than the unconscious Reno; his eyes were the only factor that gave him away with their icy blue centre's darting gracefully.
She couldn't fathom what he could possibly be thinking about; she didn't see him as the type who would play out weird or funny scenarios in his head or think about stupid, infantile things like what he was going to have for dinner or what he would wear tomorrow.
She wondered if he was just admiring his kingdom; true it wasn't exactly his, not in the same way it once was, but no-one could deny, not really, that Shin-Ra was still a power to be reckoned with.
Even with its near-destruction, its sources depletion, and its people's resistance to accept them once again, though in truth they'd never willingly accepted them, Shin-Ra had somehow managed to survive.
Tifa had thought, for a time, that Rufus had indeed died in the WEAPON attack, after all he quite literally disappeared from the face of Gaia, and part of her had hoped that his company would be buried with him and in time it would become nothing more than legend, but then she was used to things, long thought gone, making a sudden and rather undesired reappearance.
It was hard to decipher his true intentions for Edge, and indeed, the rest of the planet, but although he still appeared to be the same arrogant, conceited, power-hungry man she'd known so many years before, there now seemed something more, something added. A conscience maybe? Whatever it was, she felt he now understood the consequences that could unfold with his actions.
Her hand slid back from the blind as she slumped down the wall; her body soon arriving at the floor with a dull plonk.
Her warm gaze lazily rolled over the room in a disheartened silence.
The room was so empty; no cards, flowers, bunches of grapes that, of course, would be pointless. There were no hints of attention or care other than that of the nurses and doctors.
Maybe I should have brought something…
The female's head tilted further back towards the wall; her pale neck now exposed.
I wonder if anyone else visits him like this…
Her brow furrowed in thought; Rude seemed plausible enough, in fact he seemed more than plausible.
The bald Turk probably knew the red head better than anyone else; they'd been co-workers for so long, and their partnership was something of an icon around Shin-Ra. They were always together; she couldn't understand what possible reason he could give for abandoning him now.
She wasn't sure about Tseng, or Elena, she'd hardly seen either of them since the incident with the remnants, but from the little that Reno had revealed to her, both had become more than a little detached.
After sitting for a few minutes upon the cold floor, Tifamade her way back to the Turk's bedside; intentionally scuffing the soles of her shoes upon the tiled floor as she went, causing a series of slight and rather unimpressive squeaks that she was sure would amuse the red head if he'd been in a state to enjoy them.
She began picking subconsciously at his sheet.
"If-when you get better we should go out somewhere…"
Her lips parted as a warm, slightly embarrassed smile took hold.
"I miss hanging out with you."
She'd grown so much closer to Reno over the past year, and she now counted him as a good friend; his past, although less than desirable, had been buried along with Midgar, and whilst it had taken the female a long time to get used to the idea of even having him around her, the Turk had managed to grow on her until she couldn't imagine him ever being anything other than a friend.
Tifa's brow began to furrow as her thoughts deepened as she realised just how little she had seen of him before he came to be in his current state.
There hadn't been time enough lately or rather, she hadn't made enough time.
She'd felt bad about it, but then it had always managed to get pushed to the back of her mind, with her other responsibilities always taking priority over anyone else.
A few glistening beads of salted fluid trickled down her cheek.
"Why can't you just wake up!"
It wasn't just Reno's absence from her life that was upsetting her, but the President's sudden intrusion into her life.
Everything had suddenly become so difficult, from a small confrontation in her bar, to her staying at his house.
She wasn't even sure what she was so confused about, or why her nerves seemed to take over every time she had to speak to him. Rufus did something to her, and she couldn't explain it.
She features contorted in uncertainty as she looked down at Reno.
I don't even know if you could help me…
At first the play between her and the blonde had appeared somewhat amusing in the young Turk's eyes, though there were moments where his attitude had strayed closer to apprehension and the tension between them had become clearer over the past few weeks.
She almost felt angry at Reno for leaving there like this; she didn't know how to deal with Rufus, or what she was feeling, and now she had no-one there to guide her.
She wondered if it meant anything, if Reno's worries were founded or if he was just looking out for her, she wondered if this new interestin her by the male was going to become a permanent thing, or if it was purely for kicks and soon enough everything would be back to normal, and then she wondered if it was connected, Reno's 'accident' and this new 'relationship'; the idea didn't bear thinking about.
It's not my fault…
"Is it Reno?"
Her eyes, although focused upon the lifeless red head, seemed to glaze over as her tone softened.
"Is this my fault?"
The hour had ticked by unbearably slowly, and yet she still felt she should remain there.
As she rose from the young male's bedside her lips made to part, though her brow furrowed when no words emerged.
What's the point? He can't hear me…
She emitted a short 'huff' as her head shook with a mixture of self frustration and embarrassment; she couldn't help but feel her presence there was rather pointless.
The bottom of her coat whipped through the air as she made a swift turn and headed towards the door.
Her crimson-tinted gaze lay focused upon the polished tiled floor as she exited the room, though when the pale sunlight dazzled through the large corridor window she made to squint, before taking a few moments to adjust her vision to accommodate.
Once she had regained her sight comfortably, the young brunette began to scan the corridor for some familiar form, though as her gaze drifted over the pristine space she became very aware of just how alone she actually was.
Rufus wasn't there. In fact, there wasn't anyone there. No guards, no Turks. No driver or Shin-Ra employee waiting to direct her from the building.
She couldn't understand it.
The previous day he had been so unrelenting; it had made her feel as though she was visiting a high-security prisoner, but now it appeared they had deserted her completely.
Her stomach churned with an uncomfortable tension as her eyes flickered with confusion around the long stretch of white-shaded space.
What was she meant to do now?
Once upon a time she would have been more than intrigued by the possibility of wandering around a Shin-Ra hospital alone, but of course, those days had long faded, and now it just unnerved her.
The female gave a sharp jump coupled with a silent gasp as a dull thud sounded from one of the far doors, though she soon emitted a sigh of relief as a rather harmless looking janitor back through with what looked like a cleaning trolley.
As her gaze rolled over the unknown male a small, satisfied smile worked its way onto her lips, and within moments she was making her way, swiftly, towards the approaching worker.
"Excuse me!"
The soles of Tifa's shoes clacked rhythmically upon the light blue, speckled flooring that coated the stairways which descended precisely in short, but closely spaced segments.
She'd been rather surprised by just how informative the janitor had been; she'd expected him to either shrug in confusion, or give her some vague details to the reception area, but instead she'd received something of a directed guide to the President's exact location.
The various corridors and floors were surprisingly empty for a so called 'high-security' Shin-Ra facility, and although the occasional nurse, or patient passed her way, she still found herself wishing that there were more occupants; the lack of human presence and relieving sound swiftly becoming somewhat disconcerting.
As she arrived at the bottom of another set of pristine steps, she quickly observed the floor number painted stylishly upon the wall next to two large, double doors; there makeup consisting mostly to highly polished glass rather than the more commonly used wood.
After spending a moment loitering outside, she carefully pushed her way through; a few of her brunette strands rippled against her skin as the rush of air created by the disturbance in the atmosphere by the doors pressured opening.
She had only walked a few metres when her feet came to a halt, and her eyes widened in a gentle surprise.
There in the middle of the corridor; which was wider than the others she'd made her way through, was a familiar male.
His back was to her, though she recognised him instantly from his silver-blonde locks coupled with the stylish pale suit that only he could pull off.
He appeared to be immersed in conversation with someone that Tifa assumed worked for Shin-Ra, though she had never seen him before.
The somewhat Turk-like male to whom he was speaking made a small, but noticeable glance towards her; alerting the President quietly of her presence.
As he turned to view her, Rufus's brow rose ever so slightly; almost in slight surprise, and yet she was certain she saw a flicker of guilt, though she was unsure as to its purpose.
He only observed her for a moment, before the President turned back towards the unknown male and muttered something; to which the supposed Shin-Ra employee nodded before promptly departing in the opposite direction to the door through which Tifa had just entered.
Tifa's brow furrowed as she approached him; the distance between them, although short, was still considerable enough to make her unsure of just how much should be kept.
Rufus didn't seem to notice the nervous display, and instead displayed a small, rather non-existent smile.
"I apologise, I had business to attend to."
The female's brow rose ever so slightly; the fact that he had just willingly apologised, and actually seemed sincere about it was rather unsettlingly, though not unpleasant.
She shrugged before displaying a small, somewhat uncertain smile.
"That's ok."
He allowed his gaze to roll over her form, though his mind appeared to be somewhere else.
After a moment he took a swift but deep breath before flicking a few silver-blonde strands from his icy gaze.
"I assume you want to keep doing this?"
"Huh?"
His facial muscles tighten as he spoke; the last word seemingly possessing a certain 'bite'.
"Visiting the Turk."
"Oh."
She shrugged once again.
"Yes I suppose."
Suppose?
Her brow fell slightly as deliberated her own words.
It wasn't that she didn't want to see him; far from it, but she was beginning to feel that the time she spent there was rather unproductive.
He couldn't move, or talk, she didn't even believe he could hear her, not really.
Besides, seeing him like that was not pleasant for her, and it didn't look like they'd be any change in his condition anytime soon.
Rufus's brow furrowed as he observed her somewhat hesitant expression.
After a few moments of silence he continued.
"Ok well, as you staying at my house will neither be suitable for me, or pleasant for you-"
The brunette cocked her brow as he spoke; his choice of words felt strange to her, would it not be unpleasant for him as well?
"I think it would be best for us to arrange a pass for you to use. It looks like he shall be here for quite some time, and I can't continue to chaperone you."
"Ok."
Her tone was indifferent as the last.
"What about…how to get here?"
"I'll make sure there's a driver for you to contact; I'll give you the details when we get to Shin-Ra Headquarters."
The female's brow furrowed.
"Headquarters?"
"Yes, I think it's best to get this sorted out as quickly as possible; you've already taken up enough of my time."
Tifa's raised an eyebrow.
Well that was to be expected…
As she viewed him with disdain, the young male reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a slim, black mobile.
Within moments he'd dialled his wanted number and had it held up to his ear; only muttering a few words into the receiver before snapping it shut and replacing in within his suit.
He began walking further towards the brunette, and once he'd proceeded past her, he made to turn his head slightly to the side; calling back to her.
"Come on then, let's get this over with."
A/N=
Sorry for how long this took me to get out! I've been super busy…again! I've been telling my friend for about a year now that I'd buy and watch her favourite program, so I finally got off my arse and ordered it, so I've been working my way through 4 seasons and it's had me pretty hooked XD so really the blame for this late update lies with my friend and the programs makers…
And then I got Kingdom Hearts so I had to play that XD And I'm halfway through replaying FFX so…I reeeeaaallllyyy can't be blamed for being distracted.
Hopefully the next chapter will be out a bit sooner, as I've already planned most of it, and I don't have my RenoxTifa fic to update and I'm sorry if this chapter seemed a little short, but the next one should be longer XD
Anyway onto the chapter!
So I gave some time for Reno and Tifa in this update, because I thought we needed some insight into how she was feeling at the moment, and how she felt about what had happened to Reno. True, he technically wasn't very 'involved' but still, he was there.
I know there's not a whole lot of RufusxTifa action in this…again, but there will be some more next chapter XD In fact it should be nearly all RufusxTifa interaction XD which is always good.
I'm not sure how long I'll keep this fic going for, or whether, once its done, I'll start on a sequel, or maybe start another RufusxTifa fic…the possibilities are endless.
Oh and if any of you have anything you might like me to include; clothing, conversations about certain things, little interactions or items, just leavea note in your review or give me a bell with ye olde PM. If it's good, and fits well it'll make an appearance!