Chapter 8

"Let me woo you properly," Rufus said. Immediately, Tifa was put on guard, her thoughts immediately going to President Shinra who led the company on their crusade against the Planet. Bringing up that very same issue, she was surprised when a scowl appeared on Rufus' face. "Truthfully, I can't wait for my old man to die. He wants to control the world through bribes and sweet-talking, and I'm not able to support that. I want to take him down." Taking her hands in his, Rufus locked eyes with her. "That's why, if you do take my offer of letting me woo you all over again, we would have to relocate to Junon. I wish to be truthful from the start: I'm not supposed to be in Midgar right now. My father exiled me to Junon for trying to overthrow him and his tyrannical exploits. Would you be willing to come with me?" Rufus asked, searching her face. For what, she didn't know. "Let me show you what it could be like, being my wife." There was only a moment's pause after that between them, but to Tifa, the silence stretched on for forever. Then, the brunette shyly nodded her head.

"Alright," she agreed, and was startled at how fast her heart beat pounded when Rufus' whole face lit up at her answer. The blond hesitated, taking a step forward as if to kiss her, but instead lifted her hands up to kiss her knuckles. Lifting his head, his blue eyes locked onto her own burgundy ones and Tifa flushed a little.

She couldn't ever remember a man looking at her like that.

Their moment was broken as Kiani spoke on the phone next to them, ordering a helicopter to take the newly reacquainted couple to Junon. Separating, both were clearly embarrassed, each flushing at how close the two of them had been a few seconds ago. While Tifa was trying to get her traitorous heart back under control, Rufus turned to Kiani as she hung up the phone.

"It will be here in about 10 minutes. President Shinra will have left his office already, so the two of you are free to go up there to use the helipad. Astasia shall escort you through security with her keycard," Kiani reported before she raised an eyebrow. "The press has already been denied coverage of this even, but we can release a press statement to the outcome, if that is to your liking. Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Vice?" Rufus shook his head and smiled.

"No, Kiani, that is all, thank you," the blond said. He then wrapped his arm around Tifa, his hand on the small of her back, but never hinting at going lower. He merely used his hand to guide her towards the elevators on the second floor, Astasia leading the way. "Is there anything you need to retrieve before we leave? Any possessions or clothing or pets you would want to bring?" Tifa's face fell at the reminder of her loss, and Rufus seemed to pick up on that fact immediately. Stopping their progress, he turned and took Tifa's hands in his once more. "What's wrong?"

Tifa shook her head and attempted a smile. "No, it's nothing. I just lost my home and everything in it when the Sector 7 plate fell. AVALANCHE was. . ." Rufus frowned and brought her hands up to kiss the back of her knuckles once more, an action she was beginning to enjoy. "We can head out right away." Her mind flashed to Barret and his involvement with the plate before switching to Cloud and the pretty brunette she had seen him with. Shaking her head to clear her mind of these thoughts, Tifa slipped her hand into Rufus' to lead him to where Astasia was waiting at the elevators. "Come on. I've never been in a helicopter before." With a smile more genuine than the one before, the two headed out to the helipad.

Cloud's head was fuzzy. They haven't been feeding them well in the jail cells, and that was okay, because he was used to going without food or water for several days. His training in Soldier had prepped him for this. What he hadn't been prepared for was being strapped down to a table and injected with what he knew was Mako. The burn was the same feeling as when he was younger, and he writhed now just as much as he did back then. He would then be dumped back into his cell unceremoniously, before hearing Aerith being dragged out of her cell. She screamed, but Cloud was so drugged up, he couldn't do a thing. She would always come back in the same state he was, silent, and occasionally weeping. Red, he was the same. He would snap and growl at the guards when they pulled him from his cell, but always came back docile, mostly unconscious.

Barret never made a sound.

After the first hour of him cursing, the guards were ordered to gag him, and Barret had been silent ever since. With his thoughts so disorganized from the stuff they injected him with, Cloud couldn't think of a way to get them out of there. In his rare moments of lucidity in the past three days they have been in these Shinra holding cells, all Cloud could think of was Tifa, and if she was alright. She was strong. She could handle anything thrown at her.

Taking a helicopter over the ocean at sunset was the prettiest thing Tifa had ever seen. It was hard to decide, however, because soon after night fell, and the brunette was able to see a vast sky of stars for the first time in 6 years. She marveled at the simple beauty of it, and was only reminded of Rufus' presence when he took her hand and just held it. She looked at him to share smiles before the both of them looked out at the sky together.

They arrived at Junon not long after darkness fell, and Rufus helped Tifa out of the helicopter like a gentleman. The action took her by surprise, but inwardly she secretly enjoyed it. It was. . .hard to accept it, but the barmaid-or should she now be referred to as Mrs. Shinra-loved not having to put up a brave face and be strong for those around her. It was nice to be treated like a woman.

And dare she say it, but she was already seeing why drunk her would marry Rufus. He was charming, and everything so far pointed to him trying to genuinely woo her. What was he to gain from anything? They were already married, and already had sex. And he's been sending her gifts every other week! What was his motive? Did he actually. . .actually love her?

What about Cloud?

Shaking her head to rid her of thoughts of the other male blond in her life, she focused on the one blond who was with her here and now.

They had arrived at Junon to a massive celebration welcoming Rufus and his wife home. They had gotten word that he was bringing Tifa back with him, and set up something small. There were no parades or anything grand like that, for there wasn't enough time, but there was definitely enough people at the helipad as the welcome party to make Tifa feel special. Her husband-it was so weird to refer to him as that!-held her hand as he led her through the Shinra building in Junon, but this one had a more friendly feel to it. Something about the lack of an oppressive presence in the building seemed to help. Junon had been established a few decades before Midgar had even been thought of, Rufus explained, which was why the city of Junon was so progressed.

"How long have you been here?" she had asked him as he led her to their living quarters in a separate building. It was the top suite of an apartment complex, but everyone who lived there was a Shinra employee, and loyal to the max.

"A month shy of our wedding anniversary," he explained, before launching into the story of his failed coup and his subsequent exile from his second home.

"Second home?" Tifa then asked as she kicked her shoes off and put them by the door where Rufus put his.

"I was born and raised in Nibelheim."

Tifa nearly fainted.

A/N: The pace of the story picks up after this. Soon we'll be seeing the slightly altered journey the group takes due to Tifa being gone, however there are some events that are just set in stone. I hope you all enjoyed! Follow if you liked it, fave if you loved it, and don't forget to review if you'd like.

Until next time my Lovelies!

MWAH!