Tifa Strife Or Tifa Shinra?
Part 02
By Jupiter: Seifer's Babe
Disclaimer: Squaresoft owns everything on Final Fantasy 7.
Dedication: Everyone who reviewed My Shinra Heaven. Hope this goes well.
AN: This is not a sequel. Just a teeny alternate side story. The outcome is
still the same but I am playing with the plot slightly because I am bored and
it's interesting ;-) Tifa never got shot as well BTW.at least not yet I doubt.
I'll see how much I can squeeze in.
****
<Midgar>
"Hello, Barrett."
The AVALANCHE leader aimed his gunned arm in front of Rufus' figure, "What
ya want, Rufus? If ya lookin' for Cloud, he ain't here. Went on holiday."
"Actually, I'm here to see your female employee," Rufus said then
noticed Barrett's clothes were different. "Nice suit. What's the
occasion?"
<Aw, damn. What do I say to hide Cloud and Tifa's real whereabouts?>
Barrett scratched his large skull unthinkably, attempting a decent lie to cover
the marriage idea. He mainly wanted to know why the hell the Shinra President
was here in a poorer town. Rufus would never care about poverty. He loved
control and absorbing power through his fistful hands. That was who Rufus Shinra
really was - not some local town person who respected the public. Shinra had
people who reeked of arrogance and had a money-hungry personality while they
worked in the office blocks. Shinra HQ wasn't a nice place to apply for jobs
now, was it? Barrett didn't want to work for Rufus. Not in a million years.
"Uh.There's a birthday party I'm invited to," Barrett lied slowly,
"It's Marlene's birthday today. Marlene's best friend is holding a special
birthday bash at her place." He sighed in a murmur. "Ain't kids
great?"
"Sure they are."
"I'm sorry? Did you agree with me on somethin'? I don't remember askin' for
ya opinion, Rufus," Barrett couldn't stand the rational tone in Rufus'
speaking. He was definitely faking it in a stylish act. "Look, ya holdin'
me up. Gotta go."
"Where's Tifa? I have to talk to her," Rufus asked keenly as the
AVALANCHE leader budged past to the open door of the bar.
<Why is he so interested in Tifa? Not like he got a crush on her, ain't it?
Ugh, don't wanna imagine those two together> Barrett eyed the President
mistrustfully, "Won't tell ya. Not your concern."
"It's urgent. I have to ask her an important question." Rufus walked
over to Barrett by the doorway, purposely holding his time off for his
destination <Does she love me?>.
"Tell *me* your question then when *I* see Tifa, I'll ask and pass her
answer to you.that's if I wanna visit your ass in the Shinra HQ office. For the
moment neither Tifa nor myself are free. So hurry up and tell me the
question." Barrett gestured fleetingly.
The Shinra President immediately disagreed on that proposition. So what if
Barrett was one of the enemies. He would probably laugh like hell when he heard
Rufus' real question. Why should an ordinary female like Tifa want to have any
interest in a non-righteous snob like Rufus Shinra? The President had money to
burn on ruining the planet or buying illegal weaponry to kill more innocent
people. Who would dare be interested in someone like that?
Rufus continued to disengage his desperation, "Sorry, Barrett, you're not
the right person to understand. Please tell me where Tifa is. It's really that
important."
The huge sized, brown skinned man spotted the anxiety filling upon Rufus'
normally nasty face. Was he frowning for real? It didn't look like an act to
provoke AVALANCHE, Midgar or any other peace-loving town that was under Shinra
control. The President was dead serious in his speech. What should he do? What
would Cloud say if the truth was told? Various futuristic scenes played in
Barrett's mind hastily and he was expected at Nibelheim over an hour ago.
<Gotta see how Rufus reacts> Barrett sighed obscurely, "She and Cloud
are in Nibelheim.preparing ta tie the knot." A miniature silence resulted
soon after that sentence. Barrett turned to see Rufus' face frown much worse
<Holy shit, he *does* love her. Dammit, he'll ruin the wedding now that I've
told him where they are>. Rufus exited the bar rapidly without thanking the
AVALANCHE leader.
"Hey, don't be dumb enough to ruin their happy day. Tifa had always wanted
this day to come <Rufus, ya jackass>. Cloud's gonna kill ya. I know he
will! FOR FUCK'S SAKE WAIT UP!!!!" Barrett had no choice in chasing after
the Shinra President. He was in real trouble for leading Rufus to his friends
and he anticipated a full hour lecture by the ex-SOLDIER once they returned to
Midgar.
****
Cloud's blue orbs absorbed the white brightness shining out on Tifa's wedding
dress (which was being borrowed for one day, don't forget) as the bride
presented herself by the changing room door. The heavy flowered bouquet resting
between her hands. Seeing the real skin on her hands was a contrast to the usual
wrapped up gloves Tifa often wore for battle. She was the kind to constantly
train every morning to not forget her martial arts skills permanently and had
never gotten rid of her fighter gloves for training or battle. Generally most
brides were given long silky gloves to wear on their wedding day but Tifa found
it unfitting to wear itchy hand garments with her dress. The dress was okay but
the gloves.you can forget those. It was likely that Tifa's skin had a physical
allergy to silk material so she refused to wear the gloves the shop owner
offered.
Tifa slowed her panic down when she neared Cloud's side <the tuxedo suits
him>. The groom's indigo suit and tie perfectly blended with his blue eyes
and spiky hair. On the night before the wedding day, which happened to be the
proposal night as well, Barrett suggested Cloud should gel his hair so it wasn't
as spiky as usual. Apparently, the ex-SOLDIER found that completely out of the
ordinary to wear yucky, smelly hair gel to improve the smart appearance. It was
funny to see the soon-to-be married couple have one thing they didn't wish to
wear for their wedding day. The Priest stood highly in front of the wooden altar
as he smiled to Cloud and Tifa. They were an amazing view. Two young people in
love.
"Where is Barrett? He's late," Tifa wondered.
"Perhaps he overslept," Cloud joked lightly, "we can go on
without him, right?"
"Uh, sure. You did say you wanted to get this ceremony over and done
with." Tifa shrugged a little. She glanced to the patiently standing
Priest. "You can begin anytime."
Smiling back, the old Priest gestured for the couple to hold out their hands and
began the harmonious talking. As he spoke, Tifa's mind commenced into a
daydream, imagining the future. A family. A son who had the same spiky hairstyle
as Cloud's or a daughter who looked identical to the mother. <Why am I doing
this? I love Cloud, right? Or don't I? Damn, this is confusing me> Her
memories cast back to when she stayed as a hostage in Shinra Inc. HQ; where she
encountered Rufus up, close and personal (AN- Sounds funky, doesn't it?). It was
true, on the exterior form, he was evil and always acted ruthlessly towards
victims. People feared him for his tormenting ideas. Although Tifa still found
it hard to believe he took care of her.not only in the kissing sense. Barrett
told her on the night they escaped safely that Rufus was a downright pain in the
ass and will never change. Why did Tifa disagree thoughtfully? She felt like she
was the only person to see Rufus' real side. Was the evilness an outside
disguise? Could he really be caring towards women? <That kiss.> Tifa
remembered it off by heart.
"Tifa? It's your turn to talk," Cloud jumped in between her thoughts,
"Did you forget the rehearsal?" He sounded worried.
The bride warped her mind back to the reality, "Oh.right!! Of course.
Uh.you wouldn't mind repeating your words again, would you?"
Hiding his surprise, the Priest repeated the usual sentences (okay, there's no
way I can remember the 'through sickness and in health stuff. It's too much but
you all get the picture) then waited for the bride's expected answer, which
would consist of two words. <What's wrong with saying 'I do?' Wake up! This
is your wedding day. Your childhood crush is gonna be all yours after the
ceremony is over> Tifa had no idea why the words wouldn't come out in her
voice. Surely she hadn't lost her voice over helpless, mind-cracking panic
attacks. There was something wrong and she couldn't work it out. <Huh? Rufus'
kiss> Tifa pictured the strong touch of Rufus' arms round her waists and
back, kissing her hungrily. Oh God, now wasn't the time to go hormonally insane.
<I want Rufus to kiss me again. I-I-I want him to.but Cloud!>
"Tifa, what's wrong?" Cloud asked and tilted Tifa's face up.
"Cloud.I'm so sorry," Tifa wept against Cloud's tuxedo suit.
TBC.
Sorry for making the chapters shorter *sees angry faces* YO, DON'T KILL ME,
MAN!!!! Chapter 3 is on its merry way. Don't worry, Rufus is coming *plays
Rufus' welcoming parade tune on the FF7 soundtrack.* Come on, people. Let's
encourage Rufus to get to the chapel and see Tifa.
Go to Part 03
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