The Forces Between 8/9, FF7

[AngelOfDeath]

Disclaimer: (see first chapter)

Chapter 8

"This is a hospital right? Well, give me some drugs! I hurt all over!" Tifa didn't speak too emphatically or loudly mainly because breathing was still a bit painful, but she could still be twice as demanding to make up for the lack of volume. The poor nurse tried to explain that giving her more drugs would be bad for her body, and that it wasn't like the old days when they could use magic to supplement cases like this and they were still developing a system to treat people. Tifa looked around for a bedpan or something to throw, but calmed herself when visitors were led in.

Yuffie waved cheerfully, and Vincent handed Tifa some flowers. It was nice to see some friendly faces. Maybe now she could get the full story of what exactly happened during her rescue two days ago. Not that it had been a very effective rescue since she had let herself out, had presented herself directly without much opposition, and still had nearly gotten killed. Tifa pulled herself from the pit of negativity that she had slumped into, and tried to seem healthy and cheery.

"I wish I could have helped in some way." Vincent said in his sedate tone of voice. "I didn't hear about what happened until a while after you had left." He removed a vase from inside his coat and took the flowers from Tifa to deal with them. "I saw Cloud before he left."

"You don't need to mention anything he said. Our discussion finished long before the fighting broke out. Now I want an explanation for how you all found me in the first place. It wasn't as if those people had a sign up or anything, and Midgar's a big place on its own."

Yuffie drew her toe across the lines of the checkered pattern on the floor. "Well, ya see, we weren't much use until the end. That no good. . . I mean that husband of yours did most of the work organizin' stuff." Her eyes leapt to Tifa's at the end of that announcement. "But once we got there no one kicked more ass than me, except maybe Vince."

"And where is said husband, may I ask?"

"At work. He sent this note with us to give to you when visitors were allowed in." Vincent handed her the slip of paper, and Tifa stuffed it under the pillow she was leaning on. Right now she was more interested in paying attention to her friends.

Over the next hour or two Yuffie and Vincent constructed as best they could, what happened after she had been kidnapped. Yuffie had shown up at the party an hour late due to customers that she just couldn't get rid of who had eaten up her time, and then some other random people who had stopped her on the street and insisted she sign things for their kids. Tourists did that to all of them every so often, but it was obviously a diversionary tactic in hindsight.

When Yuffie had arrived at the bar she found it in the condition that Tifa had left it, with a couple people gawking in front at the state of the bar. It only took a moment or two for Yuffie to look inside and figure out what probably happened, because if something like this had occurred and Tifa hadn't sought Yuffie out then odds were Tifa was in no condition to talk. After a quick sweep of the surrounding area to make sure that Tifa wasn't hurt and lying down somewhere, Yuffie ran and got Vincent. Vincent in turn went to see Rufus, but Rufus was refusing to see anyone.

It took threatening quite a number of people and dropping Tifa's name to get Yuffie and Vincent an audience with Rufus. He seemed unsurprised by the news, but thanked them politely anyway, and said to come get him if they heard anything else that was useful. They in turn offered their services if anything could be done. They were shown out of the building and then Vincent and Yuffie had waited at home for news for over a day.

Yuffie had been sharpening yet another one of her weapons, killing time the only way she knew how when she was so wound up, when she had gotten a call. It was from Simon. All he had said was: She's in the Southeast of Midgar, and then he had hung up. That was enough for Yuffie, who flew into action.

They told Rufus, who offered to let them join in on the force he planned to create to storm whatever compound of forces held her. It seemed like a good deal, since they could use a ride over anyway, and that brought them pretty much current to where Tifa had woken up to gun play.

Tifa felt bad for the way she had ignored Simon now. He had saved her in the end, though the only reason for that was probably because they were talking of killing her and he found out. Anything less wouldn't have swayed him. Her faith in friendship got a little stronger again, after the battering it had been getting recently. Maybe, if she was lucky, she could look forward to a nice boring year. She felt she deserved it.

A nurse came in and shooed out her friends. Shortly after a doctor came in and checked her over to make sure she was doing ok. Apparently, she wasn't on the brink of death, because he only poked her a few places and made some notes on a chart before moving on to the next room. Once he had left, Tifa looked at the note Rufus had sent. 'See you at six.' was all it said, and she let her disappointment show as she laid back and tried to keep her mind busy for another three hours.

* * *

"What? No flowers? You're a pretty shoddy husband." Tifa smiled as she said it, but found that she was still annoyed anyway. "Why couldn't you come earlier?"

"The past few days have been stressful. Work helps me take my mind off of things. Besides, your friends came, didn't they? I get the feeling they don't like me much and my presence would have displeased them." He pulled up a chair that was resting near a window and sat down. "Though I will admit that they can fight like demons, even after all these years."

Conversation hit a lull almost immediately. Tifa rubbed at her eye, wishing that she were well enough to leave the bed. It made her feel so weak and sickly to be confined like this.

"It was the first time I had ever been really worried." He wasn't meeting her eyes. "I get a threat about every week from one group or another, but the day before you were taken it talked about you too and I found myself paying attention. At the time it was almost worth it to me to demolish the hotel, like they demanded, if it meant I could get you back safe." He was serious. "I don't know what this means."

Tifa felt the muscles in her chest tighten. It was like she was a teenager again. "I think it means you might care for me, at least a little. It isn't a bad thing, is it?"

"I don't know. I never had a significant other, really, so this is all a little odd to conceptualize. Frankly, it just seems like a big distraction, but I can't seem to let go of the idea."

"Why? You've got a wife who you don't touch. Most people would find that a little odd too." Tifa laughed a little, which hurt more than it was worth. "I find it pretty odd myself."

Rufus snorted. "It isn't because I don't want to. I just assumed it would never happen. I started running everyday after work so that I'd be so exhausted I wouldn't think of it, but after the first month I decided it was too cold to be doing that." Tifa's sides shook with laughter that she couldn't allow herself to express.

"And I always thought you found me unattractive."

His eyes rolled back. "There were moments I almost cracked, but I was always able to get the damage under control in time. Then again, why do you think I gave you a bathrobe? Seeing you in a towel was just base cruelty."

"Now I'm sure you're trying to make me laugh. Stop it!" She coughed lightly.

"I do have something serious to ask you about." Tifa nodded for him to ask. "Why didn't you go with Strife?"

Her smile vanished and Tifa gave the question time to roll around in her brain before she answered. Rufus waited patiently.

"My life is here with you now. All of that other stuff is in the past. It's like a different country. It's nice to visit, but I don't live there." She placed her hands at her hips in a theatrical manner. "Well? You won, be happy! Kiss me or something." He did so, but was extra solicitous of her so as not to hurt her.

"When you are out of the hospital, and feeling up to it, would you like to go a date? I don't think I've ever asked someone out who I was serious about, and since we're married I don't suppose we can be any more committed than that." His hand held hers, his thumb stroking the skin on the back of her hand. "We can pretend like we're starting over."

"Hell, why not. I'm game." Tifa looked sly. "Maybe if you're nice I'll let you take me home."

Rufus' eyebrow arched. "I fully intend to get lucky."

"You are so fortunate all I have to throw is my pillow."

* * *

Tifa slid earrings into her lobes. She hadn't been on a date in a long time. There were a couple unpleasant blind dates that Yuffie had felt obliged to set her friend up on when she had come to town depressed, but that had been years (yes plural) ago. It had taken a surprising amount of time to get ready since she had gone through several different outfit possibilities. How did someone dress for a date when you didn't know where you were going? Summer had only just begun, and the nights were pleasantly warm but not hot.

In the end she had gone with a classic set of skirt, blouse, and heels. The heels were the only real concession, since they were painful even if they made her legs seem even longer. It was only for the evening and so long as not too much walking was involved then she'd be in good shape. She had even gone and had a small haircut. Nothing drastic of course, but it only fell to the bottom of her shoulderblades. Strangely, it made it seem like she had lost pounds of hair and she held up her head a little higher as a consequence.

The doorbell rang and she ran through the house to get it. Tifa stopped in front of the door and forced her breathing to calm down. She was still in physical therapy because of her lung, but usually she didn't get winded all that easily. It must have been the nervousness. She opened the door and smiled at her date.

"You're early." She took in his appearance with a bit of shock. "I still need to put on makeup."

"You don't need it. Let's go now." Rufus, in the outfit he had sported for so many years, with the coat and turtleneck, was changed in that both coat and pants had been dyed a solid black. Part of the reason had been because even after cleaning, he would never get all of the bloodstains from carrying Tifa to the car. The other part of the reason was that even he had acknowledged that it was silly to keep reminding himself of the old days.

Tifa picked up her purse and scurried out of the door, pulled along by her insistent date. Her questions as to where they were going were summarily ignored. The whole date idea was starting to look a lot less appealing as they took a cab and the two of them were silent once Tifa found that he was unwilling to speak of anything at all. If he was in a bad mood then he just should have said so and they could have rescheduled.

The cab stopped in front of his newly completed but not yet opened hotel. He threw some money at the driver and then nearly physically yanked Tifa from the car. They made their way inside, after he unlocked the door, and then he pulled her towards the stairs.

"I don't think so." Tifa said. "Not in these shoes. Anything more than ten floors and we're taking the elevator." Rufus sighed impatiently and disappeared for a moment. Some lights came on that previously had been off and the elevator opened for them at the push of a button. They got off at the top floor, the 25th, and still there were stairs to climb as they ended up on the roof.

There was a table and two chairs as well as a basket, Tifa noted as she fought the wind for dominance of her hair. It was secluded and she thought of how the nearest people were nearly a block away in any direction. He had really thought this out.

"It's windier than I thought it would be, but we can just take the food indoors after we enjoy the view a while." Rufus was acting as the brisk businessman right now, but Tifa recognized nervousness when she saw it. It was nice to know she wasn't alone.

"That sounds fine by me." She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the table. They sat down across from one another. "So, Mr. Nova, why don't you tell me something about yourself."

Rufus leaned back into his chair, slumping down in a relaxed position. "Well, I was known as Rufus Shinra for quite a few years. I took over the family business pretty young, but we ran into some hard times and I had to abandon it. Not that I'm sorry. I didn't like my family or the business very much."

"Oh really? That's too bad." He was speaking so lightly, and she tried to keep up the illusion that they were just making casual conversation.

"Of course I didn't have much choice at the time of whether to end the business or not. It literally sort of blew up, with me in the middle of it all. I only survived thanks to some prepared spells equipped on my person at the time. Even so, I am here before you now only because of some kind hearted scavengers who brought me to a makeshift hospital when they discovered the corpse they were raiding wasn't quite dead yet." He smiled engagingly. "What brought you to this neck of the woods, so to speak?"

Tifa laughed. "When I was dumped by the then love of my life, I was about ready to kill myself. I started a bar here in town because a couple of my friends were already living here and I needed someone to take care of me when I came home drunk nearly every night for a few months."

"That's terrible." He patted her hand as it rested on the tabletop.

"What's terrible is that after I sobered up and made a life for myself, I was still pretty empty and sad. At one point I was even forced to get married due to a mix up with some contracts, can you imagine?" She feigned shock.

"The man must have been desperate to get your attention to force something like that. How very pitiful."

"I know. But it all seems to be turning out alright, so you needn't worry about me." Her smile became coy. "I was rather surprised that you asked me out on a date. I hear you're married as well, and that she's just perfect."

Rufus was quick to respond. "Alas, it's just a rumor. She's really quite frigid. It only looks like we're perfect when we're out in public. Though she's been a lot nicer to me recently."

"Frigid eh?" She wasn't sure she liked that description. "Better be careful. If I were your wife I might act pretty perverse if I knew you were throwing around terms like that about me."

"If you were my wife I don't think that term would even cross my mind." That was his hand on her knee, she was pretty sure, and moving up.

She stopped him halfway up her thigh. "Going a little fast, aren't we?"

"I'd say this was due to happen months ago. I think I've been remarkably patient. Saintly, even."

"Food first, Saint Rufus." Tifa shook a finger in front of his face. "I spent all night choosing these clothes and you aren't getting me out of them that quickly." Rufus eased up with a chuckle. He was laughing more easily these days, even if it was mostly only in her presence.

The wind hadn't died down but Rufus poured out something the bubbled into a glass and handed it to her. Tifa took it but laughed at him still.

"I said food. What's this?" She smelled it and sneezed as carbonation tickled its way into her nose. "A little expensive for just a night out."

"We're celebrating the opening of my hotel, The Lockhart, and of my new acquisition of a little bar across the street. Got the property for a decent price. Seller couldn't give it away, but I took pity on him and gave him a good price." Tifa wasn't laughing anymore. "I owed him a favor. He helped me get something back that was important to me."

"And what are you going to do with it, the bar I mean?"

"I was thinking of turning it into a restaurant, something in conjunction with the hotel. What do you think?" The wind picked up a little more, making it almost cold on the roof even though the night was warm.

Tifa brightened suddenly. Taking a deep drink from her glass. "Do whatever you like. It isn't my problem, though I know personally that the roof will need to be redone. You might wish that you just demolished the place. And the kitchen isn't outfitted for much of anything. Now let's go inside and eat before this goes to my head."

"That's fine by me."

As Tifa waited for Rufus to get everything together, her brain finally made a connection and she snorted.

"What?" Rufus handed her his glass while he opened the door, clutching the large basket in his other fist.

"The Lockhart Hotel? I've already got a foundation named after me, and even that was somewhat narcissistic. What next? Usually you wait until people die before you go naming buildings after them."

"By that logic, it would have been more appropriate to name it The Shinra Hotel. But just you try running that by my public relations manager. Besides, the name sounds good. It suits it."

Once back inside the building, they opened up the penthouse suite. It was typical to Rufus' interior design sensibilities, that is, it was all white. Tifa told him just what she thought of that. Very little of it was complimentary. After ranting about this one aspect of his taste which she found simply abominable for a few minutes while Rufus set up the food, she found herself lifted up and slung across his shoulder.

"You put me down this minute!" The position hurt a bit, plus she was sure her skirt was positively indecent like this.

"Only if you stop whining."

He deposited her at the table, where they had a pleasant meal and Tifa tried her best to keep her eyes off of the small bar that sat across the street, dark and deserted. Soon it would be a restaurant (after massive renovations most likely), and then it would be as if her old life had been erased entirely in a mere half a year.

"Is there something wrong with the chicken?"

"No."

"Then you might want to eat it rather than study it. I promise you, it doesn't hold any secrets in its belly, just some sort of cheesy bread-like stuffing. The caterer I ordered it from is fairly trustworthy and as much as I'm sure she despises me personally, I doubt she would try to poison either of us."

Tifa pushed the object of discussion around her plate a little more. "Is this where you saw yourself at this age?"

"No, to be honest. I saw myself as dictator of the planet, in actuality, raping it for its mineral wealth and doing exactly as I pleased." He wasn't laughing. The gleam in his eye was frightening, and she could see in a moment some of the ugliness that had been his trademark as a Shinra. "But, you and your friends gave me a bit of a reality check. Dreams of megalomania are well and good if you have the insanity to back it. All those months recuperating gave me a choice to either dive all the way off the edge and go completely nuts, seek out every last one of you and kill you slowly and painfully. . . or rebuild a little something for myself and forget the past."

"Sometimes you scare me." It wasn't a joke and she twisted her wedding band around her finger as she said it absently.

"I guess we're both lucky that I decided to be practical. There's no real security for my old age in revenge. Maybe it had something to do with what Holy did to the planet too. We're still feeling the effects, I think." He seemed to reorient himself before he continued. "You don't need to fear me. Ever. Honestly, when I first married you I had it in mind to destroy you if I discovered that you really had been involved that bombing. I have to say that I'm not above petty revenge these days, even if I let go of the past stuff."

Tifa wasn't hungry at all anymore. This was fast becoming one of the less pleasing dates she's ever been on. It even surpassed that time when the guy had insisted she disinfect herself before they shook hands and who rubbed down every surface before he touched it.

Rufus continued as if he didn't notice the change in mood. "But after a while, after observing you, (and having you observed as well), I began to see that you didn't have a malicious bone in your body. You even gave money to people on the street, and donated to orphanages, and all of that philanthropic stuff that I had always ignored. Every promise you made you fulfilled to the best of your ability even if you didn't want to do it. And I couldn't ever fault your public behavior towards me. Sometimes it was so real, and I found myself wishing it wasn't an act."

"How very nice. Yes, I'm a pushover it seems. And a good liar. What else?" Tifa swirled her finger above her water glass, while Rufus gave her a confused look.

"I'm trying to tell you why I fell for you, and you're getting insulted? Forget it then. I never was any good at this dating nonsense. Here." He tossed a box at her, and Tifa picked it up and opened it, her mouth set in a thin line. Then the corners of her lips softened, and her eyes lit with pleasure. She pulled out a solid heart pendant like the one that had been taken from her when she had been kidnapped. It had upset her quite a lot when she realized it was missing after she came home and had gone through her things, but she hadn't said anything about it.

She let herself do the fluttery feminine thing for a moment, before she put it on and stared at it a little more. "Rufus, I have to say that even though you have a knack for being mean and rude, I'll always be convinced that deep down inside you're a good person." She thought a moment. "Or at least that you're a good person *now*. I'm not speaking for the past incarnations. You were a bit of a bastard then." She held out her hands and stood up, waiting for a hug. . . her gesture of forgiveness.

This time when Rufus laughed and came over to hug her, she didn't stop his wandering hands. The chuckle deep in his throat made his chest vibrate a bit, and she knew that because her own hands had somehow made their way underneath his shirt. His lips caught hers, and they fought for dominance for a moment or two since most things ended up a fight when Tifa was involved. Rufus pulled away, and looked down at his wife, her lips swollen and her chest heaving a little from breathing too much.

"You know, we are in a hotel room. . ."

She followed the train of thought. ". . . and the bed's just in the other room." She sighed. "I had thought the date would last a little longer, but then any more conversation and I might get angry again."

"No more talking. I think I can manage that."

Tifa gave a little internal laugh. Maybe this was something like a honeymoon. An expensive hotel room. . . champagne and an expensive and private dinner. . . and they would finally consummate the marriage. As Rufus nearly tore her buttons off as she stood in between his legs and leaned her knees on the bed, she wondered if maybe they could take a trip somewhere.

But as her skirt pooled at her feet, her idle thoughts were swept away and Tifa discovered just how nice it was to get other exercise besides her martial arts.

* * *

(((AN: Just an epilogue left. Actually, I have to say that I wasn't too pleased by this fic. I cheated in a few spots and cut out things were I could have continued to expand on the whole developing Tifa/Rufus thing- - - especially in those first few months. But then, this got a lot longer than I ever expected and to extend it even more would have come at the expense of a lot of other projects that were equally important to me.

So sorry if anyone feels shorted by the lack of description. ::authoress makes her most humble apologies::

But I really did try to make this pairing believable, and I think that I accomplished that much at least. It's difficult since it's been a number of years since I played FF7 and all of everyone's personalities were a little obscure in my mind. OOCness probably abounded, and I do despise myself for that as well.

Oh well, so long as you thought it was a good read then I will try to be happy and just leave the FF7 fanfiction to those who keep to the characters better.)))