[fic] 16candles_fics: Lesser Evil
Series: Luminescence [2/16]
Prompt: 2 - Frozen Sparks
Title: Lesser Evil
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Characters: Rufus Shinra, Tifa Lockhart
Rating: PG13
Summary: A meeting. An excuse. A question of trust.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all of its characters belong to Square-Enix.
Notes: I'm on a roll! Second chapter already and it's a surprise that I'm not dying yet of crack. It's crack. Yes, it's crack. Even if the mood of the fic seems depressing.
Chapter 2: Lesser Evil
A soft sigh escaped Tifa Lockhart's lips as she stood under the rain, her dark hair falling over her shoulders like a black, heavy curtain. Of all the people who just had to nearly kill her, rush outside and chase her, it just had to be Rufus Shinra. The Rufus Shinra. How luckier could she get? And it just had to be this night, this night when she had decided to leave the bar in secret.
Another sigh and she took a step back from him, from his inquiry, a hand holding her arm.
"I am... I was walking around. I couldn't sleep."
She doubted it was an excuse that would sell. Shinra wasn't the type who would buy such lameness anyway. Then again, Shinra wasn't the type who cared.
"Yes," Shinra replied, his voice excessively dripping with sarcasm. He was glaring at her darkly. "You merely walked from your bar to this place, under the rain, in the middle of the night."
Tifa looked away, a frown crossing her face. Somehow, irritation instead of weariness washed over her like cold water, colder than the rain pounding all over her. "Why do you care anyway?"
"Don’t flatter yourself, Lockhart. It's not care," Rufus told her flatly, looking like he had finally realized that he was soaked in rainwater. "You jumped in front of my car and nearly killed yourself. If you had died, I would be the one to be blamed."
Somehow, Tifa felt hurt more than annoyed at his words. So indeed, he didn’t care about anything else aside from himself. It didn’t matter anyway. It was just Rufus Shinra; he didn’t matter. But still, why was she running away anyway? Had she picked up his habit of running away from problems? To escape for a little while? She didn't know. She guessed that she just wanted to talk to someone, to relieve herself of the heavy burden inside her.
Maybe she should've just gone somewhere... Kalm seemed like a good option. Vincent was probably there anyway.
"Come on, I'll take you back to your home."
The girl looked up at Rufus, a blank glint in her eyes. Did he... Was he just offering a ride back to Seventh Heaven? She could be hearing things but her sense of hearing was quite remarkable that she couldn’t be mistaken. She shook her head, sighing, gazing down on the pavement. "Why?"
“Because, obviously, it is a long walk from here to your place and-”
Tifa cut him off with a dismissive wave of her hand. It was most likely the most direct answer Rufus Shinra would give her but she didn’t need to hear that. She didn’t want to hear that. What she wanted to know was why. Why was he offering her a ride home?
“Shinra, I don’t understand why you-”
Shinra rolled his eyes and sighed as well, turning to stare at the sky. "Can't we save the interrogation inside the car?”
He sounded desperate now to get out of the rain, Tifa mused absently, but defeated, probably thinking that he wouldn't get any more drenched than this. Perhaps he was worried about his suit, ruined already by the rain. She shook her head yet again, forcing a slight, almost invisible smile. "Well, you go," she told him in the same quiet voice. "I'm not going back to Seventh Heaven. At least, not for now."
She looked up and found him staring at her in disbelief and amusement, a pale eyebrow raised. It puzzled her. She didn’t understand why he wore such expression. Was he expecting another reply, a different one?
"Then I'll take you wherever you're planning to go."
It was yet another generous offer from Rufus Shinra, the same man who had tried to execute her three years ago. And she wondered if he really cared or he was just that desperate to get out of the rain. Still, whatever his reason was, the logic of it all just escaped her. She couldn’t understand it no matter how much she tried to put the pieces together. Why would someone like him want to help, or at least, offer help to someone like her?
"I'm... not exactly going anywhere specific,” she admitted.
"Good. We're going then." He suddenly reached out and grabbed for her arm, firmly but gently dragging her back towards his car. For someone who seemed so fragile, he was quite strong and forceful.
Tifa blinked at the unexpected action and found herself being dragged against her will. Well, maybe not exactly against her will since her legs seemed to be moving on their own accord. Her body and mind wouldn’t cooperate and work together again. Still, she didn’t like this, being forced and coerced into things she didn’t agree upon. Plus, it was Rufus Shinra. She had no idea what the man was thinking.
She dug her heel on the ground, forcing the both of them to stop walking. Shinra looked around, a frown line visible on his forehead.
“What now?”
Tifa scowled back, resting one hand against her hip. This was pissing her off and she didn’t know if that was a good thing, since it was distracting her from thinking too much, or a bad thing for the blond President.
“What do you mean, ‘what now’?” she started flatly, her dark eyes narrowing into slits. “One, where the hell are you taking me anyway? Two, you do understand that, even though I look like crap right now, I can still kick your ass so you’re going way over the line by dragging me like this!”
The President, however, was unfazed, whether by her dry tone or her death threat. He released her arm and stepped back from her.
“Supposedly, I was going to take you back to my condominium since, I have to agree, you do look like crap,” he told her, leveling her glare with his own. Tifa opened her mouth to protest but she closed it quickly, not knowing what words to say.
“I was going to offer you a dry set of clothes even a place to stay for the night since you said that you were neither going back to your bar nor going somewhere else. But seeing that you’d rather stay and mope around here under the rain…”
He turned heel and started walking back to his car again, waving a hand in the air. “If you wish to stay here, then that’s fine with me. I won’t force you. But if you’re still planning to kill yourself, then I suggest waiting for another car to pass-”
“Why?”
Tifa saw him, through soaked bangs, stop in his tracks once more, his drenched figure hazy against the mist.
“Two reasons,” Shinra replied in a dull tone, looking over his shoulder. “First, I just want to get back home as soon as possible, even if it means that I have to pick up a stray kitten on the way.”
He paused for a moment, looking like he was trying to find the right words. “Second, I am interested and curious as to why someone like you would be walking around in Edge, under the rain, in the middle of the night. And I don’t buy the insomnia excuse.”
Tifa froze at his words, speechless and stunned. She either heard him correctly or she was merely imagining things again. To hear Rufus Shinra say those things to her, it was amazing. He was the same man who nearly wiped her existence from the face of Gaia, who was not afraid to use force to control anyone. He was never interested in anything or anyone but himself. But was he different now? Had he changed?
Clenching her fists, she wondered if it was indeed all right to trust someone like him. She didn’t know what he was thinking. She couldn’t read him like an open book and yet, she was willing to place her trust in him.
“If I told you…” The fighter hesitated for a moment, asking that question of trust once more in her mind. Still, it wouldn’t kill her to try. Her heart would just be broken again if he betrayed her and that wouldn’t be any different.
“If I told you-” Tifa started again, taking a deep breath. She could tell that Shinra was listening to her carefully. “-that I had ran away because I was getting tired of my life, would you let me borrow your shower and a hairdryer?”
The young man wordlessly turned to her, studying her for a while. She couldn’t read his expression from the spot where she was standing but desperation overtook her when he rounded and headed back to the direction of his car.
Perhaps she was indeed a trusting person, gullible and foolhardy.
“If you’re still standing there by the time I get to my car, I won’t hesitate to run over you then.” His voice called to her from the darkness and she looked up, her eyes wide.
A smile slowly spread across her face and Tifa felt relief wash throughout her entire system. Or perhaps she could trust him just a little bit more.
Full chapter guide
Prompt: 2 - Frozen Sparks
Title: Lesser Evil
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Characters: Rufus Shinra, Tifa Lockhart
Rating: PG13
Summary: A meeting. An excuse. A question of trust.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all of its characters belong to Square-Enix.
Notes: I'm on a roll! Second chapter already and it's a surprise that I'm not dying yet of crack. It's crack. Yes, it's crack. Even if the mood of the fic seems depressing.
Chapter 2: Lesser Evil
A soft sigh escaped Tifa Lockhart's lips as she stood under the rain, her dark hair falling over her shoulders like a black, heavy curtain. Of all the people who just had to nearly kill her, rush outside and chase her, it just had to be Rufus Shinra. The Rufus Shinra. How luckier could she get? And it just had to be this night, this night when she had decided to leave the bar in secret.
Another sigh and she took a step back from him, from his inquiry, a hand holding her arm.
"I am... I was walking around. I couldn't sleep."
She doubted it was an excuse that would sell. Shinra wasn't the type who would buy such lameness anyway. Then again, Shinra wasn't the type who cared.
"Yes," Shinra replied, his voice excessively dripping with sarcasm. He was glaring at her darkly. "You merely walked from your bar to this place, under the rain, in the middle of the night."
Tifa looked away, a frown crossing her face. Somehow, irritation instead of weariness washed over her like cold water, colder than the rain pounding all over her. "Why do you care anyway?"
"Don’t flatter yourself, Lockhart. It's not care," Rufus told her flatly, looking like he had finally realized that he was soaked in rainwater. "You jumped in front of my car and nearly killed yourself. If you had died, I would be the one to be blamed."
Somehow, Tifa felt hurt more than annoyed at his words. So indeed, he didn’t care about anything else aside from himself. It didn’t matter anyway. It was just Rufus Shinra; he didn’t matter. But still, why was she running away anyway? Had she picked up his habit of running away from problems? To escape for a little while? She didn't know. She guessed that she just wanted to talk to someone, to relieve herself of the heavy burden inside her.
Maybe she should've just gone somewhere... Kalm seemed like a good option. Vincent was probably there anyway.
"Come on, I'll take you back to your home."
The girl looked up at Rufus, a blank glint in her eyes. Did he... Was he just offering a ride back to Seventh Heaven? She could be hearing things but her sense of hearing was quite remarkable that she couldn’t be mistaken. She shook her head, sighing, gazing down on the pavement. "Why?"
“Because, obviously, it is a long walk from here to your place and-”
Tifa cut him off with a dismissive wave of her hand. It was most likely the most direct answer Rufus Shinra would give her but she didn’t need to hear that. She didn’t want to hear that. What she wanted to know was why. Why was he offering her a ride home?
“Shinra, I don’t understand why you-”
Shinra rolled his eyes and sighed as well, turning to stare at the sky. "Can't we save the interrogation inside the car?”
He sounded desperate now to get out of the rain, Tifa mused absently, but defeated, probably thinking that he wouldn't get any more drenched than this. Perhaps he was worried about his suit, ruined already by the rain. She shook her head yet again, forcing a slight, almost invisible smile. "Well, you go," she told him in the same quiet voice. "I'm not going back to Seventh Heaven. At least, not for now."
She looked up and found him staring at her in disbelief and amusement, a pale eyebrow raised. It puzzled her. She didn’t understand why he wore such expression. Was he expecting another reply, a different one?
"Then I'll take you wherever you're planning to go."
It was yet another generous offer from Rufus Shinra, the same man who had tried to execute her three years ago. And she wondered if he really cared or he was just that desperate to get out of the rain. Still, whatever his reason was, the logic of it all just escaped her. She couldn’t understand it no matter how much she tried to put the pieces together. Why would someone like him want to help, or at least, offer help to someone like her?
"I'm... not exactly going anywhere specific,” she admitted.
"Good. We're going then." He suddenly reached out and grabbed for her arm, firmly but gently dragging her back towards his car. For someone who seemed so fragile, he was quite strong and forceful.
Tifa blinked at the unexpected action and found herself being dragged against her will. Well, maybe not exactly against her will since her legs seemed to be moving on their own accord. Her body and mind wouldn’t cooperate and work together again. Still, she didn’t like this, being forced and coerced into things she didn’t agree upon. Plus, it was Rufus Shinra. She had no idea what the man was thinking.
She dug her heel on the ground, forcing the both of them to stop walking. Shinra looked around, a frown line visible on his forehead.
“What now?”
Tifa scowled back, resting one hand against her hip. This was pissing her off and she didn’t know if that was a good thing, since it was distracting her from thinking too much, or a bad thing for the blond President.
“What do you mean, ‘what now’?” she started flatly, her dark eyes narrowing into slits. “One, where the hell are you taking me anyway? Two, you do understand that, even though I look like crap right now, I can still kick your ass so you’re going way over the line by dragging me like this!”
The President, however, was unfazed, whether by her dry tone or her death threat. He released her arm and stepped back from her.
“Supposedly, I was going to take you back to my condominium since, I have to agree, you do look like crap,” he told her, leveling her glare with his own. Tifa opened her mouth to protest but she closed it quickly, not knowing what words to say.
“I was going to offer you a dry set of clothes even a place to stay for the night since you said that you were neither going back to your bar nor going somewhere else. But seeing that you’d rather stay and mope around here under the rain…”
He turned heel and started walking back to his car again, waving a hand in the air. “If you wish to stay here, then that’s fine with me. I won’t force you. But if you’re still planning to kill yourself, then I suggest waiting for another car to pass-”
“Why?”
Tifa saw him, through soaked bangs, stop in his tracks once more, his drenched figure hazy against the mist.
“Two reasons,” Shinra replied in a dull tone, looking over his shoulder. “First, I just want to get back home as soon as possible, even if it means that I have to pick up a stray kitten on the way.”
He paused for a moment, looking like he was trying to find the right words. “Second, I am interested and curious as to why someone like you would be walking around in Edge, under the rain, in the middle of the night. And I don’t buy the insomnia excuse.”
Tifa froze at his words, speechless and stunned. She either heard him correctly or she was merely imagining things again. To hear Rufus Shinra say those things to her, it was amazing. He was the same man who nearly wiped her existence from the face of Gaia, who was not afraid to use force to control anyone. He was never interested in anything or anyone but himself. But was he different now? Had he changed?
Clenching her fists, she wondered if it was indeed all right to trust someone like him. She didn’t know what he was thinking. She couldn’t read him like an open book and yet, she was willing to place her trust in him.
“If I told you…” The fighter hesitated for a moment, asking that question of trust once more in her mind. Still, it wouldn’t kill her to try. Her heart would just be broken again if he betrayed her and that wouldn’t be any different.
“If I told you-” Tifa started again, taking a deep breath. She could tell that Shinra was listening to her carefully. “-that I had ran away because I was getting tired of my life, would you let me borrow your shower and a hairdryer?”
The young man wordlessly turned to her, studying her for a while. She couldn’t read his expression from the spot where she was standing but desperation overtook her when he rounded and headed back to the direction of his car.
Perhaps she was indeed a trusting person, gullible and foolhardy.
“If you’re still standing there by the time I get to my car, I won’t hesitate to run over you then.” His voice called to her from the darkness and she looked up, her eyes wide.
A smile slowly spread across her face and Tifa felt relief wash throughout her entire system. Or perhaps she could trust him just a little bit more.
Full chapter guide