"You want to go on a date?"
The sound of Aerith's soft, playful voice hit Tifa like a punch to the gut. She was currently standing in the hallway of the Golden Saucer's Ghost Hotel, surrounded by fake cobwebs and cheap plastic chains, just outside of the room being used by the male members of team AVALANCHE. She had been just about to step inside when the sound of Aerith and Cloud talking inside had stopped her in her tracks.
Barret, Cid and Cait sith were out betting on the birds, while Yuffie and Red XIII had convinced Vincent to go sight-seeing and Aerith had mentioned something about seeing a play that would be going on in the Event Square as part of the Enchantment Night celebrations. It seemed like a perfect chance for Tifa to talk to Cloud alone. Finally. With nights on the road and recovering from near-constant battles over the last few weeks, there had been little opportunity to talk away from the others. The last opportunity had been their previous visit to the Saucer and she had been too nervous and embarrassed to take the chance. She hadn't wanted to waste this second chance.
She had spent the last half-hour in the bathroom, doing her best to psych herself up and debating whether or not she should dress up for the encounter. There was a dress on sale in the gift shop that had caught her eye. It would have looked adorable on Yuffie and beautiful on Aerith...but she felt ridiculous when she imagined putting it on herself. She'd look like a costumed gorilla with her scarred knuckles and muscular legs and there'd be no time to get it tailored to her oversized chest, leaving it awkward and tight. Eventually, she settled on her usual outfit...she knew she didn't look as pretty as Aerith in her tank top and miniskirt but at least she would be comfortable.
But it seemed like she had taken too long agonizing over it and Aerith must have arrived just a few minutes before her. For a brief second, Tifa considered strolling into the room in the hopes of ruining the moment for the other girl and at least calling it a draw...but Aerith could be surprisingly shameless and might be perfectly willing to continue the conversation with Tifa in the room. If this moment was a mental gut-punch then that would be the emotional equivalent of a brutal beating with a baseball bat.
Tifa gulped around a painful lump in her throat, heart pounding in her chest as she shifted her weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Maybe Cloud would turn her down? Maybe he wasn't interested in the slender Cetra girl?
That last hope died as Cloud muttered out something confused and hesitant. Cloud, normally a stoic badass, turned into a spiky-haired himbo around Aerith. Tifa spun on her heel and jogged down the hall, running from the sound of Aerith's playful laughter.
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The roar of a bike engine filled Tifa's ears, mixed with excited electric beeps and blorps from the other machines in the Wonder Square arcade. She leaned to the right, tilting the G-bike to take a sharp turn and driving one of the enemy bikers into a nearby wall, causing it to explode in a shower of burning polygons. She shifted her weight sharply to avoid smashing her own bike against the wall as the road curved drunkenly in the other direction.
As more bikes approached from behind, Tifa rocked from side to side, thumbing the buttons on the handlebars to swipe at them and send them both spinning away in flames. A stray bike zoomed past her, headed for the truck it was her mission to escort, and she leaned forward, lifting her butt off the seat and balancing on the foot-pegs of the arcade machine.
She spared a glance at the top of the screen where her current score was displayed: 9,500 points. Just a couple more bikes and she'd beat the high score, 10,050 points, which had been set by Cloud the last time they visited the Golden Saucer. Beating his high score would be possibly the pettiest vengeance Tifa had ever indulged in, but right now it was the only thing she wanted to do.
Tifa's attention was completely focused on the bike in front of her as it swerved towards the truck, her thumb hovering above the attack button. It was a tougher, red bike and survived her first attack and then swerved out of the way of her second as another sharp curve forced her to tilt right to compensate. She growled under her breath as she straightened up and leaned further forward, approaching her wounded target. Just another inch and she'd-
Her focus was shattered by the sensation of two bony fingers suddenly sliding between her thighs and pressing against her panties, right over her pussy. The shock of the sudden intrusive touch sent a shudder through her whole body, causing her to freeze up and for a moment she offered no resistance to the finger's obscene probing. A thumb joined the first two fingers, pressing the fabric of her panties between her ass cheeks.
While Tifa's body was locked up in shock the screen flashed in front of her, the truck she was meant to be escorting under attack by several bikes while hers ground drunkenly against the fence around the road. The words GOAL!! flashed on the screen as the vehicles crossed the finish line, marking the end of the game...dashing her chance at the high score.
Rage broke her paralysis and she leapt off the bike, pulling away from the groping hand. Spinning around she faced the molester: a gangly man wearing a floral-print shirt and a mog hat. He had a Mega-Mog Mega-Gulp cup filled with beer and his lopsided leer and drooping eyelids indicated it probably wasn't his first.
"Holy shit, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Tifa snarled, knuckles cracking as her hands tightened into fists. She could barely hold herself back, desperately wanting to stove this fucker's teeth in. But her teacher's lessons held her back: he had always emphasized that her fists were just as deadly as a gun or sword and she mustn't use her strength against those who couldn't fight back.
"Oooo wheee!" The scruffy-looking man cackled, sniffing his fingertips theatrically. His voice was slurred and his breath was foul. "That'sh is shome prime pusshy."
Tifa took an involuntary step forward, arm trembling with the effort of not breaking the bastard's jaw. She wasn't wearing her gloves, so he probably wouldn't die if she pulled her punch enough...would it really be so bad?
"I am not in the mood, creep." Tifa forced the words through gritted teeth, "Get out of here unless you want me to slap the stupid out of you."
Her chest was heaving as she took deep, calming breaths, putting her already taut suspenders under additional tension. Unfortunately, Tifa's threat sailed over the drunk's head as his attention was caught by the sight of her generous breasts pressed against the fabric of her tank-top. He leaned in closer, looking about ready to drool directly into her cleavage.
"Hey, I said-!"
"How much?" He interrupted her with a grunt, oblivious to her rising fury.
"What?!"
"I shaid, how much?" The man pulled out a bulging coin pouch. "For the night, or an hour."
"I am not a hooker." Tifa's voice was cold and steady. "Go away. Now."
"What about just a blowjob?"
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Tifa trotted down the Wonder Square staircase towards the transportation tubes, whistling cheerfully. A pair of Gold Saucer first aid EMTs rushed by her, heading for the arcade where someone had been recently stuffed headfirst into the hoop of the basketball game. She smiled brightly at them as they passed and hopped down the tube towards the main station hub. There was a delightful whoosh of air, causing her long hair to whip upwards wildly, followed by a sudden burst of color as she popped out of the tube and landed lightly in the center of the station circle.
She was feeling pretty good, for the first time since she had almost walked in on Aerith and Cloud earlier that night. Kicking the ass of a perverted drunk was apparently the best balm for a broken (or, at least, badly bruised) heart. She had been half-tempted to take the fucker's coin pouch as well but had decided against it in the end. The Golden Saucer's security might look the other way at a drunken groper getting his just deserts but they probably wouldn't be so lenient with outright mugging.
