Promises of Loyalty

My excuse for the hiatus? Hmm, lessee...lost my job, graduated college twice (finished my undergrad, started and finished my Masters), worked at a summer computer camp, Mom started and finished chemotherapy (in remission, yay!), and now I've been unemployed for almost a year and a half since I was in graduate school and have yet to find a job now. But that means time to get back into writing, right? I know where this is eventually going, and there will be an end, and maybe spinoffs!

Also, for a while I refused to complete the last part of Crisis Core, just because I know what happens, and some retarded part of my mind is telling me if I don't play it through, it won't become reality. Of course, having played 7, I know no amount of me wimping out would stop the story from being what it is, so I finally picked it back up. Unfortunately, I also decided to allow my friend to homebrew my PSP...and he wiped my gamesave. SO, I now have to start CC over from the beginning, ARGH.

OH, and I just had to throw this in here. Goofing off on DeviantArt I came across a picture of Tifa in a school girl outfit and I'll be damned if it wasn't pretty much the exact image I had in mind when writing chapter 7. If you're interested, search DA for iurypadilha, it's titled "Tifa in secret clothes"...he's also got some other great work. I'm in no way associated with this artist, I just happened across the image...he probably drew it long before I wrote that chapter, and believe me, I know exactly where Schoolgirl!Tifa came from *glares at her muse*


Chapter 11 - Saucers and Spies: Part Deux
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It was early evening when Tifa stirred from her much needed nap. Zack had healed her injuries, but cure materia could only do so much, and the fatigue had set in the second her head hit the pillow. As she stretched and yawned she realized he had left her in the soaked training clothes from their match, an unpleasant feeling to wake up to. Glaring at the slumbering man to her side, she wriggled from his grasp and made her way to the bathroom, stripping off the still damp garments and tossing them near her suitcase as she started a nice warm shower. The hot, clean water was much appreciated as it washed off the slimy feeling that the arena had left on her skin. She was still a bit irked that he pulled a summon on her when she barely had mastered control of her own basic spells, but then again, if he had to resort to one of the most powerful forms of materia combat, she must rank as a force to be reckoned with.

Giggling to herself as she fluffed her hair with a towel, she wrapped another around her body and stepped out of the steam-filled room to find Zack propped up in bed playing some kind of handheld game. He whistled appreciatively at her and shut the game off, tossing it over on the desk as he stood from the bed and made his way to where she stood. Zack's hands immediately went for the towel but she swatted them away, smiling sweetly at him, "The gondola is only open another 2 hours, shouldn't you be getting ready?" He opened his mouth to retort, but realized quickly that she was right. Tifa laughed as he sulked off to the bathroom to take his own shower while she busied herself getting dressed for an actual date that didn't require her masquerading as a prostitute or relative.

When Zack opened the bathroom door he was greeted by a vision of heaven clad in a purple-blue cocktail dress. Tifa had her back turned to him as she leaned over into the mirror to finish applying her makeup. The dress was simple, a strap of fabric looping around her neck and crossing over her breastbone to hold it up and the only accent being a gold chain belt sitting loosely about her hips. She wore her hair down so it fell just past the hem of her dress which stopped just high enough to be considered decent for a public outing. Zack fumbled around and tried to dress himself while keeping his eyes locked on her backside as she swayed in the mirror. His knee collided with the table and he tried to muffle a curse, but she turned around and smirked at his predicament. Pants half-way up, shirt unbuttoned and tie dangling around his shoulders, Zack looked more like a young boy trying to get dressed for church rather than a grown man going out on a date. Tifa slipped her matching blue heels on and stepped over to him, buttoning his shirt and fixing the tie as he secured his pants and belt.

Finally ready, the couple exited the hotel and made their way to the central area where all the various parts of the park were connected. Tifa headed toward the transport tube that would take them to the Round Square but Zack tugged her arm and pulled her in to the Wonder Square tube instead. "Zack, we only have 2 hours until the gondola closes," she reminded him.

He ran a hand through his hair and avoided her gaze, "Well yeah, but I seem to remember promising someone I'd win her a prize at the Wonder Square..."

Tifa smiled and circled her arms around one of his, pulling herself against his side and kissing his cheek lightly, "I thought I lost that bet, though."

"Oh you did," he grinned, "and I fully intend to claim my winnings later. But I'm not a cold-hearted bastard, either. And any chance to show off to a pretty lady..."

The transport stopped and opened into a carnival of neon lights and the metallic clanging of award bells. As they navigated through the rows of gaming machines Zack came upon the arm wrestling station which he took on with little effort, netting them a handful of GP in the process. He pocketed the winnings as Tifa wandered over to the nearby basketball machine. She swiped her pass and grabbed the ball, tossing it in effortlessly over and over as her score rocketed upward. At the end she turned to Zack and proudly handed him the pile of GP she had accumulated. His mouth hung open in shock as she stood there smirking, "I was on the basketball team in high school. You think that uniform you ruined the other night was the only one I wore?"

A few games later, including an impressive performance on the snowboard game by Zack who credited his skills to several missions in the Modeoheim area, Zack had a wallet full of GP and was itching to spend it. They approached the prize window and examined the list, but nothing piqued Tifa's interest. As Zack haggled the price on a piece of materia, a nearby Wonder Catcher caught her eye. She walked over and pressed her hands to the glass, eying up the plush toys within. Noticing his date was missing, Zack turned and found her at the machine, smirking at the magnetic pull stuffed toys seemed to have on girls. He placed a 100 gil coin in the slot and maneuvered the claw for a second before dropping it, nabbing a plush tonberry and dropping it in the prize slot. Tifa's eyes lit up as he made good on his word and handed her the prize which was quickly squeezed against her chest.

With his promise fulfilled, Zack felt it time to continue to their target destination and maneuvered Tifa back over to the transport station. A short tube ride later and they were at the Round Square standing before the towering Gondola Ride. The attendant ushered them into a cabin and closed the door, giving them a moment to be seated before the car lurched forward to allow for another one to be filled. Her heart was starting to beat faster as she seated herself on the bench opposite Zack; she knew why they were there and it was only a matter of time before the clothes came off. Not that she was against sex, at this point there was no way to deny she was addicted to him, but it was more of the location that had her nervous.

The ride started up and she noticed that Zack was more occupied with what was going on outside of the gondola car, rather than what was, or in this case wasn't, going on inside. Her foot tapped nervously on the floor as she smoothed down her dress and clasped her hands on her lap. As the car was half-way up the circle, his face and hands were pressed against the glass as he pointed to the glowing scenery below, "Check it out, you can see the whole Chocobo Racetrack from up here!"

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Are we going to do this or what?"

Mildly shocked, he looked over and she averted her eyes, chewing nervously on her bottom lip like an awkward teenager who had never been kissed. That's when the grin crept up on his face and he decided to have a little fun.

"Impatient, are we? Remember you were the one who stopped me in the hotel room. If you wanted me so bad you should've said so."

A well deserve punch landed on his right bicep as she glared at him, "Don't play innocent with me, Zack. We both know why we're here."

"Ooh, don't I get a 'Mr.' with that?" He chuckled, sliding across the bench to avoid another punch. The gondola car had reached the peak of the circular track, bringing them to the highest point above the Golden Saucer, and that's when Zack flicked his thumb over a piece of green materia. The gondola lurched to a halt, the chocobos on the race track stood still mid-gallop, and the entire world outside their car froze. She looked puzzled for a moment and then gave him a narrow-eyed smirk.

"This is why you weren't concerned about time," she accused.

Shrugging, he replied to her as he loosened his tie, "I make it work for me. Plus as a courtesy to my lovely date, you'll notice our car is suspended at the top, meaning the cars next to us can't see anything up here. And you thought I was all about the voyeurism."

Tifa slid over to his side of the car, the weight shift causing the whole thing to sway slightly. She sat next to him and brought her arms up around his neck, placing a light kiss behind his ear and traveling up his jawline.

"Hey, wasn't I supposed to be the one forcing you into this," he quipped, wrapping his hands around her waist and pulling her over to sit in his lap.

"Shut up, we both knew where this was going," she giggled as his lips teased at her neck. Her head rolled back, allowing him better access and a nice view of her cleavage. Rather than going for the clasp that held her dress up, his hands remained gently around her waist, holding her possessively against his chest as he did nothing more than rest his chin on her shoulder as they gazed over the neon playground below. Tifa's hand fluffed through his spikey hair, a bit puzzled at his lack of enthusiasm, but enjoying their position in a more emotional way.

They remained in the frozen car for several minutes, neither speaking a word, taking the time to enjoy the intimate silence. She could feel his breath on her ear, relaxed and content, and she realized that this was the sort of moment she used to yearn for as a young girl. For all the fighting, sneaking around, lying and hurried liaisons of the past few months, it was all worth it for this one date.

Once the Stop spell wore off, the car abruptly lurched forward, sending them both sprawling to the floor. There was an awkward pause before they both burst into laughter and began untangling themselves to disembark from the ride. Once reseated on the bench, Zack slipped an arm around Tifa's shoulders and pulled her close, resting her head on his shoulder. She smiled up at him, "Thank you, Zack. This has been the best night I've ever had."

Grinning as the car reached the boarding platform, he pulled her to her feet and ushered her out of the gondola before him, whispering in her ear, "It was all worth it for that smile."

The couple walked back through Round Square with the various attractions shutting down for the night. At the transport station he motioned her toward the tube for the hotel. Tifa was still a bit fidgety on the ride over until Zack called her out on it.

"Well, it's just, I figured the purpose of the gondola ride was to...you know...I mean, not that I didn't like just cuddling up there, but knowing you I thought for sure we were gonna-"

Zack cut her off with a quick kiss. "I have to keep you on your toes, don't I? If you were expecting me to jump your bones the second we got in the car, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it? The night is young, Ms. Lockhart, and I'm not done with you yet..."