Heat Wave

The water cascaded down him, soaking his hair and body, and providing much needed relief from the heat outside. Sephiroth stood in the shower and simply relished in the cooling of his skin as his mind drifted out the bathroom and into the bedroom, which currently held the most irritating woman on the Planet.

She probably dumped some poor schmuck and left him to face the humiliation of being stood in front of family and friends, while dealing with the knowledge he had been jilted. Not that it was any of his business of course, what she did was entirely down to her.

Lean and muscular arms were raised to allow the chilly water to drip down his sides, the hitman sighed in contentment when the droplets hit his feet. He needed this, the time out from work, just to get his thoughts away from his last client. Sure, he was a cold hearted bastard when it came to his profession, but at least he had some morals left and killing a teenage girl just wasn’t his thing.

“Poor bitch.” Sephiroth murmured then shrugged. It wasn’t his problem no more. It stopped being his problem the second he left the client standing, in a puddle, and rode off into the proverbial sunset.

Unconsciously, his hand came up to rub the spot on his cheek where Lady kissed him earlier. Her lips had been damp with salted sweat and hot, leaving his skin with a burn he couldn’t quite ignore. She’d be good to relieve some of his tension, but no more. Besides, he thought with a wicked grin, a little workout might get rid of that attitude of hers.

Green eyes rolled heavenward as he wondered exactly what her story was, apart from ditching her man. Hell, he wondered what her name was. He couldn’t keep calling her Lady, now could he? Not that she was gonna be with him for much longer, because she wasn’t. Next town and he’d be rid of her.

*~*~*~*~*

Tifa sighed and stretched out on the large bed, her fingers and toes flexed as tension slowly eased out of her body. There had only been one room left at Corel Inn, but as Sephiroth had rudely stated, at least there was a room which included air conditioning and an en suite bathroom. Grudgingly, she had to admit he was right.

Plus, as she no longer had the luxury of credit cards and money and her trust fund, Tifa would have to learn to take what she could get. Even if it meant spending the night with that man. She never thought her night sleeping with her first man would be with a complete stranger.

“Mmmm.” She hummed happily as she sat up on the soft mattress and began to play with her wedding dress. God, the thing was ugly and uncomfortable, and she hated it with a blinding passion. The lacy frills were unsightly and the corset felt like it had been sprayed on, while the spiked stilettos left her feet aching and feeling swollen. At least she wasn’t getting married no more; she’d put up with a thousand wedding dresses if it meant not having to marry Cloud for the sake of money.

Since the fifty Gil Cloud gave her was needed to pay the man for the ride, Tifa knew she’d have to start thinking of where she was gonna go and what she was gonna do when she got there. A job and place to live were the most important, while clothes and food were close seconds. What was she good at? What did she like to do? What was her destiny in life?

Nothing! That’s what she was good at. Nothing whatsoever. Her life had revolved around a good education and then spending her parents money on whatever it was she wanted. Now she was on her own, Tifa couldn’t think of a single thing she’d ever done that didn’t involve a credit card and shopping weekends at Wutai, or skiing trips to the Northern Islands.

With a moan of defeat, Tifa flopped back down to the bed and slung an arm over her face in an attempt to block out the Planet. She had absolutely no idea what she was doing, never mind what she was going to do. Why hadn’t she just sucked it up and married Cloud? She wouldn’t be in this hopeless situation. She’d been on her merry way to Cosmo Canyon, on a private plane, for a two week honeymoon.

Aeris could have come, too. After all, Cloud would have had someone willing to share the honeymoon suite with him. Tifa thought of sharing a honeymoon suite with Cloud, and shuddered. Maybe it was just as well she left when she did. The thought of even kissing that boy again was enough to make her stomach lurch.

As that thought passed through her brain, she fondly recalled the few times when they’d had no choice but to kiss. Like at Christmas, when they’d accidentally stood under the mistletoe, or Easter when their mothers thought it would be cute to make them dress up as Romeo and Juliet. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Aeris hadn’t genuinely giggled behind her hand the entire time.

Ahh, the good ol days.

Her, Cloud, and Aeris. Getting up to mischief and playing jokes on people, not to mention running off with Mr. Strife’s birthday cake. Tifa sighed as she remembered the cook chasing the three of them for a full hour before giving up and making another. The thought of cake made her stomach rumble. She knew she should have planned her great escape before just doing it.

Next time, she would plan at least a week in advance. Not that there would be a next time of course, no way in hell was Tifa Lockheart ever going to walk down an aisle again. Her stomach rumbled again and louder, eliciting a frustrated groan from her throat. There was no more time to waste, she was hungry and laying around, feeling sorry for herself, wasn’t going to get her any food.

Maybe the inn would let her help out and give her a day’s wage for it. If they did, Tifa knew she could make that day’s wage last until her ride took her to the next town. Speaking of her ride…

The wedding dress made it awkward to get up from the bed and the lack of heels made the hem almost trip her up as she trudged to the bathroom door. Lightly rapping on the door and hollering “Hey mister. What are you doing in there? Building the shower?”

Tifa got no answer, so she knocked harder and louder. “Mister!” Her knuckles battered the weak wood.

Still, she got no answer. She grabbed the door handle and pushed, but found the lock was in perfect working order. If there was one thing Tifa Lockheart wasn’t, it was a quitter, and if there was one thing Tifa Lockheart hated, it was being ignored.

“Hey!” This time, she knocked relentlessly. “Excuse me!” More knocking. “I’m here, you know!” Knock. Knock. Knock. “Open up!”

The door was flung open to reveal a very naked and very wet man. Stunned to speechlessness, Tifa’s breath lodged in her throat as her crimson eyes roamed the lean figure now standing in front of her. He had beautifully pale and flawless skin; his face was etched with elegant lines and set with a pair of green eyes that seemed to penetrate her soul. His jaw was defiantly set, while his nose was a little too long, it suited him perfectly.

Silver hair hung around his face, resting on broad and contoured shoulders, while muscular arms were folded across a well built chest. Crystal droplets trickled slowly down his torso, leading her eyes down his torso. Pectoral muscles rippled and flexed under his flesh, the sculptured form his stomach rose and fell with every inhalation, Tifa went further down. His waist was trim and hips were just like the rest of him, perfectly formed and muscular.

Decorating the base of his pelvis was a thatch of dark curls which had her blinking and swallowing, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. An eyebrow rose high as he smirked, taking full advantage of her study of him. The lust glazing her eyes was apparent and undisguised, and Sephiroth shifted his body so she could see every inch of him.

Tifa brought a fingertip to her lips and nibbled, her attention glued to the way he firmed to his fullest proportions. The rounded tip touched his stomach and glistened, making her mouth water and tongue itch to taste him. A hand closing round her wrist and bringing her further into the bathroom jolted her out of the trance, yet she was helpless as he pushed her under the still running shower.

The shriek of surprise and rage had Sephiroth chuckling happily as he rubbed his hands together, never once removing his gaze from the pretty brunette as she got soaked by freezing cold water. His chuckle swiftly turned to deep and throaty laughter, and then belly aching hilarity.

Her long chestnut hair clung to her face and closely resembled a helmet, while her dress hugged her body like a second skin. Mascara and make-up streaked, leaving her with a good set of black eyes and odd coloured flesh. She glared at him through enraged crimson orbs for a moment or two before her lower lip popped out into an incredibly sized put and began to wobble.

Slowly, Sephiroth’s hearty laughter died at down at the threat of tears and his hands came up in defence. “Oh no you don’t.” Men in general were useless when faced with a crying female, but when it came to him? He’d rather walk through a thousand supernovas than deal with that .

“J-Just look at me!” Tifa stuttered and slammed clenched fists by her sides. “I’m soaking wet.” That descriptor was an understatement, she was sure she looked like a drowned chocobo. “As if I haven’t had enough to deal with today, I’m now stuck with a poor excuse for a gentleman like you.”

“Listen Lady, I’m no gentleman.” The hitman stepped forward to look the girl directly in her eyes. “You asked for a shower. I gave you one.” He never had been to beat around the bush, why start now? “Besides,” he added with a sly smile, “You seemed to need a cold one.”

Before the girl could say anything to that, Sephiroth winked and left her too her own devices.

*~*~*~*~*

“Good afternoon, room service?”

“I need some extra towels and food sending to room 12.”

“What would you like to eat, sir.”

She probably ate some form of salad or something disgustingly healthy. Tough. If she was gonna be living in his pockets until the next town, she’d damn well eat what he did. “Two chocobo steaks, medium rare, with a side order of fries.”

“Would you li…”

Sephiroth hung up halfway the desert sell and resumed drying his hair, all the while training his ears to the sound of muffled curses interrupting her teary eyed tantrum. No doubt he’d get it when she came out, but never mind. A furious female was always a sight for sore eyes, especially when they were dangerously curved and well endowed with full and perky breasts.

He heard the shower get turned off and dumped the towel over a chair, easily ignoring the slight mess it made. He rubbed the back of his aching neck with a hand and eased the kinks in his muscles. A good lie down was just what he needed right now, and with that thought, the hitman covered half the bed as he sprawled out and relaxed while waiting for the food to arrive.

The mattress was a bit too soft for him, but at least it was a proper mattress and not a dusty hardwood floor. He guessed he was too used to the ways of his lifestyle to appreciate a luxury like a cosy inn room, soft mattress, or working shower. He had money, that was never the problem, but his profession needed cover that only living ‘underground’ could give. That was the reason he never moved out of Midgar the second his bank balance reached five zeros.

Midgar was definitely the slum of the Planet, no matter which part of town you lived in. If you needed something on the black market, that’s where you could get it. If you needed a hitman, that’s where you could find one. If you needed to hide from Shinra, that’s where you could do it. Unless your name was Sephiroth, then you could do what you wanted, where you wanted.

The bathroom door flung wide open and snapped him out of his thoughts; Sephiroth sat up and smirked at the brunette, fully enjoying being the object of her hateful glaring. She stood there, in nothing but a towel that reached her thighs, and wedding dress clenched in small fists. She looked incredibly delicious. “Have fun?”

Tifa didn’t hesitate in making her feelings known. “How dare you do that to me?” A wet and discarded heavy wedding dress was thrown at him in a mass of lace and satin. She stomped up to the edge of the bed and slammed her hands on hips, still glaring hellfire and brimstone at the hitman. “I left my best friend, who was supposed to be my husband, at the alter. I’ve probably been cut off from my trust fund. I have no money, no friends, and no place to go.”

“Don’t you think I’ve gone through enough today, without having to put up with your childish games?”

Sephiroth battled with the wedding dress, a firm frown set on his face as he shoved the thing off the bed. Her words went unheard; he was too busy staring down at the overly lavish white heap on the floor. “This is what you chose to wear?” God, it was nothing less than monstrous.

She blinked and her mouth opened once more, then closed, and then opened. “Excuse me?” Didn’t he realise she was yelling at him? “What? No! I wouldn’t willingly choose something like that. For a start, the stitching is all wrong. It’s not even double stitching. And don’t even get me started on the lace. If I’d had my way, it would have been a Vermillion original.” At the thought of a Vermillion original, Tifa lost all care about making him pay, and set about daydreaming of such a thing.

Sephiroth had never heard of a Vermillion original and nor did he care about double stitching. “A Vermillion original. How sweet.”

“But my mom said traditional is what a bride has got to wear on her wedding, not a slinky piece of nothing that would make me look like a Honeybee.”

Now slinky pieces of nothing he knew about and was helpless to stop the visions of the well endowed brunette in such a thing. The hitman lay back on the bed and supported his weight with his elbows, an eyebrow arched as he purposely looked the girl over. She’d definitely do leather justice. Perhaps a Vermillion original would be worth researching.

Yet again, Tifa was rendered speechless as she watched the man openly roam her body and she unconsciously tugged the towel tighter round her. When those green eyes of his stopped just below her neck and those lips of his furled up, a red haze clouded her vision, and she did what any offended young lady would do.

Her foot petulantly stomped on the floor, but as she was shoeless, a stinging pain shot up her leg and she hopped on the spot. Sephiroth struggled with all his willpower not to give in and laugh outright at her. “You dirty old man,” Tifa seethed through gritted teeth. “Y-y-you…”

“Pervert?” He helpfully offered, all the while fighting to keep the forming grin off his face.

“Yes! Perverted. That’s what you are. Sick and twisted. Not right up here…” A slender finger twirled around her temple. “Touched. Stone cold insane. Not forgetting perverted.”

“Oh, how she forgets.” He stated in a serene voice as he glanced towards the ceiling, the smile he’d been fighting now fully worked its way up until it spread from ear to ear. He hadn’t had this much fun with a woman in a long time. “You’re the pervert Lady. Couldn’t take those pretty red eyes of yours off me half hour ago. You were eating me up.”

Tifa’s face burned a fiery cherry red and suddenly the pain in her leg was all forgotten about. “No I was not.” The defiance and defence lacing her voice had her speaking in an accent that only came from the very posh areas of places like Costa del Sol and Junon Harbour.

“No I was not.” Sephiroth mimicked before he sighed; he pushed himself upright and simply looked at her. “Lady, I know I’m a handsome devil, and I know when I get luscious women wet. Believe me, you got wet. Come to think of it…” His expression turned thoughtful. “I don’t think we should share a room. Can’t have you taking advantage while I’m asleep.”

Her cheeks were now the colour if ripened plums as rage caused steam to come out of her ears. “How dare you suggest I would do something like that? I’ll have you know I’m a respectable young lady. If anything, I should be worried about you.”

He didn’t deny it. “That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said all day. Congratulations.” Sephiroth paused and got off the bed, the sound of footsteps outside their room signalled the arrival of food. Finally, his stomach growled out, relief. A quick leer over his shoulder told him the brunette was probably not going to be speaking to him for some time.

“Well?” If they were going to share the room, then he couldn’t have her sulking in a darkened corner like a kid who’d lost their ice cream.

“Well what?” He didn’t need to be looking at her to know she was pouting.

“Food. If you want some, you can come and get it yourself.”

Tifa gasped at the thought of going to the door in nothing but a towel. “I can’t! The servant might be worse than you with the lecherous leers.”

“Servant?” Sephiroth slowly turned away from the door so he could see her face. She really had said servant, yes? “Servant?” Then he began to get an idea of her life. A little rich girl who had servants, a whipped set of parents who bought her anything she wanted, and an endless amount of money which ensured she had every bit of comfort life could give. She was probably the type of girl who cried over a broken nail or a bad hair day.

Great, he was stuck with a spoilt brat. Just fucking great. Still, the spoilt brat did have all the right parts in all the right places. Maybe a good rut around in the dark would do her some good after all.

Sephiroth glared at her and stopped her very educational explanation of the word servant. She may have been used to being waited on hand and foot at home, but she wasn’t there now. “You either come get it yourself, or it gets taken back to the kitchen and dumped outside for the pretty little birdies.”

“Can’t you get it?”

“What do I look like to you? A Goddamn waiter?” His lips flickered into a smirk, “A servant?”

Red eyes dangerously narrowed and her mouth formed a thin line, a breath was exhaled sharply through nostrils and teeth ground so hard, her jaw ached. Slowly, the anger faded and was replaced by a calmness that made Sephiroth wary. “Why don’t you sit your little self down, and I’ll fetch our dinner, hmm? After all, it’s the least I can do for your kindness to me.”

She’d show him who could get food.

No matter how hard a woman tried, they never had anything innocent planned when they looked like that. He watched as she swished and swayed her way to the bedroom door, silence cloaked her as she waited patiently for the knock to come. When it finally came, Tifa opened it wide and greeted the busboy.

“Hey there.” She’d had enough practice in pretend flirting with Cloud, that Tifa found it easy to slip into feigned attraction. Not that it was completely feigned, for the young guy was kinda cute, in a very sweet way. His falling glasses were pushed up by a skinny finger and he offered her a shy but extremely polite smile.

Despite her back to him, Sephiroth could see the lip licking accompanying the sultry voice. Didn’t she have any idea how much trouble she couldn’t get into by doing that?

There was a snorted giggle. “Y-you ordered food and extra towels, Mrs…?” The busboy peered round her to see the hitman in the place Tifa left him.

“That’s Miss.” This time, the rising steam came from Sephiroth’s ears as he watched her move her body and twirl her hair. No doubt she was flashing a stunning smile and luring the boy into her web.

“No boyfriend?” The busboy enquired, the hope ringing in his voice had Sephiroth choking on his own vomit. He was ashamed of his species.

“Nuh-uh.” From the motions of her arm, the hitman just knew she was tracing the swell of cleavage and the kid was probably on the verge of coming in his pants. “You have a girlfriend?” He couldn’t believe her audacity. She had the nerve to call him insane, when she was certifiable.

There was another snorted giggle and Sephiroth could well imagine the poor kid was turning ten shades of red. He made a mental note to send a sympathy card.

“Really? You’re unattached?” The beaming smile was back in her voice and he slapped a hand across his forehead, dragging his palm all the way down his face. “I don’t think that’s possible, not for a cutie like you.”

This time, there was a choking guffaw and a shy little giggle that made Sephiroth itch to put the poor kid out of his misery. Having had enough of her tormenting innocent young males, he moved to stand behind her, and possessively placed his hand on her shoulder. His fingers squeezed her supple muscle hard and silently warned her to shut the fuck up.

When he saw the boy she was flirting with, he had to bite back the laughter before it bubbled up. He was no more than fifteen, with glasses, and acne. His hair was black and kind of scruffy, while the uniform he wore appeared two sizes too big. The pitiable schmuck was probably working a Saturday job to help out his loving parents.

“As much as I’m enjoying the in-house entertainment. I’m hungry. Thanks for bringing it to my mistress and I. We appreciate it. Now scram.” There was enough bite in Sephiroth’s gruff voice to make the busboy shake at the knees.

“T-the towels are on the bottom of the cart S-sir. Thank y-you for using room service. The b-bill will be payable at the e-end of your stay.” With that, the boy scuttled away and left Sephiroth to deal with a highly annoyed Tifa Lockheart.

She was so sick of his rude and arrogant behaviour, that she was determined to let him have it.