Chapter 20.5b

In the Case of Tifa…

Tifa couldn't help the smile that was on her face as she cleaned up the bar from her lunch rush. It was like everything that had happened in the past few weeks was just like a bad dream for her and she was finally waking up from it. She was humming softly to herself as moved around counter, cleaning every dish until it shone.

She heard the door to the back of her bar open and she assumed it was one of the children, coming in from playing outside. "I've got some leftovers in the bar if someone promises to help me!" She called, as she reached up to put several of the glasses away. She heard some shuffling and a scuffing of a chair moving across the floor as she had her back turned.

When she turned around she was surprised to see Barret sitting at the bar. Her smile faltered, but in the next second, she was back into hostess mode. "Do you want a drink Barrett? I have some food left over if you are hungry."

He glanced at her and nodded. "Sure, gimme a beer." He replied as she placed a small plate of leftovers in front of him. He grabbed several pretzels and dipped them into the cheese sauce as he watched her.

She opened the beer and poured it for him, all the while still smiling. "So where are Denzel and Marlene?" She asked, trying to making conversation.

Barrett gave a small smile. "Denzel had some money so he took Marlene out for tha day. Kid couldn't talk about nuthin' else the whole damn trip here." He said, with a small laugh, before taking a sip of his beer.

Tifa gave a nonchalant nod as she continued to clean up. "I know why you are here Barrett and I'm just going to tell you, it's not going to work on me. You aren't going to be able to bully me into changing who I date." She said, talking to him as if they were talking about the weather. "Everyone screwed up my life. So I'm just going to say screw it to all of you."

Barrett took another few sips of his beer, but when what she said finally sank in, he ended up spitting half of it out and choking on the other half. "What the hell? The $#!& you talkin' about?" He grabbed a towel and cleaned up his mess.

Tifa just leaned against the bar at him, giving him a sweet smile. "Well Barret Wallace, I am telling you right now, that I am not going to take any of your or your daughters behavior anymore. Neither of you have any right to dictate my life for me. Lest you forget, you own me a lot of favor Barret. So this is me calling in my favor. Whenever you, or any of our friends, see someone from ShinRa, you are going to keep any nasty or rude thoughts to yourselves. You are all going to make nice." She was still talking in that scary calm voice as she stared him in the eyes. "And if I hear from that any interactions don't go completely swimmingly, well, I haven't really figured out what I'll do, but I'm thinking maybe a forced vacation at Gold Saucer until everyone gets along."

Barret's eyes went wide. "You wouldn't…"

She just crossed her arms in front of her chest, and her eyebrows raised ever-so-slightly on her forehead.

"%# !" He muttered, running his hand across his face.

A/N: Hey everyone, look who is back! Thank you again for everyone's help these past couple of days. I do apologize for the delay in getting this story updated. But look! Two chapters in one day! So hopefully, I'll be able to update this story more frequently now, especially since I have gotten over this weird funk involving these next few chapters. Again, thank you everyone! Especially, DotNetDemon and DarkInuPrincess! These chapters are for the two of you!