fic: don't touch, back up (final fantasy VII)

Title: Don't Touch, Back Up
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Characters: Tifa Lockhart, Rude
Pairing: Tifa Lockhart/Rude
Rating: Teen
AO3 Tags: Pre-Relationship, Drunkenness, Language, Pre-Canon, Final Fantasy VII Remake compliant
Summary: Being a bartender sometimes means having to take out the trash.

Notes: Written for Tifa Week 2020 on tumblr, with the prompt: "Don’t think that I’m not strong. I’m the one to take you on. Don’t underestimate me boy, I’ll make you sorry you were born." - don’t call me baby by madison avenue

Tifa rolled her eyes. Every night, there was always someone like Ralphie. Usually a man who thought they deserved something more than they could get, whether that was another drink or something from Tifa herself. At first, it used to bother her, this constant onslaught of unfavorable attention. She wasn’t stupid - she dressed the way she did in order to attract these sort of men. Not for her own personal gain, but because it brought customers to Seventh Heaven and it earned her better tips. Plus, she couldn’t lie - it was easy to kick ass in this skirt, too.

This wasn’t the life she pictured when she finally left Nibelheim, but fate worked in mysterious ways. Tifa was still here, still breathing. And nothing Ralphie said would earn him a second drink.

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