Chapter Text
Sitting in Rinoa's favorite café diner, Tifa and Rinoa were chatting away, laughing and gossiping about their respective partners as they sipped their favorite drinks. Tifa had a simple coffee with milk and a little sugar, while Rinoa drank a colorful concoction that looked more like a milkshake than a coffee, complete with whipped cream and sprinkles. The two girls giggled as Tifa spoke.
"Cloud was always a bit of a loner. He never hung out with us when we were kids," she said, smiling slightly at the fond memories.
Rinoa giggled. "At least he's just awkward now. Squall still IS a loner," she said, taking a sip. "On the outside, at least. He's a big softie on the inside, but he'll never let you know it."
Tifa gave a softer giggle. "That makes two of them."
The two continued like this for a while. During the conversation, an idea clicked in Rinoa's head. She nearly slammed her glass onto the table as she stood up.
"I got it!" she shouted, much to the dismay and confusion of the other customers. With an awkward smile and an apologetic nod to those now staring, she sat back down and leaned toward Tifa.
"Let's swap! I'll go on a date with Cloud dressed as you. And you go on a date with Squall dressed as me!" she said, a playful, mischievous glint shining in her azure eyes.
Tifa blinked, her crimson eyes filling with doubt. Thinking about all the energy she'd have to keep up all day, and the fact that Cloud would be out having a nice time with another girl... it made her want to crawl into a hole right then and there.
"Ah... I don't know..." she said half-heartedly.
But Rinoa didn't let up. "Come on, it'll be fun! Everyone always says we look alike anyway. They won't know what hit them!"
Tifa took a moment, leaning back against her chair. She shut her eyes to ponder. Rinoa going on a date with Cloud... she didn't seem to be doing it to actually be with him, but just for the pure fun of pranking him. The thought put Tifa's mind at ease a bit. She also had to admit, even if only to herself, that there was a small part of her that actually liked the idea of going on a date with Squall.
But that would mean wearing Rinoa's clothes. Worse yet, it meant Rinoa would have to wear hers. Opening her eyes, Tifa analyzed Rinoa's outfit, then looked down at her own and frowned. She had never really thought about her clothes much, given that in her world, you just wore what you could. Everyone lived in poverty. While perfectly clean, her clothes were definitely well-worn.
Still, she just couldn't say no to the puppy-dog eyes Rinoa was giving her. It made her smile, and she hid her lips behind a sip of her coffee.
"...I guess one night couldn't hurt," Tifa finally said.
Rinoa threw her arms up and cheered in excitement. "Yay!" she shouted, once again to the dismay of the other customers. Another awkward laugh and another apologetic nod followed.
And so, weeks were spent preparing for this. They bought colored contacts to match each other's eyes. Tifa flatly refused to let Rinoa use her usual tank top and suspenders, pulling out the purple dress from her time dealing with Don Corneo instead. Rinoa gasped at it, giggling excitedly as she grabbed it. The skirt length was incredibly short, which Rinoa made sure to tease Tifa about. Tifa just blushed and smiled a bit, happy the outfit was finally being used for something much more fun.
Finally, the night arrived. The two girls stood before the mirror, making minor adjustments to their hair and clothes. The transformation was complete. Tifa was now wearing Rinoa's classic white dress from the ballroom dance with Squall, and Rinoa was wearing Tifa's sexy purple dress.
Unfortunately, they ran into one problem. While Rinoa's ballroom dress did a decent enough job of pressing against Tifa's chest that it could pass for Rinoa's size - provided Squall didn't pay too close attention - Rinoa's chest didn't exactly fill out the purple dress the same way Tifa's did. With a pout, Rinoa ended up padding her chest to make the look work.
Rinoa turned to Tifa, who finally seemed to be getting into the spirit of things, humming softly as she finished fixing her hair. Ignoring the chest difference issue, they now looked exactly like one another. Rinoa smirked playfully.
"Alright! Remember. I'm you. You're me."
"Right. Any tips?"
Rinoa nodded. "If you have an impulse to do something, do it."
Tifa frowned slightly at such a vague hint, which did nothing but push her further out of her comfort zone. But it was only a small frown, quickly replaced by the playful excitement of the prank settling in. She nodded.
"And remember, you have to be calm. No random outbursts."
"Calm," Rinoa repeated, almost more to herself than to Tifa. "I can do calm."
"Can you?"
"...Sure!" Rinoa said with a bright smile.
Tifa laughed a bit. This was going to be awful.