I walked into the nicest restaurant I had seen in my life. The floor was white and black tile, patterened like a chessboard, the tables and every surface in sight was smooth and scratch-free. The place had an overall air of cleanliness to it - Somewhere even Tseng would dare visit for food. I inwardly scowled at the Mako-powered bulbs overhead, giving everything a very slight blue hint to it. Glancing around I noticed a red-haired Turk, obviously smashed, look up out of mild interest, then make friends with the table he sat infront of. His bald friend took a small sip of his drink. It was then that our waitress interrupted my thoughts.
"Hello! My name is Taela, I'll be your server this evening. Table for three?" she smiled, picking up our menus for us. She was wearing a loose pale blue shirt with her sleeves rolled up and the cleanest white apron I've ever seen. Her auburn hair was pulled back in a lazy bun with some loose curls hanging from it.
"Yes ma'am." My raven-haired Soldier friend chirped.
She took us to a booth not too far from the Turks' table and passed out our menus and utensils. "So, can I start you off with a round of drinks?"
"Just a soda is fine." My silver-haired escort ordered, not looking up from the menu he now scoured.
"Do you have strawberry milkshakes?" I asked. She nodded. "I'd like one of those please."
"I want the strongest drink you have in the house!" The waitress' smile widened at Zack's enthusiasm. I let out a nervous giggle. Sephiroth's shoulders sank, with a clear 'It's gunna be one of those nights' look painted on his face.
"And are you ready to order some appetizers, or should I give you a minute?" she asked.
"Actually, I wouldn't mind a garden salad."
"And what dressing would you like?"
"Wutaian."
"Alright. And for you gentlemen?"
"We're fine, thank you." Zack looked like he was going to say something, but Sephiroth cut him off short.
Taela smiled once more before scurrying off to fetch our drinks. After a moment Zack set down his own menu. He was looking at the steaks. "So, that's an interesting choice for a salad dressing." It was a pretty sad attempt at starting a conversation, but I smiled and decided to try and help him out a bit.
"It's an acquired taste. A friend of mine got me into it. It's very spicy."
After his about eighth or ninth round, Zack finally collapsed onto the table. Sephiroth nudged him a couple times before stating openly. "Yep. He's out." I giggled, still a bit nervous. "Uhm, Aeris, mind if I sit next to you while he's like this?"
"Uh, sure."
"Thanks." I moved further into the booth to make some room for him to sit. "It's just that, while he's passed out, he'll randomly lash out with his hands. You see, once I was sitting next to him, he unconsciously reached up and grabbed my hair, then slammed my face into the table."
"Oh my goodness!"
"Bastard broke my nose."
Taela came up behind us then, resting her arm on the back of the booth and wheeling around. "Are you guys- Oh my, is he going to be okay??"
"He'll be fine, he just needs a minute."
"Can I get him anything?"
"If he gets up before we leave, he'll have a coffee. Black."
"Alright. Now, you two; would you like to see our dessert menu?"
Sephiroth looked over at me. "Oh, I'm fine thanks." I said.
"Me too. Could we get the bill?"
"Sure thing. Would you like to seperate it into different cheques, or...?"
"One bill please, we'll figure it out in the morning."
She nodded and scurried off towards the bar to print off our bill. Sephiroth noticed this too. "Huh. She could've gone to her other tables first, there's really no hurry."
"It's probably because you're a celebrity." I provided.
"I never asked to be."
In a moment she was back. "Here you are!" Sephiroth took the paper from her and looked it over briefly. I noticed the number at the bottom was a fair amount, then scoured my bag for my money. When I looked up she was thanking him profusely.
"Do you mind if we just sit here for a while, or do you need the table?"
"N-no no, stay as long as you like! Thank you!"
"Don't worry about it. Shinra pays me too much anyway."
After thanking him several times more, she excused herself to go to her other tables. "Uh, thank you for that, though I could pay you back-"
"No, don't worry about it."
"So... About not wanting to be a celebrity."
"I swear by the ancients, sometimes I wish I could just dissapear from the public."
"Hey, we could go switch clothes! Nobody would ever recognise us."
He openly laughed at that, and didn't stop for a full minute. "Sorry, but there is no way I'm going anywhere in a dress, least of all a pink one. I'll leave that for someone more secure in his manhood, thank you."
Just then Zack's left hand reached out at the air to where Sephiroth's head would be had he not moved, then fell to the table. Sephiroth's hand reflexively jumped to his nose as his silver eyebrows met in a clearly annoyed expression. I laughed, then involuntarily yawned. I drank the remnants of my milkshake to keep myself awake.
"Tired?"
"Just a little."
He looked over at the clock. "It's almost eleven. Do you want me to take you home?"
"I'm okay to stay a bit longer if you like."
"Won't your mother worry?"
"Oh, Elmyra's not my mother, and I stay out late all the time. She worries, but she'll get over it."
"She's not your mother? Who is she then, a roommate?"
"No no, see... I was orphaned when I was really young."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's ok. Elmyra took me home and adopted me. She's my 'mother' relationship-wise, in that she takes care of me, but I don't call her that out of respect for my real mother."
"I guess I can understand that."
A yawn took me by surprise again, and was shared by Sephiroth. I leaned back and I didn't understand how cramped it was with him next to me until I found his arm behind me. I guess he took it as a sign to snuggle or something, because he awkwardly took me by the shoulder and pulled me to lean on his chest. We stayed like that for hours.
"Are you sure you don't need any help?"
"I'm fine. I carry him home like this all the time. Consider it strength training."
Sephiroth had managed to haul Zack's unconscious body onto his back.
"Geez, you train all the time? When do you get out?"
"When Zack drags me by the hair." He gave the slightest traces of a smile. He paused for a moment, considering something, before finally saying. "Hey, sorry if I bored you tonight. I'm... not the most social creature."
"No no it's okay, I had fun." I smiled my best and linked arms with him. We then walked past a large house with an open backyard and an inground pool clearly visible. "Hey, speaking of fun... Come here."
"Hmm?"
I gently pulled him by the arm in the desired direction and showed him my find. "Put him down, I'll grab his legs and we'll swing him into it."
"So we're going to throw him bodily into some stranger's pool."
"Yes."
"Something Zack would do to me in a heartbeat."
"Of course!" I beamed.
"It's genius." He grinned the most charming and tastefully malicious grin I've ever seen.
Sephiroth let him down, and I grabbed Zack by the ankles. On a count of three, and a large splash later, we had a very soggy Zack gripping the edge of the pool screaming "I'm sober! I'm sober!!"
"And you owe me for dinner." Sephiroth stood towering over Zack at the edge of the pool, arms folded, a very contented smirk crossing his face.
