Sephiroth grabbed his mug full of ale and took a long gulp from it. He took advantage now that it covered his face to take a long look at her. To say that she was beautiful, was an understatement. The pallor of her skin reminded him of the moon— so bright and so smooth. Not that he'd had the privilege of running his hands over it, of course. Her dark raven hair cascading down her back, was most days tied down by a rubber band, but not today. No, today she had let it wild and loose making her look even more ethereal. He'd never understood why a girl as gorgeous as her would choose to work in a bar full of all kinds of men. He wasn't one of them though. Sure, he came to drink and have fun, but he never crossed the line. Never would he have so much to drink that he lost control over himself. And that was the biggest difference between them.

Realizing he had already finished his drink, Sephiroth put the mug on the table by the far corner of the local where he sat. He was a regular at the bar. Never talked much to anyone, except for the occasional nod or shake whenever anyone asked him a question. Come to think of it, the only person who ever mustered the courage to address him was her, and he would bet all his money that she did so if only to do her work and get a few gils extra.

His reputation preceded him. Everybody knew who they were. He and his brother that is. It had something to do with the fact that they were both SOLDIER First Class. And a lot to do with that incident a few months ago. It got them both suspended for three weeks. Director Lazard had said that what they'd both done deserved immediate expulsion, but the company couldn't afford to lose two of their key and most important members. Even less both at the same time. He had no regrets though. The bastard deserved it.

"Still don't have the guts to go talk to her?"

Sephiroth shrugged placing his arms on top of the table and leaning against them.

"Stay out of my business, Angeal."

"Whatever you say. I thought I'd give a little push to help. Where's Cloud?"

He shrugged again, much to Angeal's annoyance. Instead of bothering to give him another word, which would no doubt receive yet another mindless shrug, Angeal shook his head. His friend would never change, but that didn't mean he had to give up. He took one glance at Sephiroth who met his gaze. Noticing the playful gleam in Angeal's eyes, Sephiroth furrowed his eyebrows a little.

"Angeal, don't." A warning and a silent threat laced his voice.

Angeal turned his head towards the bar, where—oh, no—Tifa stood. "Waitress!"

Sephiroth's eyes shot daggers towards Angeal. He would've throttled him were it not for the lady already on her way towards them.

"Hello! What can I get you two?" She smiled with the same enthusiasm she did every day at work while her eyes went from him to Angeal and over again.

"I'd like a beer, please. Oh, and a burger with fries."

"Mhm, anything else?" Both of their eyes turned to Sephiroth. Angeal's teasing and taunting along with a smirk and Tifa's questioning. Gods, were her eyes stunning.

"Same," he answered. Not because that was what he really wanted, but because he couldn't think of anything else to say with her eyes focused on him.

"Okay," drew Tifa while she scribbled both orders down, "would that be all?"

"Yes. That would be all, thank you," answered Sephiroth. He did it quickly before Angeal could even think of saying something stupid again. He gave her a smile, small as it was but Angeal noticed it. He placed a hand against his mouth to hide the growing grin he was giving Sephiroth. He had no idea how or why many thought his seemingly stoic friend was unreadable and expressionless. when in reality if only people looked close enough you could read him like an open book.

Once the waitress turned and started her way back towards the bar, Angeal couldn't help but follow where his friend's gaze lingered on her lower back.

"No wonder why you like to spend so much time here," mused Angeal out loud shaking his head.

Sephiroth broke from his trance. "What do you want, Angeal?"

"Wow, five words. That's a new record, you know," teased Angeal. Before he could explain himself, both men caught on Tifa's steps towards them.

"Here you go," Tifa placed both beers in front of them. "The burgers will come out in only a few more minutes. Let me know if you need anything else."

Sephiroth pinned Angeal down with his eyes causing the later to scoff out a laugh.

"What? Oh, don't give me that look. You're the one who's asking for it. It doesn't take an experienced scientist to connect the dots. You like her! Why don't you ask her out?"

"No." There was no way on this planet he was going to ask her that question. She worked on a bar, for gods' sake! He doubted she didn't receive the question on daily basis. Besides, what could she possibly want to do with a guy like him? When it came down to it, there was nothing of real worth he could offer a woman. Especially one like her.

"Are you serious?"

"Very." He took a sip of his beer. "Have you talked to Genesis lately?"

"No. Have you?"

Sephiroth shook his head. "Mm-mm. Last time I did, he was acting strange."

"Of course he was. He's Genesis. He doesn't exactly fit the description of normal."

"I resent that."

Both men turned to see their friend, and their current topic of conversation, standing right behind them with his arms crossed. He shook his red coat off and placed it neatly over the back of the chair.

"Thought you said you hadn't talked to him lately."

"I hadn't," defended Angeal.

"So, you were talking about me," said Genesis as he took a seat.

"No."

"Yes," corrected Angeal. "Well, it was more like wondering what you've been up to. Thought you were M.I.A. How did you know we were here?" It was a discreet question from a friend concerned.

"Everyone knows, if Sephiroth's not in his office, he's in here. And if you're not with the puppy, then you're with him," Genesis so explained.

"What have you been up to?" Sephiroth changed the subject before his other friend could make another comment on his plain obvious fancy towards the dark haired lady.

"I had to go home to solve some issues with the old man."

"Is he alright?"

"He's dead." Sephiroth and Angeal's ears perked up at the cold revelation. "He had a heart attack."

"Sorry to hear that," offered Sephiroth as condolences.

"Why didn't you tell us? We could've gone with you to Banora." After all, wasn't that what friends were for?

"Yeah, I know, but I wanted to go alone. The old man and I weren't close, so it really didn't mean much. I went back for my mother more than anything."

"I see," replied Sephiroth.

"Anyways, I could use a drink. Who's inviting?"

Sephiroth wasted no time in answering. "I'm sure Angeal would love to invite us both." He took out some gil to pay for his part and to leave a rather generous tip for the lady. He turned to Angeal as he stood. "Make sure Genesis doesn't steal the change."

"And what makes you think I would?" asked Genesis somewhat offended.

"Just don't."

"Hey, bring Cloud next time. Zack has been pestering me with questions about why we don't ever invite them to come with us."

"Sure." He doubted his brother would like this environment, but he was not about to explain that to his friends. "See you back at HQ."

And with that he left, but not before throwing one last glance at her. She was standing behind the bar talking to a smaller girl about something that brought a smile to her lips. Beautiful, he thought. And as if he had called out her name out loud with his thoughts, she slipped her eyes to him. She widened her smile in turn for him, and though he was almost entirely sure she did that to everyone else, he couldn't help but think that there was something else he couldn't identify in her eyes. He dipped his head a little in acknowledgement offering her one of his rare gentle smiles. One especially designed for her.

"I still can't believe he still hasn't asked you out!"

Tifa let out a sigh. "He has quite the long line of women waiting for him. Probably even throwing themselves at him. There's no way or reason why a man of his profession might be interested in little old me."

The younger girl opened her eyes in disbelief. "You're kidding me, right? The only thing that general does every time he comes here is look at you. The rest of the time, he's looking for a way to not be so obvious."

"Oh, please. Exaggerating things has always been a bad habit of yours, Yuffie." She really didn't want to get her hopes up for nothing. Besides, it was not a rare sight to catch a man down here checking her out. She was fit and all, not to mention her breast tended to catch all the attention. Who was to say that the Silver General was the exception? Still, she could do no better than to hope that what Yuffie said had some percent of truth.