A.N. This is very important. Like, more important than when I normally say something is important. This is a collaboration, and it is currently unfinished. The very first sentence (yes we're that specific) was written by the ever-fabulous Sakura-Angel2. Hopefully, we'll be getting more from her later. Everything after that but BEFORE the first break in the story, not after these notes (the OoOoOoO) was written by the lovely, the talented, Wrexsoul. Everything after THAT was written by yours truly. The title is that of a song by Billy Joel. Look up the lyrics if you don't know them—I'm sure you'll see they're very fitting. The title is also subject to change, as is about everything XD But enough of that nonsense.

No one owns anything except Square-Enix. Get used to it—I have.

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He sat sullenly at the sandy counter under the flapping orange and yellow flags. The monotonous tide at this crowded beach mirrored the overcast sky that loomed overhead, thinning clouds like smoke giving some faint and false hope of the sun breaking through.

The detachment was plain on Reno's face and plainer in the uninviting slump of his shoulders as he hunched over the counter, his hand loosely wrapped around his drink.

Looking to his right, he watched in morbid curiosity as yet another scantily clad beach bunny arrived to pick up her own alcoholic beverage, which was a shade of blue so scarily bright that it led Reno to believe it had been prepared with antifreeze.

He diverted his attention, numbly trying to contemplate his vacation choice in the annoying commotion of this overcrowded bar. The humidity was unbearable as it was; he did not need to be surrounded by scores of people who did not respect his personal space. What's more, he was quickly reminded that there was nothing that sand couldn't get into or onto... and all the men on this beach -- every single one of them -- were wearing Speedos.

Looking out over the dull ocean horizon, Reno's expression turned from glowering boredom into insufferable blankness. Why was he here again?

No, he quickly decided. He knew Costa del Sol was better than this... he was just in the wrong place. There was no use regretting his vacation, he simply had yet to make it worthwhile.

Reno would have loved to thank the bartender personally for the sandy beer, but instead slapped a couple gil on the counter and eased his way into nearby pedestrian traffic. It was then, somewhere in the busy torrent of people that a little girl ran straight into him.

The impact was unexpected, and Reno gave a little grunt. The girl apologized, to which he scowled and tried to move past her. But she remained in his path, looking up at him with wide, brown eyes, something worrying the barricade for emotion behind them, of what threatened to spill through at any second.

"I'm lost," she told him with almost shy helplessness.

Reno stared back, half in disbelief of what he was hearing, and half in general uncertainty of how to react. "Er... okay..." he said for lack of anything more profound.

The little child won her earnest staring contest. "I'm really, really lost..."

Sighing shortly, Reno found he was growing more annoyed by the second. He looked around, hoping for somebody, anybody else who had noticed. It was just his luck that he of all people would be singled out by some lost kid. If he could meet her parents, he'd tell them they were horrible and they needed to buy a leash. "Look, why don't you just ask--"

"I miss my Aunt T-Ti... Ti..." The little girl had to pause, trying to muster her courage, but it failed her and her slight frame gave; her eyes fell shut as her chin crinkled and her mouth opened, and she finished her last wailing syllable: "…faaaaaa...!"

OoOoOoOoO

It had been early morning when Marlene arrived at Costa del Sol. Tifa hadn't been expecting her so soon, but she was glad to see her again: it felt like ages since she had seen a familiar face. However, she had been occupied with her newly acquired business and Marlene, as much as Tifa had hated to admit it, was really more of a nuisance than a source of help. She was too small to help carry anything, and her constant questioning about a certain man she had been trying not to think about wasn't making her work any easier. Luckily for Tifa, Marlene had spotted a few children her age kicking a soccer ball around just outside the door. She ran to the window to get a better look, and then turned to Tifa hopefully.

"Tifa can I go play outside?" She asked. Tifa smiled ruefully: it was really only a matter of time before Marlene got bored. What interest would a girl her age have in an empty bar?

"Sure," Tifa said, "as long as you don't go too far," she warned. "I'll make us some lunch, okay? I'll call you when it's ready."

"Okay. Thanks, Tifa!" Marlene said, excitedly running through the door. Tifa sighed and shook her head. Kids are easy to please. Not that it made any difference to her. She needed a break and stopping to make lunch was starting to sound pretty good.

When it was finished, she went outside to find Marlene, just as she had told the little girl she would. She scanned the horizon for a flash of pink but found nothing. This isn't good. She thought hard, frowning. Barret would KILL me if I lost her. Marlene had been in Tifa's care, and if something happened to her, it'd be her fault. Until she could be sure Marlene was all right, she'd have to prepare herself to accept the blame. But there was no use in panicking just yet; for all she knew, Marlene could be right around the corner. No one that she knew of performed well in a state of panic. If she wanted to find Marlene, she'd have to keep a level head.Thinking of the consequences of losing Marlene and wincing, she decided to ask around. A small boy and girl were standing next to her, and they seemed to be looking for something as well.

Tifa bent down to the boy. "Hi there," she started. "Were you playing with a little girl in a pink dress just now?"

He nodded gravely. "Yeah, she was here," he said.

Well good, now we're getting somewhere! "Do you happen to know where she went?" she asked, hoping this kid could help her.

He nodded more vigorously this time. "I'm lookin' for her too! We was playin' with the soccer ball and Cindy," he cast a disapproving look to the girl behind him, "kicked the ball to hard, an' it went by all the people. The girl in the pink dress went after it, an' I didn't see her after that. It was over that way, I think," he said, pointing in the direction of the inn and the entrance to the beach.

Tifa brightened up considerably. Who knew he'd contain such volumes of information? "Thank you very much!" she said, smiling at him and running off towards the beach.

"Hey! If ya see her, tell her we want our ball back!" he shouted after her. She turned briefly while running and flashed him a thumbs up.

Sadly, after ten minutes of searching in the area specified, Tifa still hadn't found Marlene. Maybe now it was time to start worrying. Costa del Sol was really no place for a little girl to be wandering around, especially if she didn't know where she was going. Not only that, but Tifa had seen quite a few sketchy looking people in this neighborhood. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Don't freak out, Tifa, she's probably fine," she told herself, ever the optimist. "I'll just head back and make some phone calls. I'm sure I'll be able to find her," she said as she walked to the bar, defeated. Upon arriving she made a beeline for the phone and sighed again, dialing a number. Lunch had long since been forgotten. Tifa really hoped Marlene was in good hands, wherever she was.

oOo

Reno wasn't really sure what to do. Tifa? That chick from AVALANCHE, or whatever they called it now, was here? And this girl REALLY expected him to lead her to an old enemy? Yeah right, like THAT was going to happen. He sure as hell wasn't going to get involved with this crap, so he took the only obvious route: turn on his heels and walk away.

He had more important things to deal with at the moment. That last bar was pretty boring, despite the bizarre colors of the drinks they served, and he was dead set on finding a decent place to drink. His errant walking led him somewhere near the center of town. Lo and behold, he found himself right outside another bar. Reno was about to grab the door handle when a small voice piped up behind him.

"Hey! You found Tifa's bar!" Reno whirled around, once again becoming face-to-face with an all-too-familiar little girl. "Thank you soooooo much, mister!" Marlene said, beaming. "I gotta tell Tifa how nice you were to bring me back! I don't know what I woulda done if you didn't help me find this place."

Reno quickly withdrew his hand from the doorknob and looked down at Marlene. She'd obviously taken his silence as admission that he'd help her out. And he supposed he had, even if that wasn't his plan at all. Reno's sort of plan didn't often consist of leading small children to people he had repeatedly tried to kill... and vice-versa. Come to think of it, he didn't like the position he was in at all. "You telling me that Tifa will be in here?"

Marlene nodded. "'Course she's inside! She just bought this place. I've never been here before, so that's why I got lost. There were some kids playin' soccer outside, and Tifa told me I could play with them. A girl kicked the ball REAL hard, and I chased after it. But there was LOTSA people! …I got lost," she finished, looking a bit embarrassed.

But Reno wasn't really concerned with her story. Was this girl really saying that Tifa had bought the ONLY other bar in town? Man, fate was cruel. He grimaced slightly, wondering where his priorities lay. Ah, the eternal question: Is a drink really worth social awkwardness?

Marlene didn't have time for deliberation, so she ended his internal contemplating for him. "Come on! Come inside! Tifa will be so glad that you brought me back here!" She said, taking his hand and dragging him through the doorway with alarming force for a child her size.

Shit. SHIT. Reno didn't look forward to confrontation, especially when it could result in broken limbs and a bruised ego. But what could he do? There was no way this kid was going to let him go without a fight, and Tifa was bound to see him sooner or later.

He stumbled into the room, and was aggravated to see Tifa turn and look at him before Marlene had the chance to speak up. She opened her mouth to inform the currently anonymous person that she was not yet open for business, but her words caught in her throat before she could get them out. Her eyes widened a little and her mouth remained in a slightly open position, before she remembered her manners. He could see her gain her composure at the last moment prior to speaking. "…Reno?" She was surprised, and he didn't blame her. He'd be surprised to see him too. Thankfully her gaze lowered to Marlene's beaming face before the tension had a chance to get any thicker.

"Marlene!" she said "Oh thank God!" Her shocked expression turned to one of utter relief. She abandoned the phone to run to Marlene and hug her tightly. "I'm so glad you're safe. Do you know how angry your daddy would be if I had lost you?" she and Marlene giggled a little, but Tifa wasn't completely done with her interrogation. "Are you all right? How'd you get home?"

"I'm fine, this man brought me home," she said, looking up at Reno who had been temporarily forgotten.

Reno saw Tifa look up at him as well, a dumbstruck look gracing her face, almost as if she were just remembering he was there. Reno mentally rolled his eyes. I've been blown off for a little girl. I oughta be insulted. Tifa, however, was still having trouble comprehending the state of things.

Reno brought Marlene back?

Tifa straightened herself and resumed her slightly shocked staring at Reno. He could see it in her eyes; she was obviously trying to decide what to make of this situation. Reno had to admit; the whole thing must have seemed a little weird for her. Here he was, a former enemy of hers, strolling casually into her newly acquired bar with a newly acquired lost little girl in tow. Sure, it wasn't Reno's intent for any bit of this to happen, but there he was, and there she was. They were both adults; eventually, one of them would have to break the silence and enter into the mundane chit-chat that one is forced to partake in when pretending to be polite.

Marlene picked up on the odd way Reno and Tifa were looking at each other.

"Do you know him, Tifa?" she inquired, gazing up at the woman.

"I… Yes, I do, Marlene," Tifa told her, still casting skeptical glances at Reno. She sent a glance in the direction of Marlene, only to find her looking at the two of them in a somewhat expectant way. Tifa sighed. She knew, now that she had told Marlene she knew Reno, Marlene would want them to talk… or something.

"So Reno…" Tifa started, trying to sound casual as she walked behind the bar, motioning for Reno to sit. "What brings you to Costa?" she asked as Reno took the stool in the center of the counter.

"Business," Reno stated simply. Taking note of the strange look Tifa was giving him, he elaborated. "Well, not business really… more of a vacation," he added. There must have been a hint of fabrication in his voice, because Tifa continued to give him a prying stare. Reno rolled his eyes. "OKAY, so it's not exactly a vacation. It's a permanent leave of absence without pay," he admitted, regretting it about a half-second later.

Tifa frowned at him. "You're out a job?" She realized that was a bit of a stupid question. She really couldn't imagine what there would be for a Turk to do nowadays.

"Well yeah, but I'm looking! You don't seem to be having that problem though," Reno said, his eyes traveling to walls of the room they were in. "So where's all those other people you used to run around doing good deeds with?"

Tifa considered being offended, but instead took a deep breath before explaining. "Well, Barret's in Corel, Cid's back in Rocket Town with Shera… Umm…" She paused to think. "Yuffie's back in Wutai. She sent me a letter a while back actually. I'm assuming Cait Sith is with Reeve, if you really want to count him as a person. Nanaki is in Cosmo Canyon doing… whatever he does there, and I haven't the slightest idea where Vincent has gone off to, cause, well, that's just how he is…" She finished, trailing off.

Everyone's got somewhere to be. The full effect of the situation hit her. It's just like that night before we battled Sephiroth. Everyone had someone, something they were fighting for. Everyone except for me and Cloud… It suddenly occurred to her how lonely she was. Why else would she be sitting here having a nice little chat—with a former enemy?

Reno raised an eyebrow at her failure to provide the whereabouts of a certain spiky-headed party member. "What about Cloud? Is he here with you?"

Tifa shifted uncomfortably where she was standing. "Um… no. No, he isn't here,"

Reno breathed a mental sigh of relief at this news—the last thing he needed was having that sword-carrying psycho around. He wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell of partaking in normal conversation if he were there. Tifa would probably be fawning over Cloud as she had become so famous for, and Cloud would be ignoring her to threaten Reno. Man, that guy was an idiot. Who needed that kind of drama? Plus, with Cloud not around, I wouldn't have any competition either. Reno thought to himself, jokingly. But her lack of a definitive answer still left him curious. "…Where is he then?"

Tifa furrowed her brow and looked at her feet as she spoke. "He's… well, he said… I-I'm not really…"

"Cloud sent you a letter, didn't he Tifa?" Marlene interrupted. "He said he hadda 'do some things' right?"

Tifa smiled a little and nodded at Marlene. "That's exactly right. He did say that," Tifa said, remembering the somewhat cryptic letter she had gotten a few days earlier. Seeing Reno open his mouth to ask another question, she quickly cut in.

"So anyway! It was… nice of you to bring Marlene back. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't… I owe you," she stated, looking both relieved to have gotten off the subject and reluctant to admit that he had done her a favor. She leaned back a little and assumed her bartending stance. "So, what it'll be?"

Hmmm, so she owed him? Was that it? Reno could have fun with this. He smirked inwardly thinking of his next plan of action. A lame pick-up line came to mind, and he was immediately curious what Tifa's response would be.

"How about some sex on the beach?" he asked, initially with a straight face, but growing increasingly amused, wondering how far he could take this. It was always a kick to take advantage of the beverage's suggestive name.

Tifa's eyes narrowed a little at his request, but thought it better to give Reno the benefit of the doubt than to get angry. After all, he really COULD be talking about a drink… right? "How would you like it?"

Reno grinned in a way that bordered on evil. "I'm sure I'll like it any way you give it to me," he said suggestively.

Tifa could've smacked herself for asking that question. She should have KNOWN she'd get an answer like that, but she decided to give Reno a chance... at least for the time being. She turned around to fix his drink: Even if that wasn't what he was looking for, that was all he was going to get.

The bar was silent for, oh, about ten seconds before Marlene decided to pipe up again. "Hey mister!" she said to Reno. "What's… sex on the beach? I've never heard anyone ask for that before. What is it?"

Tifa froze when she heard Marlene's question, and instantly answered it before Reno got the chance to. "It's not something you have to worry about until you're much older. Okay Marlene?" she said, smiling nervously.

Marlene nodded, looking confused and a little disappointed. "Okay…" she replied. She didn't really understand. Tifa seemed angry when the nice man had asked for sex on the beach. Was it not good? "Is sex on the beach a bad thing?" this was once again directed at Reno. He smiled wickedly, waiting to see what Tifa would do this time as he replied before she got the chance to ruin his fun.

"Not necessarily, it can be good… VERY good. It depends on how you have it… or who you have it with," he drew out his last few words, intentionally looking at Tifa as he said them.

Tifa glowered at Reno, and slammed the nearly full glass she was holding on the counter-top, amazingly not spilling a drop. He grinned at her, trying to look innocent.

"You need to go now," she told him, doing her best to keep her voice even.

"But why?" he asked, pretending to have no idea WHAT she was talking about.

"Out," Tifa said firmly, pointing to the door. Seeing that he wasn't going to budge, and that he was about to protest yet again, she swiftly walked around the bar and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him to the exit. Maybe it wasn't that big of a deal, but Tifa was pissed. She had tried to be nice, tried to be hospitable, but he had to be so damn DIFFICULT!

Tifa threw Reno out into the crowded streets of Costa del Sol, and closed the door behind him. Reno, never one to quit when he was on a roll like this, didn't give up yet.

"C'mon Tifa… don't be like that," Reno, feigning distress. Tifa could hear his obnoxious smirk in his words.

"Go away," she told him, loud enough for him to hear through the door.

Reno shrugged. "Fine, fine," he said, turning to walk away from the bar. "But I wouldn't want you to forget that you owe me SEX ON THE BEACH!" he stopped briefly to scream at her, making sure she wasn't the only one who wouldn't forget what she owed him.

Tifa was horrified. She was absolutely sure the entire town had heard him. The "sex on the beach" part anyway. Of course, this was no doubt Reno's intention. She let out a growl of frustration as she leaned against the door. He had no right to mock her. Tifa found it hard to believe that Reno would bring Marlene back to her. Marlene had to have been mistaken. Reno was just an un-employed ex-enemy of hers that insisted on being as annoying as possible.

She didn't owe him a damn thing.

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A.N: Well, that's the first part then. Special thanks to Rachel for suggesting the 'sex on the beach' thing. It was for a different fic, but I found a place to use it finally. There are more completed chapters for posting. Perhaps showing us your love will persuade me to post them sooner.