Disclaimer!! I don't own anybody or anything from FF7, however much I wish I did… TT

Just so you guys know, I haven't really posted any stories, even though I've had my account for a while. So here goes nothing, right? Hah, good times. Enjoy!

Love… or War?

Chapter 1

The man's hand ran through Tifa's hair, tangling in the chocolate locks, before abruptly pulling her halfway over the bar as he closed the rest of the distance himself, and his lips pressed hard against her own. It startled her, but what really surprised her was her reaction. A drunk trying to manhandle her, she could handle easily--she could easily throw out any guy who got too rough around her bar-- but he wasn't drunk. She was. Being kissed with such gentle passion, her mind swirled and she sunk into it before her mind could even begin to tell her the hundreds of reasons that she shouldn't let him kiss her. One being most prominent, she didn't even know him.

He broke the kiss, and she lingered a moment before opening her eyes.

Tifa touched her fingertips to her lips, still throbbing from use. What the hell just happened?

He entered the bar, platinum blonde hair settling against his collarbone, no longer disturbed by the winds of Midgar. He noticed a row of at least thirty tequila shots lined up in neat little rows on the bar-- he didn't really want to bother with counting. He just knew it was a lot. Looking around, the place was empty except for one young woman sitting at one of the tables in the comfortable-looking bar eating a bowl of what looked to be chicken noodle soup. He walked further into the bar with a flick of his dark leather coat, and closer to the woman's table.

She didn't hear him come in, seeing as it was only five in the afternoon and it was usually pretty dead around this time, her thoughts were elsewhere as she ate. Her thoughts once again rested on Cloud, and their latest fight. She sighed, shaking her head. She was done with him. He practically lived over at the church anyway, let him stay there for good. He could run the delivery business by himself; she made more than enough to keep money in her wallet.

He was silent for a moment, before smirking, his hands went into his pockets. "You look lonely. When the waitress comes back out, I'll buy you a drink?"

She looked up, startled out of her thoughts by his voice. As she laid eyes on him, her eyes widened for a second. She quickly recovered; she thought she'd recognized him, but it was just her imagination.

"Hmm, thanks for the offer, but I have a great line of credit going for me here." She stood and set her waitress-style apron on her chair and walked up to him, right hand extended as she introduced herself. "The name's Tifa. Tifa Lockheart. I'm the owner of this place, but at the moment I'm the bartender and waitress as well." She walked over to the bar, "What can I get ya, sir?"

He showed no hint of surprise at what she said, but instead he regarded her with more respect. He took his time to walk to the bar and sit on a stool, before replying enigmatically, "Surprise me."

Tifa smiled laughingly and pushed one of the many shots at him. "Surprise."

He tsked and shook his head, but downed the shot with a smirk. "What," he challenged, "You're not going to meet me?"

She laughed, "Fine, but only for this one. We're hosting a bachelor party tonight," Tifa took another shot out of the line and drank it like water, letting the glass clink softly back onto the bar. She went on, "Which is actually why I'm here right now, I have all my employees working tonight, so I took the early shift. That way they can work while I get to play for once." and laughed to herself, almost feeling sorry for the people she'd so selectively hired when the place had started getting popular for it's Friday and Saturday night parties.

He laughed aloud at this, and she couldn't help but smile herself; his laugh was infectious. He took another shot out of line and copied her motion. "So why are you worried about having a shot too many, if your employees will be here soon?"

As if simply only to emphasize his point, her backup bartender/assistant manager came in at that exact moment. The man stretched his hands over his brown-haired head as if coming in to meet the comfort of home, soon followed by the bouncy blonde waitress who usually ended up being a drink runner. The place was well-liked for it's party nights, not it's food.

"Tifa!" Gwen cried, running to hug the her boss, giggling, totally oblivious to the face that she had bumped into Thomas in doing so. When she pulled away, she practically skipped her way to the back, a lilting song of "Bachelor party is tonight, lalala lalaaaala," repeating from the kitchen. Tom chuckled and with a "Hey, Teef." he too went to the back.

Tifa gave Tom a slight wave. Poor guy. Had it bad for Gwen, who was totally oblivious, as she was to most things. But she was reliable, and had proven herself to be a very capable employee, very very deep under the blonde.

Returning her attention to her customer, she saw that he had emptied two more shots while she had been distracted. "Hey! No fair!" She pouted at him but still matched it, starting to feel the effects of the alcohol.

He used the time-worn retort, "All's fair in love and war," as he shrugged innocently.

She paused for a moment, and let her voice drop an octave, tucking her bangs behind her ear and away from her face as she leaned forward ever-so-slightly and smiled dangerously. "And which would you say this is? Love… or war?"

He kept his eyes locked with hers as he replied, "I guess we'll have to find out, won't we?" The man's hand ran through Tifa's hair, tangling in the chocolate locks…

The man she saw before her now was not the man he was a moment ago. As she took in the long flowing silver hair, pale yet tantalizingly smooth skin, and the mako-green eyes, a single word passed her lips. "Sephiroth…"

Yay!!!!!

PLEASE Read and Review. Good or bad, I would love to hear your thoughts, especially since this is the first fanfic I've posted. Constructive criticism is welcome, even mean criticism is! Flames, even, I guess. It lets me know people are reading at least! Love ya'll and thanks for reading!

(And the blonde snap? Hah, if you're blonde, don't take it personally, I am too.)