(Disclaimer: Rose are red, violets are blue. I own nothing here, so please don't sue.)


Alternatives

Elena sighed heavily, as she took yet another sip of her fallen angel. Although she wasn't fond of sickly sweet cocktails, the blond found herself enjoying it all the same. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Tifa had kindly added an extra shot of gin to the mix, knowing the blonde Turk's taste in liquor, she couldn't tell. Still, as cocktails go it was pretty damn good, and to hell with anyone who reprimanded her for indulging herself. Because gods only knew she wasn't getting her kicks from anywhere else... unlike some other people she could think of.

The blonde felt herself slump, and allowed her head to rest on the solid bar, whilst she glared at her drink, annoyed to hell that, whilst she was stuck in 7th Heaven, trying to drink her frustration away, people all over Gaia were trying the damnedest to reach cloud nine.

Life was truly unfair...

"One of those days?" Tifa asked softly, interrupting Elena mid glare.

Elena quickly righted herself to face her hostess.

"Not really." She smiled wryly. "I've had worse."

"I bet."

The brunet returned Elena's smile and started to wipe her part of the bar. It was an unwritten rule that when a Turk came to drank, their work was well and truly left at the office and that prying would not be welcomed. No ifs and not buts. It was a good system, which kept both parties happy and out of the hospital. But Tifa knew the blonde well enough to know, she would think she wasn't prying; besides Elena was actually quite pleasant to talk too, when she felt like it.

Elena chuckled slightly and took a long sip, draining it completely, before sighing for the umpteenth time, and running a hand through her neatly kept hair.

"It's just..." She stopped, trying to think how to word what she was going to say next.

Tifa raised an eyebrow, half in surprise and half in anticipation. She hadn't really expected the blonde to expand on what was bothering her.

"... Don't you ever feel like you're the only one on Gaia not getting any?"

Tifa blinked and stared at Elena, a small blush making its way across her cheeks.

"Well, I..."

The blonde rolled her eyes and inwardly groaned.

"Oh right, sorry I guess you don't have any problems in that area."

The brunet paused for a moment, before dropping her cloth on the counter and sighing. Soon, she was sat down opposite Elena with two shot glasses and a bottle of thirty year old Wutainese scotch. Tifa poured the liquor into each glass and handed one to the blonde, downed hers in one.

"Cheers."

This time it was Elena's turn to blink, before downing her own scotch, enjoying the sudden rush of heat burning its way down her throat. She gasped sharply and muttered her thanks.

"So, I guess I'm not the only one huh?"

The brunet shook her head slowly. Elena raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Really, really."

The blonde clucked her tongue and she held out her glass for a refill, which Tifa happily filled again.

"I find that hard to believe."

Tifa smirked.

"Why's that?"

Elena paused mid sip, and let her eyes wander Tifa's body.

"Well I mean..." She croaked and motioned to the martial artist's body, especially her bountiful cleavage. "...seriously, who wouldn't?"

The brunet chuckled at that and shook her head again, amused by the blonde's question.

"I assure you plenty haven't. Besides, all these things seem to attract creeps, especially working here in the bar."

Despite herself, Elena found herself nodding in agreement with Tifa's confession. Big breasts weren't always best, as she herself had found out on some of her earlier undercover missions. Stupid Reno, saying hers weren't big enough for the job...

"Any way," Tifa continued, taking another shot. "I don't know why you're complaining. You're not so bad yourself and you're a Turk!"

The blonde gave Tifa a puzzled look, as she set her glass down.

"So?"

The brunt shrugged suggestively.

"So... I thought you guys, you know, screwed around with each other?"

A brief silence descended upon them, before Elena snorted loudly and erupted into a fit of giggles. Tifa frowned, not understanding what was so funny.

"What?"

"Oh please!" Elena gasped. "Like, I would sleep with any of those Jokers. Give me some credit!"

Tifa coughed discretely, that's not what she had heard.

"Okay, maybe Tseng, but seriously, no! Besides, even if I wanted to I probably wouldn't get a second glance. I mean, who would want little ol' me when they have Reno the super slut?"

Elena laughed again, as the brunets eyes shot open and proceeded to spray very expensive scotch over her bar.

"Please-cough- tell me your-splutter- joking!"

The Turk bit her lip and shook her head in a childish way, secretly relishing the reaction she had gotten from her hostess. She had never seen the martial artists face so red, she almost wished she had a camera.

"Nope, I wish I was. Hell, he's been round the office more times than I've had hot dinners. In fact, I think he's one of the benefits of the job. Come join the Turks! We've got a great dental plan, fantastic health insurance, oh and a horny red-head who'll do anything with a pulse...Well, except me that is."

Tifa found herself laughing along with Elena, before sighing yet again and looking morosely at her drink.

"Gods, I'm starting to think that every man on this planet likes to sleep with men."

"Even Cloud?" Elena teased.

Tifa scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"May as well do, for all the good he is with women."She muttered grimly, before hastily adding. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, men sleeping with other men, that is."

Elena nodded again.

"Of course."

Tifa rolled her claret coloured eyes and let out an exasperated groan.

"It's just, I wouldn't mind a bit of action every now and again."

"Oh, I hear ya."

"And not with some perverted jerk with a breast fetish..."

"... or the office slut with more STD's than suits..."

"... and all the good ones are either married with kids, gay or emotional retards."

Tifa and Elena sighed in unison and looked down at the drinks, thoroughly depressed with the situation. At that moment in time, it truly did seem like there really were no men left on Gaia worthy of their time. It almost made both women want to cry.

"So, I guess it's Play Girl and battery powered fun for us then." Tifa mumbled glumly. "Because I doubt there's anyone on this planet that would fit the bill right now."

However, at least in Elena's mind, that wasn't strictly true. Sure, it seemed that half of the planet's population had been written off, but that didn't mean the other half were just as bad. Although Elena didn't exactly have that many notches on her bed post, the ones that she did have were enough to tell her that sex with the fairer sex was often much more fun. But then, not everyone thought so and the Turk wasn't sure if Tifa was someone who would even consider the possibility... not that she was trying to proposition her or anything. So the blonde tried very hard to think nothing more of it...however...

"Well, not really."

"What do you mean?"Asked Tifa, clearly confused by the blondes remark.

The Turk felt her face flush, not from the fiery liquor, and cursed her hazy relaxed mind. Elena hadn't meant for that to slip out. She scratched her neck nervously, because talking about lesbian sex with someone who could beat her seven ways from Sunday wasn't exactly the easiest thing in the world, especially drunk.

"Well, I mean...have you ever, you know...?"

"What?"

Elena felt herself groan inwardly. How could Tifa be so dense? So she hinted again by pointing at her own, well proportioned body.

"... With another..."

Suddenly Tifa's eyes lit up, fully comprehending what her blonde customer was on about.

"Oh, you mean with a-?" She said whilst mouthing the word 'Woman' silently, as if some else might've been listening.

Elena stiffened in her seat.

"Yes."

Tifa looked thoughtful for a moment, before shaking her head and looking back to the cloth she had thrown down earlier, trying to hide her blush from the woman in front of her. Looking slightly uncomfortable with the idea, and yet strangely intrigued at the same time.

"No, can't say I have." She lied. "Why have you?"

"Once or twice." Elena replied hastily. She had always found it difficult lying about things concerning her sex life, especially when she had drunk one too many. She just hoped to hell Tifa wasn't going to slug her for her openness, because it would be a shame to have to find another bar, well, after her month long stay in the hospital.

Tifa's head snapped back toward the blonde, surprised, cheeks practically on fire. Obviously she hadn't been expecting that little bomb shell.

"Oh."

Elena laughed nervously and turned her gaze away from her hostess, not wanting to be accused of staring at her or her breasts if push came to shove.

"Curious?" She joked...Not that she wouldn't mind of course. Tifa was a very beautiful woman after all...

"You offering?"

The women looked toward the other, both with serious gleams in their eyes. Neither said a word as they considered the possibility of what the other may or may not have suggested. After a while, and feeling more than a little disappointed, Elena turned back to her drink and tried to shrug off the whole thing. It looked like it really was going to be battery powered fun for her after all, until she heard the brunet murmur something.

"Oh, what the hell..."

It was then that Tifa pulled Elena up by the tie toward her and pushed their lips together in a make shift kiss, taking note at how soft the Turks lips really were, and how oddly nice it was to have someone else's bosom pressed against her own. Unfortunately by the time the blonde had registered what has happening, just after realising she hadn't been 'Final Heavened' back to the Lifestream, and just before Tifa's wonderfully adventurous tongue had found its way into her startled mouth, and attempted to return the favour, Tifa had moved away again.

"Hmmm, not bad." The brunet muttered to herself, whilst licking her lips thoughtfully, her cheeks still stained a wonderful shade of red. Elena, on the other hand, boneless-ly dropped back into her seat, somewhat out of breath and somewhat mesmerized by what had just transpired

Her lips were tingling and her knees, they weren't weak, no, they were in a seriously gelatinous state! Though the kiss may have been brief, it certainly had Elena thinking of Tifa in a whole new way... well, no more than the usual 'I wonder what she'd be like in bed' passing thought. Because hey; she had to have something to talk to Rude about besides explosives. Elena knew, with no doubt in her mind whatsoever, that Tifa Lockhart knew how to fucking kiss. She wondered briefly how in the hell Cloud could've ever said no to her...

Still, the blonde couldn't help but feel somewhat irked by Tifa's choice of words.

Not bad? Not bad?!

Dear ancients, if she had only had the opportunity to respond in kind, Elena was sure she could get a better response than 'Not Bad'. But of course, it seemed the moment was over and the opportunity had vanished...

"You know, I can do better." Elena blurted out before she had time to stop herself, and promised herself she would never, ever go drinking again whilst severely sexual starved. "T-the kissing I mean. I can do better."

It was then Tifa shot the blonde a wide, seductive grin and tilted her head ever so slightly to give the Turk a rather nice view of her incredibly edible looking neck. Obviously she wasn't as opposed to Elena's unwitting proposal after all.

"Really?"

Tifa practically purred whilst she stalked over to the frozen Turk. Her voice, low and sensual like waves of raw silk on bare flesh, which sent delightful shivers down Elena's spine and straight to the heated place between her thighs. Her heart raced in her chest as the brunet leant over the bar, lips caressing the tips of her ears, as she whispered oh so invitingly...

"Want to come up stairs with me and prove that?"