I finally got this together! Yay! Birthday fic for my too-awesome-for-words Beta, OCValkyrie! This is later than I wanted to post it, but its all good. This is probably going to be a three-shot by the time I'm done with it. One of my friends came up with the title; I thought it was pretty cool.

This is AU, but it's placed in Edge, not Midgar. Cid's language is a bit more foul than I normally would use, but I felt like actually making Cid, Cid. Anyways, I'll stop rambling now. Happy birthday, Valk! I couldn't be half the writer I am without all your help!

Oh! And thank V-Ninja for Beta-ing it! She was so nice about it! Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII. Man, what I wouldn't give, though, what I wouldn't give...

Love At First Drink

"Cloud, my man! We ovah here!" a very loud-and very drunk-voice called.

I raised my hand in greeting, and walked over to the round booth that my friends were sitting around.

They had called me an hour prior and said they'd be in town and all but commanded me to go down to one of the more popular bars in the city. The whole time that I'd lived in Edge, I couldn't remember a single time that I had made my way into any bar.

I remembered why I had chosen my bar-less streak as I advanced into the building.

The music had no sense or pattern to the lyrics; it was played for the beat and harsh drumming only. There was a dance floor in the middle of the very large room on a platform. What people were doing on the dance floor could not be called dancing. Everywhere else was crammed with booths and tables, and strobe lights blinded me as I made my way to my friends.

"Been getting enough pellets to eat, chocobo?"

"It's good to see you again, Cloud."

"Chocobo-head! How'va been?"

"Strife! Why the hell have you not been to fuckin' visit us? College doesn't give you any damn excuses!"

"Cloud."

All various greetings- varying from pleasant to not-so-nice- coming from the most important people in my life. I couldn't have asked for a better reunion with them.

Barret- the drunk voice I had heard- slung his arm around my shoulders and dragged me to sit down next to him.

I gazed at everyone as Barrett starting yakking away to Vincent, who looked slightly like a deer caught in the headlights. I let out a small chuckle.

Only little things had changed between everyone in the four years I was absent. It was like stepping in a time-machine and going back to times of high school, where your biggest worry was passing the next exam.

I didn't even have time to say hello to everyone; with Yuffie talking a mile a minute, and Cid cussing out one thing or another, all I had to do was sit back and nod occasionally.

"Yuffie—" Zack cut in from her rant on how peaches tasted better than nectarines. "Can you shut up before Cloud gets enough of you and leaves?"

That thankfully shut her up. Cid asked, "So...? What was so damn important that made you unable to see us for four fuckin' years?" Despite his language, everyone stared at me, waiting for me to talk.

Letting out a small sigh, I shifted in my seat and explained, "Well...I'm going to finish this year and get a *Masters in Mechanical Engineering."

"Cloud," Aeris' voice interrupted me. "Wouldn't you have to have five years of schooling to get a Masters?" Leave it to Aeris to catch something like that so quickly.

"Technically, yes, but I worked my ass off and managed to get one in four." I got several laughs from that. A grin spread on my face. "So, what's been happening in Wutai?"

Yuffie perked up, looking like a puppy who was getting offered a treat, "Oh, Wutai's great! Godo's a pain in the ass, but everything seems to be looking up." No one was surprised at the way she spoke of her father; if it was my family who left me to fend for myself all during high school, I would've acted the same way.

"I sure hope you're not talking about me being a pain in the ass," A humored voice intoned next to me. I jumped slightly, and whipped my gaze to the woman who suddenly appeared by my side. She appeared to be the waitress; she was dressed skimpily and held a tray of drinks next to her shoulder. She had crop-cut blonde hair and brown eyes.

"And who's this?" She put her free hand on her hip, and tilted her head with a smirk on her face.

"Well, Elena, this chocobo," Zack started with a wink at me, "is Cloud."

"It's a pleasure, Cloud." She smiled at me. "What can I get you to drink?"

"Rum & Coke, please."

"Aw, dat's all? Yer no fun," Barret inputted, his breath ghosting over my face and making my nose twitch from the smell.

Elena ignored him and went off to fetch my drink. I shrugged off his comment; I wasn't much of a drinker anyways, and I had no intentions of getting drunk and making a fool of myself in front of my friends. I had my fair share of being a 'red-chocobo' with them as an audience, thanks.

Vincent—I was surprised, too—caught me up on everything else. Cid and Shera were doing great; evidently, they were parents-to-be. I was a little shocked to hear that one, but Cid was too occupied with prying off Barret from him that he didn't see. Said drunk had even wormed his way into a band being a bassist. From Vincent's slightly awed tone, he was still as good as he was in high school, maybe better. Aeris had gotten a degree in photography, and was currently working with a magazine and was head photographer, which I happily congratulated her about. Zack was... well, Zack, so that meant he didn't know what the hell he was doing, and didn't care. I told them that I'd gotten an apartment and was working two part-time jobs to get a little extra money while paying for school. It wasn't the easiest way to live at twenty-one, but I was doing a fair job at it.

I nodded my thanks to the waitress, Elena, as she came back with my drink. She struck up a conversation with a couple a few seats away.

Our conversation had a lapse as we all just sat there, listening to the incomprehensible music. It wasn't awkward at all; 'like old times,' Zack would say. And did say. Repeatedly.

Besides, I wasn't talking much, anyways. I began to do what I used to do all through high school; watch everyone interact with each other. My friends were so different, it was always entertaining.

I did learn something rather interesting while watching Zack.

I noticed the way he would fidget or blush when Aeris laughed. I couldn't help it; even if I had no desire or want to be in a relationship with anyone, I could see the signs between them. I decided to torture Zack, "So...date anyone lately?"

He blushed profusely, and stuttered the way he had back when he would get caught cheating during exams, "N-no! W-why would y-you assume t-that I w-was in a relationship?"

Aeris looked highly amused.

"I was just wondering." After a few beats of silence, I asked, "Do you have your eye on anyone in particular?"

If possible, he got even redder, and twitched his head so his crazy dark hair covered his face, "U-uh...well, um..." His gaze flickered to Aeris a few times, but he didn't elaborate.

She hid her laugh politely behind her hand. I didn't bother trying to hide my chuckle. Anger flickered briefly in his eyes, but it died the second Aeris put her arm around his shoulders and whispered something in his ear. His eyes widened, and a goofy grin spread across his face. He put his elbows on the table, and whispered- but loud enough for us all to hear him, "Well, damn."

That erupted laughs from all of us.

Until a woman about our age with long dark hair came up to us, put her hands on her hips, and asked in a melodic voice, "Vincent Valentine, what the hell are you doing here?"

We all stared at her, then at said dark haired male, who looked stunned. She looked angry, but then a grin that could rival Zack's spread across her face as Vincent made his way to the woman. "Come here and give your sister a hug!"

Sister?

We all stared open mouthed as Vincent willingly hugged this seemingly random woman with noticeably less vigor than she put out. When she pulled away, she kept an arm around his waist, still hugging him while facing us. Vincent looked...Hell, I didn't even know if he knew what the hell was going on.

Zack was the one out of all off us to regain his composure. "Sister?"

For once, Vincent was at a loss, "Well...yeah."

His sister rolled her eyes and muttered, "You never were good with words, Vinnie." Cid, Zack, and Yuffie snickered at the nickname, but she continued on without taking notice. "Tifa Lockhart, at your service." I was strangely curious as to why she had a different last name than her brother, but I didn't ask.

"Now that I think about it...You two do look awfully similar," Zack stated. It was the truth, too. They both shared the same black hair and almost reddish eyes. While Tifa was at least a good three inches shorter than Vincent, they were both pretty tall.

She cocked her head to the side, while staring at Barret who was drooling. "Barret Wallace?" She turned to her brother. "You know Barret Wallace?"

"Tifa...How do you know him?" Vincent stared at her, questioning.

"Well, I know a considerably less drunk Barret Wallace, but a Barret Wallace nonetheless. He helped me with Trig in high school. Well, it was more like a we-help-each-other-so-we-can-blame-the-other-when-we-fail kinda thing, but..." She looked sheepish while we laughed.

"So, why did we never meet you before now?" I spoke up for the first time since she came here, and her eyes shot to me.

She gave me a small smile, and answered, "Well, sir-I-don't-have-any-clue-to-your-name, I really don't know. I was always hanging with Vincent during school, but after he was with his friends. Which, I suppose are you guys." Now that she mentioned it, I never really saw him during school hours except in class.

Just remembering her not so subtle hint at wanting my name, I reached out a hand, replying, "Cloud Strife." She shook my hand with a nod and a smile.

"It's good to meet you all. I presume the rest of you are Aeris, Zack, and Cid." She pointed to them each in turn; they all nodded and greeted her.

Zack, always wanting the upper-hand, asked, "Man, how'd you know?"

She winked at him and said, "You guys were all Vinnie could talk about." 'Vinnie' blushed scarlet and Tifa's chuckle tinkled over ours. She turned to her brother and asked, "Can I sit with you guys on my break?" We made room for her as we all bombarded her with questions. My query was the one she answered. "I've been working here for about a year, I guess. I've lived here ever since I dropped out of law school." She gave an animated shudder at her comment.

"You weren't enjoying the ways of logic and structure?" Zack asked, being a smart-ass.

Both of their faces clouded over for a moment, but she perked back up and responded, only missing a beat or two. "Not really. I like a little spontaneity in my life."

"Tifa! The hell are you doing lounging around on yer ass? Git back here!" a loud and rather round man with a red face came charging at us.

Tifa smirked and made to get up. "I was taking my break! Geez, cut me some slack." She waved goodbye to us before she skipped into the back room, got a pad of paper and pencil, and started taking orders.

Five beats of silence later, we were still staring at 'Vinnie.'

Yuffie ended up asking the million dollar question, "...What the hell just happened?"

Vincent shifted uncomfortably, but responded anyways, with a classic Vincent answer, "...You never asked."

Yuffie huffed and rolled her eyes. "I'll just have to get the details from your sis, Vinnie," she stated visibly flushed when she said that, and Yuffie cackled, clearly enjoying her new torture weapon over him.

I watched Tifa for a while, inspecting her as she moved around the bar, confidence in every step and with that smirk of hers on her lips. After an hour or so, she tied her hair up, and I self consciously pulled on the neck of my t-shirt, mumbling about the heat of the place.

After a few more hours and a few more drinks, I finally waved goodbye to them. They would be staying in town for a few days, and we were planning on meeting up tomorrow afternoon.

I blamed my drunk mind for straying more than once to a certain face with a certain smirk with eyes that glittered blood.

Okay, I admit, that was a random ending. And, making Vinnie related to Teefs was something I've only seen done in one other fic. (But I'm sure there's more out there.) I just thought it kinda fit.

*Note: To get a Masters degree in anything, you would have to go to school for 8 years. Obviously, I changed this. For the first three degrees-Associates, Bachelors, and Certificates- You only need one year. For a Masters and Doctoral, it requires two. So, that said and done, Cloud could get a Masters in 5-4, since he 'worked his ass off'-in the story. I just thought I'd explain that.

Any good? Review so I'll know!

~Truth