Here's to Us
Disclaimer: I do not own anything Final Fantasy related or the song Here's to Us.
A/N: Here's a song inspired fic, Here's to Us, by Halestorm. Hope you all enjoy! Let me know what you think.
Here's to Us
Tifa opened the door to the bar labeled 7th Heaven. Wow, how long had it been since she last saw this building? Midgar. Sector 7 Slums. That was years ago. Years! She shook her head to clear her thoughts that seemed to run rampant just by setting her sights upon the establishment. Inside was exactly the same as she remembered. It was a full house tonight. As shook moved further into the bar, the faces she passed seemed familiar and not all at the same time. Stepping aside for an unabashed drunkard on his way out, Tifa noticed a stool open up at the bar. With quick steps she closed the distance and nearly threw herself upon the bar before some raunchy red head could steal it from her. The red head glared and Tifa who gracefully flipped her the bird. Setting her forehead upon the cool bar top she let out a disgruntled sigh.
"Rough night?" The man beside her questioned, forcing her eyes open. Remembering not why she was here or what she was doing earlier in the day Tifa slid her arms upon the bar top and laced them together before dropping her head upon them.
"You could probably say that." She replied with half lidded eyes, choosing not to look at the man. "I can't even remember what happened to make me feel so drained."
The stranger chuckled. "That happens a lot here. Everyone who walks through that door has no sense of time or direction. They all just walk in here as if death were knocking on their door."
"Mmm…"
"Not much of a talker are you?"
"What's it to you?" Tifa spat, finding the different colored bottles of liquor more interesting than the conversation some creep at a bar wanted to strike up.
"Temper, temper. Zack did say you were a firecracker. Didn't think it'd be the more volatile type." She could practically hear him grinning.
"Zack who…?"
Another chuckle. "Just an old friend."
Finally fed up with some stranger's nice act, Tifa snapped and sat up and turned to glare at the man beside her but stopped short when she found him staring at her right back. With shoulder length black hair and an angular jaw the stranger had a strikingly strong facial structure. Glowing mako eyes seemed to glimmer in the dim bar as they looked at her. Tifa could make out some stubble upon his chin which would probably need to be shaved in the next 24 hours. Further inspection of his person revealed a strong torso and arms hidden beneath a dark colored sleeveless turtle neck. Two pauldrons were strapped upon his shoulders, giving him a broader look.
Noticing she had been checking out the stranger across from her a little too long Tifa turned from her inspection of him to the bottles behind the bar. "What are you a SOLDIER or something?" She seethed, desperately trying to hide her embarrassment with a bitchy persona.
He chuckled again, turning to face the liquor bottles as well. "Used to be."
Tifa peered at him from the corner of her eyes taking him in again. He looked really familiar; his features were reminiscent of someone she knew…what had the guy said? Zack…? Tifa's toffee colored eyes widened in realization as she turned to look at the stranger who only returned her look with a raised brow. "Zack Fair!"
This time the stranger laughed, one hand upon the bar supporting his drink and the other holding his middle. "Not quite. Although," He rubbed his chin with a free hand. "that one is a first. I don't think we've ever been confused for one another. I'll have to tell him that when I seem him next."
Tifa quirked a confused brow at the man beside her. She could've sworn…upon closer inspection he was a lot broader than the Zack she remembered. Definitely older than the one she remembered. "If you're not Zack…then who are you and how do you know me?" She asked indignantly.
"Angeal Hewley." He introduced with a mock two fingered salute. "Zack and I…were friends. He told me a lot about you."
Now Tifa was even more confused. "Were?"
A dry scoff escaped his lips as he turned back to the bar and drank the rest of his drink. "I did a few things that…he didn't agree with. Kind of ended on bad terms."
"Angeal…Hewley…?" Tifa repeated, taking a long hard look at his profile. "Wait! THE Angeal Hewley?! First Class SOLDIER?!"
He chuckled in response. "That would be me."
"But…you're dead!" Tifa shook her head. "Zack is dead! How did he tell you anything about me?"
"You really don't know do you?" Angeal asked her, his face going serious.
"Know what?" Tifa whispered. Angeal continued to stare at her, realization slowly clicking into place like a key opening a lock. Her eyes widened in shock as her mouth opened to make a small 'o'. "I'm…dead…?" It was hushed, but Angeal already knew what she had said from the look on her face. Angeal turned back to the bar, a somber look upon his face as he watched Tifa try to digest her recent realization. Eventually Tifa brought her elbows onto the bar before letting her face fall into her hands. Brown locks fell about her in a curtain, hiding her from Angeal's sympathetic gaze.
All about them strangers came and went, the crowd slowly filtering from one wave of energy into another. But still Tifa sat with her face in her hands, with Angeal beside her nursing a dark brown liquor. To Tifa there was no longer a sense of time; not that there ever was a good judge of it from beneath the Midgar plate, but if you listened and watched closely enough to the crowds you knew. Yet here all around her the chatter never once ceased or slowed down. It was unnerving yet…familiar. Eventually Tifa raised her face from her hands to look dejectedly at a few bottles of whiskey and tequila.
"It only gets better from here." Came Angeal's smooth voice. Tifa ignored him and continued gazing at the bottles, willing for a glass of Nibel-Blue Bourbon. Instinctively Tifa's hand twitched, her fingertips coming into contact with a glass, she knew wasn't there a second ago. Not as shocked as she was when she realized she was dead, Tifa shrugged off the "how" a glass of her favorite liquor ended up in her hand and instead swallowed her fill of it. It was even chilled to the perfect temperature. Maybe death wouldn't be so bad.
With that thought Tifa suddenly slammed her glass upon the bar top; eyes wide. "Wait a minute!" She turned to Angeal who was casually taking a sip from his glass. "If I'm dead, then this is the Lifestream! It's…nothing like I'd expect it to be." She admitted looking around at what she was thinking was the slums of the lifestream.
Completely amused by her semi-over reactive attitude towards their situation Angeal cracked a smile. "You could say that I suppose. When I died it kind of lacked the pomp and circumstance that Zack and a few of Sephiroth's buddies had. Not to say that they didn't end up here at one point. People just seem to come and go until it's their time to return to the planet. How we choose to spend that time is completely up to us."
Tifa took in his explanation. Not really wanting to challenge this whole concept of life, death and rebirth. She'd gladly leave that to Nanaki and Aeris. Speaking of the flower girl, Tifa's eyes softened realizing that the Ancient probably wouldn't be able to have a second life, since all of her 'kind' were extinct. It made Tifa's heart ache, sooner than she knew it her glass of Nibel-Blue was at her lips and she was taking another deep swallow. Her eyes shut as it ran down her throat coating it in a smooth blanket of flavor.
"Bad memories?"
"Something like that…" Tifa looked down at her now empty glass; traces of the Nibel-Blue coloring mixing with the melting ice gave off a light tinted color.
Another lapse in silence occurred before Angeal stood up and rolled his shoulders. "I'll be seeing ya, goodnight Ms. Lockheart." He turned to walk out of the bar before her voice stopped him.
"Tifa!" He looked turned to look at her, a melancholy smile upon her face. "Just Tifa." Angeal smiled in return, once more casually saluting her in farewell.
"Mr. Hewley!"
Angeal turned to see Tifa facing him on the stool, a full bottle of Nibel-Blue in her hand. "Wanna stick around for another round?" She shook the bottle, feeling it's wait in her hands. "Or three?" Her lips broke out into a sheepish grin as he shook his head and chuckled to himself. Casually he made his way back over to his unoccupied seat, an empty glass appearing in his hand.
"Well, how can I say no to a pretty lady?"
Once the glasses were full enough for a shot, Tifa raised her glass to Angeal. "Here's to us! And to love! And all the times that we've ever fucked up!"
Angeal chuckled at her toast before adding, "Here's to you." This caused the fist-fighter to blush a pretty shade. Noticing her fluster, Angeal clinked their glasses and proceeded to down his share of Nibel-Blue.
Ignoring her reddening cheeks, Tifa downed her drink and felt the familiar smooth taste before a warm feeling filled her. She looked up to see Angeal staring at her, pulling another blush to her face when he didn't avert his attention. "If you would, my dear." He gestured to his empty glass. "These last few days have kicked my ass." Tifa nodded dumbly and obliged him, refilling her own once she was done.
Together the pair sat at the bar of the Seventh Heaven, sharing one bottle of Nibel-Blue. After a good few drinks when the bottle seemed to be near empty, it would suddenly be filled as if it were just opened. Neither questioned it, because neither could care about frivolous things such as running out of alcohol to drink. It was amazing what death could do to drunks; give you all the feelings of inebriation without the added effects of slurring or vomiting. Of course if one dwelt upon it enough, they enacted a self-fulling prophecy, in turn actually making themselves sick. But once one got a grip upon their sense they righted themselves and carried on their way.
The bar was getting crowded once more, along with it the noise rose around them. Tifa reveled in it and Angeal seemed content just to sit and drink with her. "I propose another toast!" She declared, raising her glass so that it was eye level. Angeal took in her face, noticing the tinge of pink from her drinking and how slightly glazed her eyes had become. It was rather endearing to see such energy in the drunken fist-fighter.
Angeal raised his glass level with hers, a smile upon his lips. "And what shall we toast to, Ms. Lockheart?"
She waved off his formality, she could've sworn she told him on numerous occasions that night to just call her Tifa, but it conveniently seemed to slip his mind. "We've stuck it out this far together. Shared our dreams that went through the shredder!" She mimed something with her hand that vaguely resembled an airship with the movement, but Angeal refrained from saying anything. "Let's toast to that! Because things got better!" Tifa clinked her glass with the former SOLDIER's and proceeded to down her drink. Angeal who had his wits still about him took a generous swallow before placing his glass down.
A second later Tifa's glass hit the bar top with a smack; pulling the sober man beside her out of his reverie. "I think I need some fresh air." She declared, standing up straight as a post. Brown eyes met with mako-infused blue, a silent plea to not be left alone. Angeal was vaguely aware of acknowledging her unbidden request by standing up and following her out of the now crowded bar.
Together they walked side by side, not paying attention to anyone or anything passing them by. Before they knew it they stood on the outskirts of what looked like an undestroyed Midgar, mako reactors and all. Tifa was the first to notice the change of scenery, looking around curiously. "You'll get used to it." Angeal stated offhandedly. "Everything here changes like that. At times it seems as if years have gone by, other times it feels like a couple of moments."
Tifa looked up at him for a moment, noticing that he was seeing something else besides their current view. "It's destroyed you know." She stated, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Nothing is left of it… but ashes and rubble."
Angeal shrugged his shoulders, before crossing his arms. "Those who can't cope with the reality of what has happened to them create what feels the most real to them in life."
"I suppose. If Midgar was the only life anyone knew."
"It was for you."
"I could say the same for you." Both smiled at one another, before taking in the view of the city and its lights. Tifa took a seat upon the cliff they were overlooking, allowing her feet to dangle. Casually she held out her hand as if holding something up by its neck. In the next second a bottle of Nibel-Blue Bourbon appeared in her hand.
"When did you figure that out?" Angeal asked her; genuinely curious when she figured she could manipulate anything within the lifestream's space.
She smiled. "After what should have been the third bottle, I kind of guessed." With a flick of her wrist, the dark liquid spilled from the narrow bottle neck out into the ravine.
"What are you toasting to now?"
"To all who we've kissed and to all that we'll miss. To all of our mistakes and to things we'd never trade them for. To break ups without breaking down. And to whatever else comes goes their way."
"Sounds more like a eulogy than a toast?"
A giggle escaped her, but Tifa embraced the dark humor. "I guess it does, but when you're dead, you can't really do much can you?" She glanced up at the silent SOLDIER beside her, who continued to gaze out at the city. "Just sit back and wish everybody well. I mean you can try to raise hell about something or other, I suppose. But it's not really gonna change anything."
"I suppose not." Was his only reply.
"You 'suppose not'? What kind of reply was that? You've been dead longer than I have and you haven't wanted to change anything? Or anyone?" Tifa's eyes were wide as saucers as she looked up at Angeal in disbelief. From the stories she heard, he was rumored to be the most noble of the SOLDIERs, on par with Sephiroth himself. But they all knew how that little fairytale ended.
Angeal shrugged his shoulders. "The only person I ever sought to change was Genesis. Even then I was more worried about the monster that I had become. Too self-absorbed to save one of my best friends. No good ever came out of trying to change somebody."
"Well aren't you a tall, dark, and broody kinda guy? If I'd known you were an emotional drunk I'd have kept you sober, Hewley."
"Heh, once again I can say the same about you, Tifa." He took a seat beside her, propping an arm on his bent knee. "Here you are in the middle of the night. Wasting a perfectly good bottle of bourbon on meaningless toasts and people who can no longer see you."
Tifa took his teasing in stride and just turned to look out over Midgar. It really was a beautiful city. At one point in time she had wanted to travel there of her volition, but instead Gaia had maliciously twisted that wish into an inevitability. How cruel the fates were. Even now as she sat here next to a former hero of the planet, she couldn't help but think that Gaia didn't care much about her heroes. Well no better time than the present to tell the world to fuck off. This brought a smile to the brunette's lips who then stood and dusted off her shorts.
"Well, what do you dead guys do around here that's any fun?" She asked playfully of the former SOLDIER.
He grinned up at her as he too stood and stretched his arms. Angeal winked at her and threw out his right arm, instantly an angel's wing sprouted from his back, taking the brunette by surprise. "Heh, let me show you." He offered her his hand which she looked at uncertainly.
Realizing that having any sort of caution in the afterlife was futile Tifa put on her biggest smile and took his gloved hand in hers, immediately finding herself in the arms of the one-winged SOLDIER. "I'm guessing I should hang on tight, huh?" She asked as she linked her arms around his neck.
"Only if you don't trust me."
Before Tifa could think up a comeback Angeal had stepped over the cliff's edge and flew off into the night.