Sector 7 slums

Tifa stood behind the counter of her small bar in the Sector 7 slums of the great Midgar city that was run by the Shinra Corporation. She was waiting for her friends Barrett, Jessie, Biggs, Wedge and most of all Cloud to come back from a mission to destroy a Mako Reactor. She hated to stay behind on these missions but Berret wouldn't let her go no matter how much she bitched about it.

"You're too young to go out on a mission." He'd say.

"Young or not I can still fight with the best of them." Tifa would argue.

"Yes but I'm not gonna put you in danger just because you want to fight." Berret would say and that would be the end of the conversation.

So she stood leaning on the bar counter as some of the male patrons whistled at her and offered to cheer her up. She just sighed and ignored them. There was only one person that Tifa knew personally and considered a friend. She was just old enough to drink in the bar and always sat at the counter keeping Tifa company at night. The girl had lost most of her family in an earth quake a few years ago and she for the most part kept to herself except when she was around Tifa. In the 6 months that Tifa had known her they became good friends and even better friends when no one was looking. Tifa was surprised to learn that she had fallen for this young black hair, Green eyed girl. But, She was happy that she was. But there was a problem. Her childhood friend Cloud had come back into the picture a few days back and she was still in love with him.

The door to the bar opened and Tifa looked up with a smile hoping to see Cloud standing in the doorway but it was only another drunk. With an upset look on her face she settled back down on the bar and sighed again.

"What's wrong?" The young girl asked in a soft, barely audible voice.

"Well I'm waiting for Cloud and the others to come back." Tifa said. "They've been gone for a long time."

"It takes a long time to go from Sector 7 to the market up top." The girl said.

"Yea I know." Tifa said. "You want another drink Kerrie?"

"Yea sure." Kerrie said.

"Be right back." Tifa said and went to the alcohol wall.

She started mixing a small lightly alcoholic drink when the door to the bar opened again and she heard Barrett's gruff voice.

"Alright assholes the bars closed get the hell out." He yelled.

Kerrie jumped when he started yelling and spun around to look at the large man with a gun for an arm. Most of the people in the bar evacuated right away but a few of the drunker and braver people stayed to finish their drinks.

"I said get the fuck out!" Barrett yelled letting a few bullets fly from his weapon.

Kerrie jumped to her feet along with the rest of the people in the bar. Tifa sighed yet again and poured the drink that she was bringing Kerrie down the sink.

"Bye Tifa." Kerrie said in her soft voice and headed for the door.

Tifa took a deep breath as she watched Kerrie walk out of the bar and started cleaning up after the mobs. As soon as Kerrie was out of the bar Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie ran in with Cloud Walking in behind them. Everyone but Cloud jumped onto the pinball machine and activated the mechanism that brought them down into the cellar. Cloud looked around the small bar and saw Tifa standing behind the bar whipping it down and walked up to the stool where Kerrie was sitting and sat down.

"Welcome back." Tifa said. "How'd it go?"

"No problem." Cloud said.

"That easy was it?" Tifa asked.

Cloud just shrugged and reached into the belt and pulled out a small flower and handed it to Tifa.

"Oh wow." She said looking down at it. "I never see flowers down here in the slums, thanks."

"I bought it from a flower girl just after we blew the reactor." Cloud said.

"Oh cute kid." Tifa said.

"No she was about your age." Cloud said.

"Oh really?" Tifa asked. "Was she cute?"

"Kind of yea." Cloud said.

"Well what did she look like?" Tifa asked.

Cloud looked at Tifa with a questioning look that made her feel guilty for pressing him.

"Well she had long brown hair that was in a braided tail and…"

"Hey get your ass down here so we can plan the next attack." Barrett snarled seeing Tifa holding the flower.

Cloud slid off of the stool and headed down into the cellar leaving Tifa alone to clean up the bar. Once she was finished putting up the chairs and mopping she headed down with the others. Jessie was sitting at the computer getting information on the next reactor they were gonna blow. Biggs and Wedge were watching TV, Cloud and Barrett were arguing over the flower that Cloud had given to Tifa.

"So what's the deal?" Tifa asked tapping Jessie on the shoulder.

"Our next target in the Reactor near the Shinra HQ." Jessie said pointing to a map on the wall. "It's gonna be a dangerous mission but we can do it with Clouds help.

"I see." Tifa said.

She walked over to where Cloud and Barrett were arguing and stepped between them.

"So this mission tomorrow is gonna be a rough one I hear." She said Interrupting Barrett right in the middle of a loud FUCK YOU!!

"Yea it is." Cloud said.

"Good." Tifa said. "I'm coming with you. And Barrett you're not getting me to stay behind this time."

Barrett opened his mouth to say something but a small voice from behind him stopped the words that were forming in his mouth.

"Hi Papa." A young child said.

"Hi Marline." Barrett said scooping the child up in his arms. "We'll talk about this later."

Tifa smiled with a smug "I win" Look on her face and headed back to the Pinball machine.

"I'm heading out for a few hours." She said. "I'll be back by morning."

"That's a few hours?" Cloud asked.

"Yep." Tifa said and headed up into the bar.

She walked to her room that was atop of her bar and opened her closet and grabbed a black leather jacket and threw it over her shoulders covering her white tank top. She walked to a mirror by the door and gave her hair a toss before dabbing some perfume on her neck and heading back own stairs and out into the streets. A slight breeze was flowing through the slums from the large fans that brought somewhat fresher air to the slums. Her hair was gently blowing with it as she walked through the slums to a small apartment like complex. She passed by the drunks that were sleeping in the halls and up to room 72. The seven had long since fallen off leaving only a shadowed seven on the door. The peep hole was plugged with a piece of tissue and the door looked like it was handing of the hinges with bubblegum. Tifa shook off the cold and pulled the leather jacked closer around her neck and reached out and knocked on the door. Very faintly she heard someone say, "Be right there." Tifa saw light suddenly flash through the peep hole as the tissue was removed then replaced. There was the sound of the thick bolt lock clicking open then the door opened wide and Kerrie stood in the doorway.

"What's up?" She said letting Tifa slip by her.

"Not much." Tifa said. "Just wanted to come hang out with my best friend that's all."

"Oh I see." Kerrie said closing the door and snapping the bolt lock shut.

Tifa walked right into the kitchen and to the meager alcohol cabinet and grabbed the materials she needed to make the drink she was making for Kerrie when Barrett barged in. Kerrie walked up behind her and kissed her gently on the neck and put her arms around Tifa's waist. Tifa set the bottles down and turned around in Kerrie's arms and looked her in the eyes.

"You have no idea how hard it is to sit in your bar for hours talking with you and not being able to even kiss you." Kerrie said softly.

"Try standing behind the bar all night seeing guys and girls looking at you and not being able to tell them that you're my girl." Tifa said kissing Kerrie softly on the lips. "I hate sneaking around but most of my business for the bar is in guys and girls that think they have a shot at me."

"Plus that Barrett guy would probably kill us both." Kerrie said.

"He might." Tifa said. "Marline looks at me like a mother. And being gay would make me look like a monster to her."

Kerrie took a deep breath and leaned her head on Tifa's shoulder and slowly let it out. Tifa smiled and kissed her on the back of the neck and rubbed her back.

"I'm just glad that we only have to sneak around during the day but at night we can be together." Kerrie said.

"Yep." Tifa said. "But I think the group is starting to figure out that I have someone."

"Why?" Kerrie asked.

"Well I'm going out almost every night and not coming back until morning." Tifa said. "And the Nights that I stay in my door is locked and I don't go anywhere."

"That's because you're with me." Kerrie said lifting her head off of Tifa's shoulder and looking into her eyes. "Do you think they know you're with another woman?"

"I don't know." Tifa said. "I don't think so."

Kerrie pulled Tifa in close and looked her in the eyes and kissed her ever so softly on the lips before smiling.

"Let's go to my room." She said in her most seductive voice but even that came out as a low whisper.

"I owe you a drink." Tifa said nodding over her shoulder at the liquor bottles.

"Later." Kerrie said. "I just want to have you in my arms for now."

Tifa smiled and slipped out of Kerrie's arms and walked right behind her into the bed room and closed the door. Kerrie turned around to say something but Tifa stopped her before she could say anything by pressing her lips to Kerrie's and pushing her onto the small bed. Kerrie forgot what she was gonna say and let herself get carried away by Tifa's loving touches.