Struggling down the stairs and clutching his side in pain, Reno reached the bar to find it completely void of any other human beings. A cracked clock on the wall sported the rather absurd time of 9am, a time that seemed non-existent for the usual late riser. He eyed the shelves of drink along the bar wall hungrily, ah how he craved a glass of whiskey…

His thoughts were interrupted by a shrill laugh, the tone cruelly entering his ears and making him feel very uncomfortable. Reno didn't want to turn and face the person, he knew who it was.

"Ow come on Reno, turn round so I can see your new clothes," the voice probed, a hint of amusement obviously evident within the tone. Reno obeyed and rolled his eyes as if he didn't care either way.

"Its either this or me walking about with nothing on. I wouldn't want to put you through that…or would I?" he smirked cheekily and the woman who had laughed still seemed smug.

"Its not like I haven't seen everything already anyway," Tifa giggled, watching with satisfaction as Reno's smirk died away swiftly.

"YOU!" Reno pointed a finger accusingly, "taking advantage of ME. That's something only I would do, yo!"

"Oh don't say it like that, I had to clean you up after your run in with those thugs. It was inevitable." Tifa still had a wide grin plastered to her face.

Reno scowled moodily and turned his back on her for a few moments. Then, with a smile he swivelled back and said, "so…what you think? Better than Cloud yeah?"

Tifa's amusement dropped at the mention of Cloud and her posture stiffened slightly. She sighed and looked away, her hair falling into her face, shielding her sombre visage. Reno felt mixed emotions arise within him. One was jealousy at the effect Cloud had on her and the other one was…ah yes that guilt thing again. He seemed to be feeling that a lot lately. Instead of going over to her or trying to restart the conversation, Reno was at a loss for words, rooted to the spot like a stone statue. The silence almost vibrated around him, while all the time the awkward feeling he had when Tifa was around left him standing there, head cocked to the side, not knowing what to do.

"Don't be so vulgar Reno," she ordered brushing her long locks out of the way. A pause. "Well what do you think of the clothes?"

"I want my suit back, these clothes make me feel like a prat."

"your suit isn't salvable, it looked more like a tattered rag after I peeled it off you. Your shirt was the same, so I guess you'll have to settle with that for now."

"What?" Reno made an audible gasping sound.

"Well I don't see the problem, you look alright in it. A lot better than that baggy suit you always wore," Tifa replied.

"I happen to love that suit!" Reno retorted, but deep down he was chuffed at the compliment she had given him. Tifa smiled fondly again and then atmosphere changed once again as she approached him nervously.

"Uh Reno, I just want to apologise for what happened upstairs. I don't usually kiss people randomly."

"Could've fooled me. You seemed to know what you were doing."

Tifa looked into the eyes of the man standing in front of her. He was sporting a rather goofy smile but his eyes held no sign of humour, his posture although hunched over was taut with tension.

"Reno…" the dark haired woman started but she did not have time to finish her sentence. The Turk had closed the remaining gap between them, slid his arms around her waist so his hands rested on the small of her back and titled his head downwards so his forehead was touching her own. He placed his lips upon hers so gently that Tifa was fully in shock for a few moments. She realised that she had her own hands against his chest from when he had stepped towards her. She had not moved at all, however Reno was not discouraged. He carried on with the kiss, gradually deepening it. The experience was so surreal to Tifa that she melted into his arms without a further thought. Her palms climbed his upper torso to rest around his neck and he retaliated by pulling her to him more closely, friction between them caused by their clothes becoming apparent.

Reno's hands, seemingly with a life of their own found their way under the black tank top that Tifa was wearing and up her smooth back. She lent into his touch emitting a soft moan between the long passionate kiss. He felt her bra clip under his battered fingers and was tempted to unclasp it, he brushed his hand against it a few times, prolonging Tifa's anticipation and then finally with one swift motion undid it with two fingers. He couldn't help but wince in slight discomfort at his bruised hands, they were only beginning to heal from the crushing they received at the bar, but at this moment in time that was the last thing on his mind. He was paying a lot of attention to the AVALANCHE member's neck now, landing small kisses down the length of it to her shoulders whilst letting his hand roam further under her top.

The two were becoming further immersed in the proceedings that the shrill ringing of the phone upstairs made Tifa jump and automatically pull away as if she had been caught doing something extremely wrong.

Forgetting her loose undergarment and ruffled hair she gasped, "I'll have to get that," before darting upstairs and out of sight, leaving a very confused Reno behind.

Reno groaned to himself, half out of embarrassment and half out of frustration. Had Tifa actually wanted what he had? If so why did she move away from him so quickly? This was definitely a situation where a straight drink was needed.

Behind the bar, Reno retrieved a shot glass and a bottle of cheap looking wine. In the process of searching for something a little stronger he had accidentally knocked a glass off a shelf with his elbow, the container smashed on impact with the ground. Cursing in a crude tone, Reno briefly searched for something to clean it up with. With his whole body kneeling, head poking into a cabinet under the bar, Reno did not notice the door open silently or the figure enter.