Hey there folks! Thank you all for being so patient with me and for your wonderful reviews too!

BTW: The french movie mentioned here (Changing Sides, Original title: De l'autre côté du lit) belongs to Pascale Pouzadoux, the movie originally starrs Sophie Marceau and Dany Boon. All rights are reserved to their respective authors/directors!

ANSWERS TO REVIEWS: AkaiArashi1: You know…sometimes it's annoying how you can just…guessRIGHT whom I will introduce next! ^^haha Joking buddy, but you're right Yuffie and Vincent on a spying mission!

Flamelegendvargas: You're right there! It's Yuffie and Vincent! :D

Chapter 36: One Date Part 2

Zack drove straight to Seventh Heaven, Tifa thought their date, albeit short-lived, was over. However, when Zack suddenly grabbed her wrist and stirred her away from her beloved bar Tifa had to question him.

"Zack, where are we going this time?" she turned her head to look at the tall man pushing he forward.

"What? You thought I was so lame? Geez, looks like no one pampered you these past few years Lockhart, I told you, I'll try to make you smile as much as possible tonight." Zack grinned, patting Tifa's back a she stopped pushing her and instead fell into step next to her.

Tifa sighed playfully and smiled, "So, you're leaving me in the dark and won't tell me where we are going?" she gave him a sidelong glance.

"Nope." Was his simple answer, his grin bright and teasing. She rolled her eyes playfully, before looking up at the dark sky with the stars.

"You know…the stars in Nibelheim used to be so much brighter…in Edge it's considered a phenomenon if you could see any at all, due to the pollution and mako."

Zack smiled, looking up at the faintly visible stars as well," Heh, yeah, it was the same in Gongaga. As a kid, my dad always joked that they were so bright he could pluck them from the sky." Feelings of nostalgia welled up inside of both of them.

"…What happened to your parents Zack?" Tifa's voice was quite, her gaze now downcast.

Zack was quite for a while, before he could answer however, Tifa hastily cut in:"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. Especially not on a date, I'm sorry I'm not used to going out and-"

"Oi, let me talk for once will you?" Zack playfully cut her off, sending her a reassuring smile that quelled the fear and nervousness in her.

"Soo, you admit it's a date huh?", he waggled his eyebrows suggestively, before turning serious again, "Don't worry, concerning me, you can ask whatever you want, I promise not to break down into tears and eat ice cream alright?" his grin was teasing but his eyes spoke the truth of his words.

Tifa bit her lip and nodded, her fears evaporated, almost.

"About my old folks…well, the last time I saw them was…let's see….I think I was…thirteen then? It was when I left Gongaga to join SOLDIER." His arms were behind his head nonchalantly, as if he was talking about the weather.

"You left to join SOLDIER at the age of thirteen? Zack, you were just a little boy!" Tifa couldn't believe it, she herself was fifteen when the tragedy had befallen Nibelheim, but she couldn't have done anything against it. However, back then, Zack had had a chance, he willingly left to join SOLDIER.

"Yeah, I guess…I was such a hardhead then…man…" Zack grinned innocently.

"Why…?" Tifa asked softly, curiosity getting the better of her.

Zack's smile turned somber at the thought, his head was slightly lowered, away from Tifa, "Hm…to put it frankly, Gongaga was boring. Especially for someone like me, I didn't want to grow crops, marry some girl in my village and stay there till I turned gray. Dad used to tell me how some of his friends, who were SOLDIERs, kept pestering him to join and make it big there. He kept rejecting them however, I never understood until one night where he openly told me his reason for doing that. At that time, I didn't really understand it.

He told me he didn't want to leave because of me and mom, being a SOLDIER wasn't all it seemed to be, he said there were dangers that I couldn't yet picture and that for him to join SOLDIER, he would have to travel far away and be away on missions. He said he would miss me an' mom too much so he never even considered it. He…wanted to watch me grow and be a part of my life, without mom being worried over him and waiting if he would return." His head lowered further, his lips tightening in a thin life.

"…I guess I took that dream away from both him and ma. I left a year later, not even saying goodbye to them, I left in the middle of the night cause I knew they would try to stop me at all costs. Back then, nothing but SOLDIER and becoming a hero there was on my mind, so I never thought of the consequences. When I met Angeal and after we got to know each-other, there was a time where I liked him better than dad, because he was so brave, so knowledgeable, the greatest, most honorable SOLDIER of all times. I even viewed Angeal as a father-figure for a while, until years later, after I came all beat up from a mission, I realized my dad's true worth.

He missed the opportunity of joining SOLDIER, acquiring fame and fortune, coming out big, fighting on the front lines, to stay with me and mom, in that "boring" village….I heard from a friend of mine that Gongaga was destroyed because of a mako reactor going haywire. That day, Angeal found me outside on the training grounds, crying my eyes out. He sat with me the whole night and comforted me, telling me I wasn't a bad son and that my parents would understand."

When Zack lifted his head, Tifa expected to see tears, but instead she saw a small, sad smile, his eyes were dry.

"Zack…I.." she shook her head, saying sorry wouldn't improve the situation either way. Instead she remained quiet.

"It's alright. I cried enough in the past, crying now wouldn't get me anywhere, it won't bring them back and it won't quench the guilt I feel, but at least I know they are happy and in peace now where they are. Angeal is with them, so they are having a good time." He smiled up at the sky, as if his deceased parents and mentor could actually see him.

Tifa smiled and took a deep breath, "You know…my mother died when I was eight, papa said it was because of an illness, but I never remember mama being ill, so I'm not sure why she died. Since her death, papa had become distant, sometimes he would be out and sitting in front of her grave, mourning. He forbid me from playing the piano because it reminded him too much of mama, after years he discarded it. I was angry at him at first, but later I realized he had a difficult time, with mama dying and me to take care of. He became the sole provider for me, so sometimes he took multiple jobs at a time, working hard and coming home late.

After mama's death, I believed her to be at Mt. Nibel, so I went there one night to see her, but I slipped and fell down. After I woke up days later in a hospital, I saw Cloud beside me, his injuries were worse than mine and I concluded he jumped after me and took the brunt of my fall. Papa though…he thought Cloud led me to Mt. Nibel in the first place, I kept trying to convince him otherwise but he was a stubborn man. He didn't like Cloud ever since and forbid me from playing with him."

Zack had all the while listened intently to Tifa pouring her heart out to him, revealing her past to him. After a few weeks of living with her, he had concluded she was shy and kept her feelings locked up in herself, her heart.

Lockheart. Locked heart.

He had also noticed a pattern whenever Tifa interacted with her friends, the kids or people in general, them first, Tifa second. It was always like that. Tifa always put others above herself and it had been like that with Cloud too. Cloud firmly believed that even if he left her, Tifa would remain strong and standing, understand his actions. Sometimes, Zack found himself wishing she was a bit more selfish than that, to teach Cloud a lesson that she wasn't available at his every beck and call.

Unwillingly, he had noticed the difference between Aerith and Tifa. While Aerith had been bubbly, outgoing and flirty, Tifa was more shy, responsible and caring. Aerith had been a sweetheart, but at times, Zack had wondered if the relationship they had would have last if he hadn't "died" then and the whole incident with Sephiroth.

Now was not the time to think of the past and re-open old wounds, though he suspected now it was too late.

"Zack?" Tifa leaned closer to him and seemingly ripping him from his thoughtful state.

"I'm sorry! I…I was just…I'm sorry Tifa, I had been listening it's just…I noticed that you always put others before yourself….why?" he looked into her burgundy eyes, hints of brown here and there. They softened at his question, a sadness covering them he found he disliked greatly.

"I want to see people happy, I hate it when someone is sad near me when I know I can help it. I want to help people as much as possible so they aren't sad. That's the theme of Seventh Heaven as well, no matter who enters my bar, if they have their burdens to unload I listen and give advice.

I also try to convince them not to drown their sorrows in alcohol but instead to talk about it and accept it. Mostly it works, but other times…they decide that being drunk is the only way to handle their situation. To handle what happened." Her tone turned sad but she shook her head, determination lightning up her eyes.

Zack smiled warmly, feeling fondness grow for the woman before him.

"But Zack…you do that too!" her lips formed into a playful pout as she regarded him with her hands on her hips.

Zack's blue, glowing eyes widened briefly before he pointed at himself and exclaimed dramatically:" Wha- ME?"

Tifa giggled and nodded, before her tone grew warm and serious:" You protected Denzel even though he didn't like you at all at the beginning, you protected Marlene, you spend time with them and teach them new things even though you have absolutely no obligation to them, you help me with the bar, help AVALANCHE…"

Zack scratched the back of his head, fighting down his blush, "Eh…well…yeah, of course! I can't just let a small kid like Denzel get attacked, they grew on me ever since I stay at the bar…they lost their parents because of Meteor, Sephiroth…I just want to give them something back, I know it may not be the same but…I want to forget at least for a little while all the tragedies they had to endure and are still fighting…" he thought about Denzel's Geostigma.

"And…what man wouldn't help a beautiful lady such as yourself?" he grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. Tifa giggled and playfully punched his shoulder, Zack stuck his tongue at her and Tifa did the same, causing them both to laugh.

After their laughter subsided, Tifa smiled and asked mischievously:" Say Zack, how many girlfriends did you have before Aerith?" she was quite curious, surely someone as handsome and kind as Zack had had many girlfriends.

The former First Class SOLDIER was taken aback by the question, though he swore to himself that he wouldn't hide anything from Tifa and to be honest with her, so that's what he was gonna do.

"Not many to be honest, I think…three? But they were more like one-time-dates than actual "girlfriends". Heh, yeah I wasn't a womanizer, more like a hopeless flirt. I tried flirting with some girls but never anything serious and mostly I failed spectacularly at it too." He chuckled uncomfortably while rubbing his neck. "I went on some dates but none of them caught my interest enough to actually start anything.",

Tifa's brows furrowed, she asked while biting her lips:" What about Aerith?"

He paused thoughtfully before smiling slightly, "I…think I had fallen in love with her back then. After I escaped from the lab with Cloud and read her last letter, I was devastated. I was even more devastated after hearing she was dead. I guess Aerith was my first girlfriend I had actually considered as something lasting…" again a pause, "Though I…I'm not so sure now. I talked to her in the Lifestream, she didn't really change from her past self…I'm not sure if our relationship would have really lasted. I changed a lot too and I'm not the same anymore I was years ago…"

Zack looked at Tifa then and smirked," What about you? Surely the guys can't keep their hands off you." He bumped shoulders with her playfully.

Tifa giggled in embarrassment," Well…there have been offers but…" a frown suddenly marred her beautiful features, which in turn made Zack worry, she bit her lip:" I…always rejected them."

Zack had a hunch and straight out asked:" Because of Cloud?" his eyes softened at the mention of his best friend, which was god knows where now.

" Yeah...he used to be my childhood crush after all."

Zack bit his tongue hard, he badly wanted to ask her what changed her mind into agreeing to go out with him, before he mentally smacked himself. This wasn't a date! They had agreed so!

"But I'm glad I finally get to go out on a date. Yuffie already kept teasing me about dying with eighty cats in the bar all alone-" Tifa suddenly covered her mouth, oh god…she had just said "date".

Damn it. They had agreed that this wasn't a date!

"I-I….I'm sorry Zack! I d-didn't mean date I, um…I-" Tifa spluttered, at a loss for words suddenly.

Zack cast aside his nervousness, "Why? I…w-want this to be a date." He mentally cursed at his stuttering. Great, now she would surely laugh at him…or kick his ass…

"A-alright, then…" burgundy eyes shyly looked away from the handsome man, staring into the opposite side of her so Zack didn't see her burning face.

"Y-yeah…" Zack agreed, rubbing his neck and adjusting his hair awkwardly. Spikes would be spikes…they would only get even messier if he messed with them now. He sighed.

"So, where are we going?"

"We are already here." In the midst of their conversation, Tifa hadn't noticed they stood now in a small clearing, with a telescope a few feet away.

Her eyes widened.

A telescope? How did he-?

"I remember you talking one night about watching the stars in Nibelheim and how here you can't really see them, seems like tonight they are a bit visible so I thought we could watch them together if you'd like-" his eyes widened as Tifa suddenly hugged him tightly.

She mumbled into his shirt:" Thank you…Zack…" she stayed like this, hugging him tightly and Zack couldn't help but hug her back, cradling her close to him. He could get used to this…

He quickly shook his head and instead led her toward the telescope, when she sent him a confused look he grinned and explained:" Cid had one of these boys in his storage room, he let me borrow it if I clean out his airship tomorrow." Zack chuckled.

Tifa's eyes softened at Zack's consideration, he would willingly clean a airship bigger than the Shinra building just so Tifa could see the stars more clearly? Her feelings for him grew even more.

Both adults had great fun in watching the stars, Zack would point out the stars Tifa didn't recognize and say something to them as well as Tifa would do the same to Zack if he didn't recognize some of the stars or constellations.

"They are so beautiful tonight…thank you so much Zack." Tifa looked up at the sky, happiness filling her heart like it used to when she was a child and her mother used to teach her how to play the piano.

Zack's smile was soft as he looked at Tifa from the corner of his eyes and silently agreed, though his mind was somewhere else than on the stars right now.

That same place far, far away…

"What are they doing now?! REPORT!" the tall male sighed heavily, running a hand down his face and briefly glancing at his three barreled gun before at the duo watching the stars.

"Yuffie…I already told you, they are watching the stars through Cid's telescope…" Vincent sighed again, shaking his head.

"STILL?! But it's like half an hour already since you last called Vince! I was expecting to see something interesting! Like Tifa accidentally falling and Zack coming to her rescue and staring into her eyes and being all lovey-dovey and that they FINALLY kiss! I heard the ground wasn't so hard, they could easily just lay on it and-"

"They're moving back to Seventh Heaven now," Vincent was glad that Zack and Tifa decided to head back, it gave him a excuse to interrupt Yuffie, he did not want to know how she would finish her sentence.

He wasn't paid enough for this.

Speaking of payment…

"Yuffie, you still didn't tell me how you will pay me." Vincent smirked smugly, he had her now.

"P-Pay? W-well….you know how I will pay you!" her voice turned squeaky and shy all of a sudden, no doubt from embarrassment.

"I want you to say it," Vincent held back a chuckle

"F-fine…I'll give you five materia of your selection…BUT ONLY FIVE AND NOT ONE MORE!" she shouted at the end into the phone, making Vincent remove his phone away from his ear.

"Good. I'll be going then."

"KEEP THE DETAILS COMING! I WANT JUICY DETAILS FOR BLACKMAIL MATERIAL VINCENT!" the former Turk rolled his eyes playfully before pocketing his phone and quietly following Zack and Tifa again, jumping from roof to roof.

"Ah, I see you have returned." Nanaki smiled as he stretched, purring softly when Tifa petted his head affectionately.

"Thank you so much Nanaki, please tell me if you need anything at all alright?" the red furred beast smirked and nodded his head at Zack's direction.

"Don't worry about that Tifa, I have everything I need." He growled at Zack playfully, the man shot him a small glare before Nanaki chuckled and disappeared into the night.

Zack shook his head as Tifa kept giggling all the way, holding the door open for her and locking the bar afterwards.

"What do you say we pop in a movie? I think I know a good one I haven't watched in a while." Zack grinned and briefly went upstairs, before jogging quietly back down to Tifa.

He held up the DVD "Changing Sides" ah a comedy film.

"I thought everything was destroyed, where did you dig this out from?" Tifa asked, a brow raised in surprise.

Zack grinned and confessed:" Nah, I managed to save this, it…it was a gift from Kunsel. He gave it to me after I have been appointed to First Class, we watched it together and had a good laugh. I admit, it's a bit on the romantic side but it mostly has really funny scenes. Not my favorite one but it's really not bad."

Tifa smiled and took the DVD from him, taking a couple of sweets with her as she jumped on the couch and called:" You coming slow poke?" Zack grinned and speed walked to the couch, jumping on the spot next to Tifa, eyeing the sweets she brought with her mischievously.

Tifa protectively pulled the sweets, consisting of chocolate, cookies, lollipops and chips, closer to herself, "It helps me think alright…" Zack chuckled and plucked a lollipop from the bunch, ignoring her feigned look of shock.

Tifa had already started the movie.

"Hey Zack…" Tifa whispered as if they were in a cinema.

"Hmm?" he hummed, his eyes focused on the screen.

"What's the movie about?" Tifa blinked innocently, chewing on a chip.

"You'll find out. No spoilers!" Zack playfully snapped at her, motioning with a finger to his mouth to be quiet, Tifa pouted.

Half an hour passed and Tifa was watching the movie intently, it depicted a married couple, Ariane and Dante, with their two children, they were increasingly stressful from their jobs, the reparations at their home, their duties in the family and their love lives. In order to save their marriage, Ariane got the idea to switch lives/roles for the duration of a whole year. Her husband refused at first, they consult a judiciary officer who helps them seal the deal and emotionally supports them on their way to save their marriage.

As the film progressed, Zack laughed at the scene where Dante was driving his wife's car, which was pink, to bring the kids to school, who were late, again. The teacher that came to open the gates for them sent Dante a flirty wink before leading the children by their hands inside the school building. Dante scratched his head and was confused, all the while angry drivers kept shouting for him to move the car out of the way.

"Oh hell, I understand Dante a bit." Tifa gave Zack a confused look, shifting farther away from him in comedic fear.

Zack chuckled and explained:" Hey, Aerith forced me to build her thousands of flower wagons and I helped her sell them, I liked spending time with her, but after we didn't get any costumers, she had the brilliant idea of decorating my hair with flowers and I was appointed to attract the customers.

I was forced to wear a incredibly tight shirt and I didn't understand why we constantly got female customers all the time, but then it clicked later on and I refused to ever stand there just for show…I felt so used…smiling there and looking pretty as I was…" Zack sniffed, wiping a imaginary tear away from his blue eyes.

Tifa rolled her eyes and gently elbowed him, he chuckled and they continued to watch the movie.

They watched as at first, Ariane and Dante were completely incompetent and at a loss of what to do, the first thing Ariane, at Dante's construction equipment rental company, did was issue the command to replace the coffee machine with a new one.

Tifa released a dreamy sigh when one of Ariane, or rather Dante's, business colleagues called Flanvart, who was very handsome, smiled at Ariane. Zack rose an eyebrow, crossing his arms.

"He's cute," Tifa commented playfully, eating from the bag of chips.

"He's lame," Zack also ate from the bag, "You'll see in the end, she will find out that he sleeps with everyone in the company. All the good-lookin' guys do." He said it so nonchalantly that Tifa laughed, "Besides…who the hell's name is Flanvart of all things? Midgar must have been in a pinch then," he shook his head.

"Oh? So that means you've slept with everyone in SOLDIER?" she teased him playfully before Zack shot her a dark, playful look.

"Oho, you think I'm good-looking? Why thank you sweets." Zack chuckled as Tifa shoved him, rapidly shoving Choccobo chips into her mouth to avoid saying anything anymore embarrassing.

Zack and Tifa groaned at the same time when the typical cliché of the annoying mother came into view. The mother of Ariane, Lise, wasn't pleased at all that her daughter and son-in-law switched lives, she watched in horror how Dante was turning into a woman and her beloved Ariane was turning into a land shark.

That's why she stormed inside the office of Gray, the law officer who helped and gave tips to Ariane and Dante, demanding that he annulled the whole arrangement. But he calmly protested and showed her the document with the signatures of both Ariane and Dante, it was foolproof.

Zack whistled when Gray invited the woman out on a so called date in a fancy restaurant which, much to their disappointment, would be showed later.

"I wonder what's going to happen on their date…maybe she will beat him up with her purse…" she whispered to Zack, feeling excited.

"I don't remember it anymore but I remember that Kunsel and I were pretty embarrassed when we watched some of the scenes, I don't remember why though."

Well, soon enough Zack did remember. And he wanted to shoot himself. Now Zack remembered why he almost slapped Kunsel's helmet off his head for purchasing this movie, it had been filmed in Sector 6 and everyone knew what in Sector 6 was…Don Corneo

It was a freaking movie filmed in Sector 6, what did he expect? Of course there would be in some way, shape or form sex scenes in there! Zack shook his head, his cheeks burning slightly, hell Tifa would kill him once she recognized some of the scenery.

The first steamy scene, if you could call it that, they encountered was surprisingly on Gray and Lise's "date".

They met in a restaurant with low lights, Gray dressed in a elegant suit while Lise came in her casual attire. As they sat and argued, more on Lise's side than not, Gray, instead of talking back, suddenly started complimenting her.

Describing her as a woman, her face, her beauty, detailed descriptions of the shape of her breast…etc.

"Oh my god," Tifa crossed her arms over her chest defensively, shivering, "I just got a bad case of goose bumps!" meanwhile next to her, leaning heavily against the arm of the couch, Zack was laughing his ass off, courtesy of Tifa's behavior.

"Damn it Lockhart, how can you get goose bumps? Little ol' Gray was just complimenting her!" Zack ran a hand down his face and crossed his legs, staring at Tifa with amusement.

"W-well, I would feel slightly defensive if a guy I just met starts describing me so intimately!" Tifa's blush was adorable to Zack, she was adorable.

He scooted closer, his grin playful and sinful as he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows:" Oh? So, would I be a bad boy if I started describing you?" Tifa's eyes widened as she looked at Zack, whose eyes shone in amusement.

"Don't you even dare…"

"Oh, where do I begin!" he placed a hand over his forehead dramatically, peeking at Tifa with one eye," How I shall describe thee, with thou beautiful legs and thou beautiful face, eyes the color of scarlet roses blooming in the midst of thee summer day, lips that lure the weaker race in thee spell, emotions burning with the intensity of a thousand suns and more!

And that hair!" Zack's voice was higher than normal accompanied by dramatic gestures with his hands, one hand on his chest and the other outstretched towards Tifa.

The woman in question rested a hand over her eyes, too embarrassed to look at the handsome SOLDIER currently describing her in a very comical fashion.

And then she burst out laughing.

"Ohh how I adore thee!" Zack continued with his act, he enjoyed making Tifa laugh and smile. And he enjoyed seeing and hearing it quite a lot too. He realized with a start that he had somewhat made it his personal mission to make her happy as often as he could.

After their session of cracking jokes, making parodies of the last minutes of the movie and laughing together they went to clean up the mess they made.

As they finished cleaning the table of the sweets they ate earlier, Zack spotted Tifa staring out the window, lost in thought.

He approached her slowly, placing a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently.

"Don't worry, he's fine Tifa." The woman in question sighed, closing her eyes briefly before opening them and looking straight up at Zack.

"What if Genesis lost them? What if Vincent and him got captured and Hojo is performing experiments on them?" her tone grew increasingly worried, Zack frowned at her distressed state.

"Hey, hey, don't worry. We shouldn't jump to conclusions when we don't even know what's going on. They are most likely just keeping watch tonight, memorizing their patrols, trying to gather useful information. And Genesis is no pushover in a fight and I think Vince can handle himself pretty well too. I don't think we should worry about that, Teef."

Tifa released a small sigh, her nerves easing slightly at Zack's words and the fact he called her by her nickname again. She actually liked it when he did that, of course, she would never admit it out loud.

"C'mon, it's late and we ain't getting any younger." Zack teased with a small, hopeful grin.

Tifa smiled and playfully shoved him, "You mean you aren't getting any younger with your eighty something years Fair." The raven haired man held a hand to his heart, wincing as if in pain, Tifa just shook her head and brushed passed him.

Zack chuckled and shook his head, following her and switching the lights off in the bar.

Both quietly approached the door to the children's bedroom, opening it just so they could see the children sound asleep, Marlene clutching her Choccobo plushie tightly in her arms while Denzel hair obscured nearly his entire face, hiding the signs of Geostigma…

They smiled and closed the door as quietly as they opened it and soon they found themselves in the middle of the hallway, standing awkwardly in front of their respective rooms.

Zack and Tifa didn't want the night to end yet, but what else was there to do? They couldn't go out again, Nanaki was gone and they didn't want to leave the kids alone, even if they were asleep.

"Hey, um, Zack…?" Tifa quietly said, her gaze directed at the floor.

"Y-yeah?" he internally cursed his stuttering, well at least he knew he wasn't the only nervous one here.

"I-I have some board games and cards we could play.." at his surprised look, she quickly added," I-if you want, I mean, you don't have to of course, we could just go to bed and-"

Zack cut Tifa off with a warm grin, "I'd like that," at Zack's smoldering gaze Tifa straightened and took a calming breath, before she opened her bedroom door and went in search of those board games.

Perched on top of a roof

"It appears to me like they will begin to play strip poker," Vincent's calm, collected voice did nothing to soothe the reaction his partner-in-crime.

"WHAT?! TURN ON THE CAMERA! I'M COMING OVER DAMN IT!" Yuffie's hysteric, disbelieving voice could be heard shouting loudly from the phone.

"Oh, no…sorry, they're just playing cards."

"EXACTLY HOW DID YOU DEDUCE THEY WERE PLAYING STRIP POKER?!"

"It's very late…they're two adults in a bedroom…I was thinking forward." Vincent couldn't suppress a chuckle, he just loved teasing Yuffie.

"Ha ha, very funny Mr.I-think-I'm-too-cool-for-a-hairbrush." Vincent shook his head, resting his arm against his knee as he observed the duo.

"Your loss. Give me the Choccobo woman." Zack held his hand out with a wide grin, Tifa mumbled something under her breath as she gave her precious card to Zack, a green Choccobo, deadly in combat with amazing healing abilities.

"How comes I always lose the medics? You stole my Cait Sith and green Choccobo!" Tifa accused Zack playfully, cradling her remaining cards protectively against her chest.

"Tough luck. Besides, you stole my Tonberry and Behemoth!" Tifa crossed her arms, great. She only had three medics left, if she chose her next move carefully she just may get back her monsters.

"Take that Fair!" she slammed down "Tonberry", smirking when Zack's face paled.

"Now you're pushing it Lockhart! That's just unfair, using my strongest baby against me!" he pouted, crossing his muscled arms.

"I want a rematch!" Zack threateningly waved his remaining two cards at Tifa's face.

"We already had six! We are even." She paused for a moment, before thinking out loud, "I wonder how such a innocent looking thing can be the deadliest monster you'd have the luck to encounter…"

Zack shook his head with a sigh as he shrugged, "Beats me, Tonberries look all cute and innocent but one move from that kitchen knife and you're dead." Both were quite, before they burst out laughing.

"Hey Teef…" she perked up, looking at him expectantly.

"Let's play Truth or Dare!" he looked very excited, grinning from ear to ear.

Tifa saw no harm in that, she trusted Zack wouldn't make her do any weird dares, not that she would choose them anyway.

"Alright. I'll start. Truth or dare?"

"Dare me Lockhart," Tifa grinned, a finger resting innocently on her chin as she looked around the room.

"I dare you to open the window and shout out, but not enough so the children hear, that you love and adore Tonberries above anything!" Tifa's grin was quivering, willing herself not to giggle at Zack's mortified expression.

Well damn…

He sighed heavily and sluggishly moved to his feet, walking toward the window. He opened it, rolled his shoulders and cupped his hands over his mouth.

"I FREAKING LOVE TONBERRIES! I LOVE HOW GREEN THEY ARE AND HOW CUTE THEY LOOK WITH A KITCHEN KNIFE IN THEIR HANDS! I LOVE HOW THEY HAVE THOSE KILLER EYES AND THAT FUNNY FISH TAIL THINGY!" he made sure he controlled his volume so as to not wake the kids up, thank god that they were heavy sleepers.

"WE DON'T CARE WHAT SORT OF FETISH YOU HAVE UP THERE! KEEP THAT INSIDE YOUR BEDROOM DAMN IT!" a guy across the street shouted back

"STOP IT TIM! LET THE MAN HAVE FANTASIES IF HE WANTS TO! YOU DREAM OF CHOCCOBO CHICKS EVERY DAMN NIGHT!" another man from his own window shouted at the man across the street.

"CAN IT LUKE! THOSE ARE REAL CHICKS!"

Perched on the same roof…

"Did you hear that?"

"Loud and clear." Yuffie was laughing hard on the other end of the phone, while Vincent let out a few low chuckles of his own, what a mess.

"Now I'm damn interested in that game they're playing."

"This time, you're not alone Yuffie," Vincent smirked, grinning.

Tifa and Zack burst out laughing, muffling their laughs in pillows to tone them down. Zack rolled on his stomach on the floor, shaking with laughter while Tifa laid her head on his shoulder, laughing quietly.

It took them a while to calm down, after they straightened up, Zack was still chuckling as he posed Tifa the famous question, " Truth or d-dare?" he shook his head and calmed down from his earlier laughing fit.

Tifa giggled, "Truth," ah damn…she played it safe.

"Hmm…alright. What was your most embarrassing moment? Ever?" he leaned in as he looked at Tifa with rapt interest.

She blushed while biting her lip, before she confessed:" Um….w-well…" she looked off to the side, "I had just been done taking a shower…"

"Ok, the story starts out good already." Zack grinned, bumping shoulders with Tifa playfully as she smacked his chest.

"Oh shut it you…anyway…I didn't know someone was in the bar aside from me, Denzel and Marlene, so I just went to the washroom downstairs to get my dry shirt. I dropped the towel to dress myself but..uhm….Cid barged in…"

Zack's eyes widened, "He…saw you naked?" Tifa's blush heated darkly

"Well…not really..I mean I used the shirt to cover myself…then I threw a chair and ironing board at him…" she blushed, shaking her head.

"Poor guy…" Zack shivered, feeling sympathy for the old pilot. Hell, the poor man probably hadn't known what hit him, literally, until he saw Tifa's almost naked state and in the next millisecond a chair and a ironing board came crashing into him.

"My turn! Truth or dare?"

"Truth," he didn't trust her anymore with any dares.

"Did you or did you not eat all the cookies from the cookie jar?"

"It was Denzel I swear!" Zack held his hands up in the air in defense, Tifa laughed.

"Alright, sorry, now for the real question."

"That wasn't the real question?" Tifa lightly punched his arm for that remark

"What…why did you decide to stay in SOLDIER even after you found out the truth?" the question surprised Zack, this had been the last question he had been expecting.

At his slightly conflicted expression Tifa quickly interjected:" I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked such a question, you don't have to-"

"It's alright Teef," the use of her nickname somehow reassured her nerves, but it did nothing to soothe her discomfort at asking such a personal question on her first date…yeah…date…

Zack cleared his throat, feeling it suddenly tighten, "Before I…before Angeal went up to the Lifestream, he had been the sole reason I kept going but I also wanted answers from Shinra, why they forced my friends into fleeing from them, why they wouldn't help the people from the slums…I never got any answers, I only saw the harsh reality later on, after Angeal's death. I hadn't done any missions in a long time, I didn't talk to anyone, Sephiroth had been isolated too at that time.

Shinra, in case Sephiroth ever found out the truth of his heritage, had used Jenova to keep him chained to Shinra but the plan backfired. Sephiroth had gone insane, destroyed everything…he had become what he never was before, a monster. Genesis kept quoting "LOVELESS", saying that the three protagonists in the story remind him of himself, Angeal and Sephiroth. He always spoke of himself as if he really were a monster, something horrid. But the real monsters were the entire company all along. Old man Shinra, Hojo, Hollander, Scarlet…every last one of them…"

Zack's fist tightened before he exhaled softly and continued," After Angeal died I lost my way for a while, not even Aerith was able to bring me back. Then Cloud asked me once about the Buster Sword, about how I never used it in battle. That's where I remembered the first time I asked Angeal that, how we met when I was just a Third, how he accepted me as his pupil…protected me and guided me up the ranks…" Zack's gaze was rooted to the floor, but Tifa knew he was swimming in memories long passed.

"The will to fight, to continue hoping for tomorrow and for a better future…at first I thought of it as a foolish dream….but I made it my goal ever since. And I plan on fighting till the end again." He looked Tifa seriously in the eyes, she was slightly startled at how serious he was.

She smiled tenderly and rested her warm hand on his shoulder, "And I'll fight with you till the end." She promised with a serious look and a soft, meaningful smile.

He raised his hand to rest it on top of her own, squeezing gently, letting his warmth seep into her skin.

They felt stronger now for some odd reason, like they could save the Planet the next day. If only it were so easy…

"Let's call it a night, I feel those bones aging already." Zack grinned, lightening the mood a bit.

Tifa giggled and nodded, helping him clean up their card games. Zack stood outside of her bedroom, facing Tifa as she addressed him with a smile

"Thank you so much for today Zack…it was…wonderful." Her smile made his heart give a tug, he brushed it off.

"It's alright Teef, I had a lot of fun tonight too. Never pegged you for the Tonberry-stealing type." He winked playfully

"Well, I guess you still need to learn some things about me," she meant it as a joke but when Zack suddenly leaned closer to her to whisper in her ear, her brain momentarily stopped working.

"And I've got the time to do it too." He smirked, telling her a last good night before they parted ways. Tifa quickly closed her door and sighed, feeling sad that it was over but happy all the same that Zack had gone through so much to gift her those hours of relaxation and freedom.

"You can come out now Vincent," Zack was leaning against the wall outside of Seventh Heaven, his arms and legs crossed as he closed his eyes, trying to detect any noises.

There.

With a soft, barely audible rustle of cloth, Vincent landed gracefully on the ground, in front of Zack.

"How did you know?" Vincent's eyes were slightly narrowed in suspicion.

Zack opened his eyes and shrugged, "I realized Kadaj and his gang would never be so patient as to wait for hours for the opening to arise. I left an obvious opening tonight, any enemy would have taken it, from there I knew it wasn't an enemy. And you're the only one aside from maybe Cloud who has enough patience and stealth to track and follow us without alerting Tifa. At least of your real identity."

Vincent smirked faintly," I see, you're perceptive Fair, unlike how word spreads about you,"

"Oh? There are rumors?"

Vincent shook his head, "Not exactly, call it a family gathering and exchange of information,"

"So, it's the Turks?" Zack grinned

"Yes." Vincent couldn't help but chuckle lowly, nodding.

"I see, of course, who else? Well, greet Yuffie from me will ya? I'm hitting the hay." He waved at Vincent as he once again locked the door to the bar and shut off the lights.

Vincent stood there for several more moments, before his phone started ringing again.

He had another mission to complete.

It required infiltrating the bar and doing something to a certain bartender and former SOLDIER.

Phew! I hope you guys enjoyed reading! PLEASE LEAVE ME SOME REVIEWS! I'M STARVIIIING FOR REVIEWWS! Thanks for waiting so long too! ^^ Woah...7k something words for this chapter...longest one I've written so far :3 haha