Disclaimer: I don't own Final fantasy or anything related to it.

A/N: Thank you so much to my reviewers, I just love getting reviews! I can't wait to get more.

Aeris, Yuffie, Vincent, Cloud and Barret were busily put up decorations in the garden. Cid and Red XIII were collecting wood to build a bonfire. Tifa was mixing cocktails and cooking food, while Elena and Reno assisted her.

"If you drop me your in big trouble!" Yuffie stated as Vincent put her on his shoulders, they were putting up the lantern lights.

"I promise I won't drop you." Vincent stated.

She attached the lights and tested them. "Great, they work!" Vincent lifted her down; they both looked into each others eyes for a moment and then quickly glanced away.

Tifa noticed this through the window in the kitchen. "Aww, looks like love is in the air." She said aloud, Tifa turned to see what Elena and Reno thought.

Elena was squirting whipped cream at Reno, while he retaliated by pelting her with chocolate chips.

Tifa stood still, she was completely gob smacked. "What are you doing?!"

"He started it." Elena said.

"Did not." Reno protested.

"Did so!"

"Na ah"

"Ya ha."

The whipped cream can ran dry.

"Ha-ha, now the tables have turned." Reno said as he advanced towards her with a bottle of chocolate sauce in hand.

"No, nothing gets out chocolate! I surrender, I surrender!" She shrieked and fell to her knees in a begging position.

"Make yourself useful while you're down there." Reno teased.

Elena blushed, "You are so easily distracted!" She said as she jumped up and ruffled his hair. She snatched the chocolate sauce off him and squirted it on his face.

"Oh you're a sneaky one Elena!" he said as he tried to wipe it off. "But you didn't count on the power of ketchup!"

"Enough! Stop attacking each other with food and help me make some mini pizzas." Tifa ordered.

They were definitely a bad influence on each other.

"Now you've gone and got us in trouble." Elena whispered sarcastically, causing Reno to burst out laughing. It was fun playing with Elena; Reno had been restraining himself recently, and hadn't dared to step out of line. But with Elena he couldn't help being his real, fun loving self.

Marlene climbed up on to a stool and sat at the breakfast bar. She giggled at the assorted sauces that had covered Elena and Reno.

"Silly ice cream making people!" she laughed even more.

Tifa and Reno exchanged confused looks.

"It's a private joke." Elena assured them

She grinned, "Are you looking forward to tonight Marlene?" she asked

"I sure am, papa say's he'll show me how to cook marshmallows on sticks." The little girl replied, sounding ever so excited.

"Cool, we baked cookies for tonight, do you want one?" Tifa asked.

Marlene nodded. "My ones are the best!" Elena said proudly.

Reno poked her in the ribs, "Are not, mine are!"

"Na ah!"

"Ya ha!"

"Oh here we go again." Tifa sighed.

"No way, mine have smiley faces." Elena said trying to impress Marlene.

"Well, mine are heart and star shaped!" Reno appealed.

Marlene laughed, "I'm sure both types are yummy! I guess I'll just have to eat a lot of them to decide."

"You can only have one now, you little piggy." Tifa joked as she handed her a cookie and tickled her.

Aeris had been put in charge of making sure the bonfire was being built properly.

"Cid, stop piling it up like sissy girl!" She shouted.

Cid jumped back, Aeris was scary when she had power.

"Red XIII! we need more wood and no stupid, useless twigs this time!" She ordered

"I know! but its hard work carrying it, I don't have hands like the rest of you." He complained.

"I don't want your worthless excuses cadet, just get the wood!!!"

Cloud cautiously approached, "Are you okay honey?"

"Yeah! Teehee, being in charge is fun!" She replied sweetly. Cloud smiled and went back to hanging lanterns with Yuffie and Vincent.

"Maybe she was right?" Rude said, he had returned home and was enjoying beers with Rufus.

"What do you mean?" Rufus replied.

"The way we're treating Reno, I just don't think I can hate my best friend!" Rude sighed.

"He got us into trouble time and time again, it's his loss." Rufus to a swig of his beer, he was a bit of a light weight and was already drunk. "And if you need help hating him think of this....."

"What?" Rude questioned.

"He's probably going to bone your girlfriend." Rufus laughed, he wouldn't usually use such crude language, but the drink had gotten to him.

Rude was furious, Rufus was right, "..........."

"They were always close, but now you've pushed them even closer, just forget about them." Rufus slurred.

If he wasn't the last friend he had, Rude would have punched him.

"I hate him!" Rude concluded as he opened another bottle of beer.

Night came and the gang were all gathered in the garden enjoying the party.

Barret was showing Marlene how to cook marshmallows, like he had promised.

"Go on I dare you!" Yuffie persisted.

"Yuffie! I am not going to try and jump over the fire!" Vincent said for the 12 time that night. "You have to, I dared you!" she replied.

"And what if I dared you to kiss Cid?" Vincent said smugly.

"Ew, I see your point!" They both laughed.

"I want to get some food, can I get you anything?" Yuffie asked.

"Just a mix of whatever's there." Vincent replied. Yuffie piled up the plate with the delicious food that Tifa and the Ex- Turks had made. She picked up a cookie and put it on Vincent's plate.

Vincent smiled and blushed slightly, the cookie she had bought him was one of Reno's heart shaped ones. Cloud had just performed the same gesture to Aeris, as had Barret to Elmyra.

"See, my cookies are the best everyone keeps taking them and not yours." Reno said proudly.

"That's only because they are all in Lurrrvvvv with each other." She protested.

Reno shook his head; Elena never wanted to accept defeat. He shoved one of the heart shaped cookies in her mouth and winked.

Tifa called him over to where she was sitting, he went to go and talk to her. The cookie gesture really did work; it made her own heart pound. Elena took a bite and smiled. They were incredibly good cookies.

"What is it Tifa?" Reno asked.

"I just thought as it is such a lovely night, that you might want to look at the stars." She suggested.

"I could see them perfectly well over there." He said sounding more naive than rude.

"I mean with me." She added. "Oh, I see." He looked up at the sky.

"It's so pretty isn't it?" She sighed.

"Not really, I think it's kind of dull." Reno admitted.

"When I lived in the slums I could never see the stars." Tifa continued choosing to ignore his last comment.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that whole "dropping the plate on your home" thing." Reno said feeling slightly awkward.

"It doesn't matter now." She replied. They sat in silence for a while.

"Well, this was nice." Reno said as he got up and dusted the grass off of his trousers.

"Are you going, and so soon after you came to sit with me." Tifa replied sounding disappointed.

Reno hoped he could come up with an excuse quickly. "I have to go and help light fire works."

He said as he waved his lighter around. "I'll come to." Tifa decided, Reno helped her up.

Reno gave his lighter to Cloud and he lit the fireworks. Tifa tried to stand close to Reno; she grasped his hand. Reno quickly grabbed Elena and pulled her between him and Tifa.

"What's that Elena, old buddy? You don't like the loud bangs; I'll cover your ears then, but I'll need both of my hands." Reno said loudly.

"What are you doing?" Elena whispered.

"Just play along. Tifa keeps trying to make a move on me." He replied.

"Okay, ahhhh I'm so scared, save me Reno!" she said slightly over acting.

Reno took his hand out of Tifa's and covered Elena's ears.

"I would have thought she would be use to banging, doesn't she use a gun?" Tifa questioned.

"Ummm, she's odd like that." Reno explained. Elena nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.

"I can still hear you, you know!" she whispered.

He leant his head on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Sorry, Tifa just won't quit!"

Elena swallowed hard, his breath felt great against her neck.

Tifa noticed Elena reaction. She decided to stare up at the Fireworks instead of at Elena.

Tifa allowed one tear to stream down her face,

"Pull yourself together!" She told herself.

"It would have never have worked with Reno anyway, things are to complicated." This thought gave her some comfort.

Cloud had one arm around Aeris; he felt sad for Tifa so he wrapped his free arm around her and pulled her close. Aeris didn't seem to mind at all, which surprised Tifa.

Reno noticed this and took his hands off of Elena's ears. He carefully put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, so her back was pressed against his chest.

Yuffie was also watching the fireworks; she wished Vincent would do to her what Reno had just done to Elena. But Yuffie understood. Vincent would never act so forcefully after what she went through, Instead Yuffie just leant her head on Vincent's shoulder. He slowly put his arm around her; Vincent did want Yuffie to feel inferior to the other girls who were all receiving special attention.

"That was an awesome display!"

Aeris said after the fireworks had finished.

"Who wants hot coco?" she asked sweetly.

"Oh I do!" Marlene shouted loudly.

"Alright, but then straight to bed with you!" Barret said as he swept the little girl up.

"I'll put the fire out for you." Elena offered, "Just make sure you save me some!"

The others went inside to the house; they carried the remaining food inside.

Elena fiddled with the hose; it came on unexpectedly and soaked her.

"Why is does this always happen to me!" she thought.

She did as she said and put out the fire. Elena looked up at the sky. "It's pretty boring without the fireworks." She said aloud.

"That's what I said." Reno replied.

"I thought you went inside?" she asked.

"I did but then Tifa started talking about washing dishes, so I left." Reno walked towards her.

Elena couldn't help herself; she raised the hose and drenched him.

"Oh you are so dead!" He joked as he started to chase her. Where she had squirted the water before had become muddy, so he slipped.

Elena laughed and went to help him up only to slip herself. They both lay on the floor looking up at the stars, they seemed pretty to them now.

"Is the cold getting to you now?" Reno asked.

"Yes, and I have mud in my hair!" She exclaimed.

"You think you've got it bad, my hair is twice as long as yours." Reno sighed.

Elena rolled over so her arm was over him and propped herself up.

"Kiss me?" She asked.

"I don't know if I should." He said quietly. "I want to, but I don't think I deserve to."

Elena rolled her eyes, "Reno, don't be so dramatic, the world won't end if you kiss me!" and with that she kissed him.

Reno kissed her back; he wiped the mud off of her face. Elena sat up after kissing him.

"You taste like marshmallows, not like cigarettes anymore." It had been along time since she had kissed Reno; it was before her "relationship" with Rude and even before her crush on Tseng.

"Excuse me, but your coco is ready." Aeris called out from the doorway.

It was dark and she couldn't see where Elena or Reno was.

"How are we going to explain the mud?" Reno chuckled.

A/N: Please review, I'll try to include the other characters a little more in the next chapter.