7.Celestia

"Yeesh, you're jumpy today sis" Celestia joked as she bumped into 'Thena's chair for about the fifty-billionth time that day. "No more coffee for you." The dinner rush had ended about an hour ago; she was mopping up a section of the kitchen floor and counting the minutes, nay seconds, until she could leave. Trent was out of town on what he claimed was business. Not that she cared why he was out of town; the point is he was out of 'Thena's hair until Monday night.

'Thena had made her way out to the dining room where she continued to pop wheelies "So sis, I have this paper to write for my advanced history class; it's about the meaning of early Cetra art. You're the expert right so hit me, what's it all about?" she spun in a circle; Celestia laughed.

"Well most of the early stuff was ritualistic. Historians are torn on whether pieces were depicting ceremonies for aesthetic purposes or if they were supposed to be instructions; like recipe cards that showed future generations how to properly perform a ritual." The bell rang at the door but she ignored it; whoever it was should be able to flip through the menu for a moment while she finished her thought. Art history was one of her favorite topics "my favorite piece is Songs of the Lifestream it depicts the ritual in which a Cetra youth learns to hear the voices of the planet; or the song of the Lifestream…" she got cut off by 'Thena's voice; she splashed a bit of water on her shirt as she washed her hands, the pitch caught her off guard.

"RED! YOU MADE IT!" She was grinning from ear to ear as she whizzed out of view.

"I do believe I'm bleeding from the ears sis…" she stopped herself as she saw that 'Thena was talking to some man that looked vaguely familiar. They were chatting like old friends; which made Cela slightly nervous; he seemed a bit old for 'Thena… "Can I get you something…" 'Thena cut her off again.

"SIS! This is the guy I was telling you about! The one who helped me out on Tuesday; I told him you'd wanna thank him personally" she said with a wink.

Cela blushed slightly; not because of what 'Thena had said but because she had thought this guy was some weirdo. 'Thena was an excellent judge of character; and had been going on about this guy all week. "Well I guess that places me in your debt my good sir" she joked with a mock curtsy. "Wait! I know where I remember you from; you were here on Monday night, right? Grilled chicken dinner, recommended by the T-Dizzle, right?"

He laughed. "Yea, that'd be me, Mr. Grilled chicken; I've been told it's Red to my friends" he winked at 'Thena who giggled.

"Well is there anything we can get for you tonight Red?" she smiled.

"Coffee would be nice."

"Hmm, are you in a hurry?" she looked questioningly into the pot "Cause I made this like an hour ago and it's decidedly skanky…" She turned to face him. "It'll only take like ten minutes to get a fresh pot if you don't mind the wait…"

"OH!" 'Thena yipped "You have to have some Pie, sis made it fresh this morning! Her blueberry is the best!"

"Well if you insist Miss 'Thena" he joked as he leaned up against the counter. He smelled nice… No, he smelled really nice; some kind of spicy 'man-cologne'. She liked the spicy stuff; it was the exact opposite of the stuff Trent wore, which smelled kind of leathery, yuck.

"I'll grab it sis!" 'Thena was already making tracks to the kitchen.

8.Athena

She wheeled into the kitchen before Cela could protest. The pie could wait a minute she had to rally the troops. She went out the back door knowing they were out there somewhere on the roof. "GUYS! GUYS! HE CAME, I TOLD YOU HE'D COME, DIDN'T I TELL YOU?" she popped another wheelie.

Skylar hopped down the ladder "Whoa there lil-sis, exactly how many whipped cream cans did you have to drain for this particular high?" He was followed by Aurora and Steve.

"Seriously girl you're way too energetic…" Steve, one of the chefs, laughed.

"It's Red! The guy I told you about from the el? Don't tell me you already forgot?"

"No way! He showed?" Skylar started.

"Where is he?" Aurora asked excitedly.

"Inside, you dorks!" 'Thena teased. They all raced inside 'Thena zipped to the fridge to get the pie while Aurora, Skylar and Steve huddled around the one way mirror.

"Is that him at the counter?" Aurora asked.

"Do you see anyone else in the dining room?" Steve laughed.

"Oh hush smart ass… Wow 'Thena was right he is a cutie…"

"You can say that again" Skylar joked

"Oooh; I'm tellin'" Aurora jabbed.

"Wonder what they're laughing about?" Steve pondered as 'Thena made her way out with the pie.

"Best in Midgar; Nay the world!" 'Thena said as she placed the pie on the counter "Heyyy, what are you two laughing at?"

"You; you dweeb!" Cela answered through the laughs.

'Thena turned to Red "You see how she is!" then back to Cela "Diva!" she laughed as she turned back to the kitchen. "Ok, you guys are up!" she commanded once she was out of Cela's earshot.

"What're we supposed to do?" Steve asked, truly bewildered "It seems to be going fine out there on its own…"

"Oh geeze, do I have to think of everything, you know sis; she's a workaholic she won't stay out there and be sociable if another customer comes in, she'll be all business."

Aurora decided to take matters into her own hands. "Uh, Cela? Babe, I'm back take a load off…" she winked as she put her apron back on and went into the dining room.

"Oh I can't right now I've got a boat load of dishes back there; you mind keeping the fort down out here?" Cela answered "I'm gonna have to leave you in 'Rora's hands Red; 'Cause you know what they say, a girls work is never d…" 'Thena stabbed Skylar in the leg with a fork; causing him to cut Cela off.

"OW! WHAT THE…" he paused for a few seconds to read 'Thena's look "oh, um I mean I've got the dishes Cela, take a break…" He rubbed the side of his leg and glared at 'Thena. Steve was laughing so hard he stumbled back into a shelf behind him. He knocked off three of Tony's biggest pots, making a huge racket.

"Now what the deuce are you guys doing back there?" Cela's head was back at the window; Steve froze.

"Uh, um, N… Nothing" he winced "that is, something, something big so don't come back here till I can fix it…"

"Oh lordy… well if you kiddies insist I'm gonna grab a coffee…" she turned and walked away. 'Thena, Skylar and Steve all doubled over laughing.

"Smooooth guys, really smooth" 'Thena teased.

9.Reno

'Thena zipped out of the room so fast she caused a few napkins to rustle off into the breeze. He turned back and she was looking at him in a state of awe. "What? Do I have something on my face?" He grabbed a napkin and started wiping.

She chuckled "no, it's not that I'm just surprised she lets you call her 'Thena…" averted his eyes awkwardly. "No, No! It's not a bad thing; she only lets people she likes call her 'Thena. It makes me happy to see her making new friends that's all…" she turned away almost like she was slightly embarrassed.

He chuckled. "I kinda feel like an ass having to ask this; but it's Celestia right?"

"Cela to my friends" she winked as she leaned down to grab a mug from under the counter; today it was a pink lace camisole… nice. He noticed that she smelled vaguely like orange blossoms; again, very nice.

"So your sister really seems to look up to you…" he started trying to make conversation.

She chuckled. "I dunno about that I make a pretty crappy role model."

"Oh everyone says that, ya do the best ya can right?"

She looked kind of sad "Some days I wonder… I feel like if I just tried harder I could do better for her. She deserves it…"

'Yeesh, I'm bad at this' he thought to himself. "You're too hard on yourself, she's a great kid."

"Yea, she really is" her face brightened "even if her big sis is screwed up" she laughed but he couldn't tell if she was really joking.

"Nah, she thinks you're the greatest. She yacks my ear off about her wonderful big sis every day" he switched to a high pitched girly voice "My big sis is the greatest! She's so funny! She's an awesome cook; you haven't lived 'til you've tried her raspberry almond cookies! She's gonna be a famous artist some day just you wait and see!"

Celestia laughed "well she's prone to exaggeration. She told me your friend was; and I quote 'like eleventy-billion feet tall'" she laughed a little to herself. "I have to ask, is it true that she tried to pepper-spray him?"

Reno laughed aloud "No way, I thought he made that up!" He was practically doubled over along with Celestia when 'Thena came back in.

"The best in Midgar; Nay, the world! Heyyy, what are you two laughing about?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"You, you dweeb!" Celestia laughed as she tried to right herself. Her face was shining with tears of laughter.

'Thena looked at him with a mock pout "You see how she is? Diva!" she laughed as she went back to the kitchen.

"Wow, why did I find that so funny?" Celestia mused as she went back to wiping off the counter. "So Red; what do you do when you're not making the el safer for society?" she asked from the end of the counter.

"Oh, I work for the President of Shin-Ra" he cringed a little remembering 'Thena's reaction; which Celestia duplicated with eerie precision. "Geeze you two are exactly alike" he laughed.

"Huh?" Celestia looked over with a smile.

"You and your sister; she asked me what I did once and I got almost the exact same reaction…"

"Well I feel the need to inform you that I was involved with a couple anti Shin-Ra protests in college" she grinned as she spoke "I hope that doesn't affect our friendship too much" she added with a wink.

"Well I suppose I can over look it; for now" he joked back; she laughed.

"Uh, Cela? Babe, I'm back take a load off…" a blonde girl who was slightly shorter than Celestia walked out into the dining room. She had hazel eyes and an athletic build; not bad but not quite his type.

"Oh I can't right now I've got a boat load of dishes back there; you mind keeping the fort down out here? I'm gonna have to leave you in 'Rora's hands Red" she winked as she started to walk towards the kitchen "'Cause you know what they say, a girl's work is never d…"

"OW! WHAT THE…" a male voice shrieked from the kitchen.

Celestia turned back to mouth 'what the hell' with a giggle at Reno; he raised an eyebrow and laughed.

"Oh, um I mean I've got the dishes Cela, take a break…" the voice answered. All of a sudden a huge crash came out of the kitchen; causing the other waitress to jump a little.

She walked over to the window "Now what the deuce are you guys doing back there?" she smirked.

"Uh, um, N… Nothing that is, something, something big so don't come back here till I can fix it…" an uncertain voice floated in; Reno thought he heard a giggle in the background.

"Oh lordy… well if you kiddies insist I'm gonna grab a coffee…" she shouted back into the window. "Think you can stand my company for a few more minutes Red?" she laughed as she filled his mug and grabbed another one.

"I should be so blessed" he laughed. She came around and sat next to him. She looked over her shoulder; the other waitress was occupied with a customer who just walked in.

She leaned in close and whispered "I want you to know I really do appreciate what you did for my sister, I owe 'ya one" she punched his arm as she pulled back out.

"Oh it was nothing…" he answered vaguely. She started laughing out of nowhere. "What?" he looked around but didn't see anything.

"This time you really do have something stuck on your face" she laughed and motioned to the side of her face.

"What here?" he wiped the right side of his face.

"No, no, your left…" she giggled; he tried again and still missed. "You need a hand?" she laughed as she plucked a piece of blueberry off his chin.

"Nice" he felt like an ass but tried to laugh it off anyway. "I hope this doesn't affect my standing" he joked.

She laughed "You're talking to miss mis-hap here; I once went through an entire ten hour shift with like 3 buttons on my top undone; I don't think you can beat that…" she started speaking loudly enough for everyone in the back to hear her. "Yea, with friends like mine enemies would be a death wish." A dark skinned guy with short hair and a couple earrings popped his head out the window and shot her a dirty look. "I LOVE YOU TOO STEVE!" She laughed then turned back to Reno. "That was Steve, he likes to think he's second in command behind Tony but he's not half the cook I am" she giggled as he glared again "Hell neither is Tony for that matter; in theory I should own this place." She put on an evil glare "and rule it with an iron fist…" she giggled

He sipped his coffee and laughed. "Well at least you guys know how to have fun…"

"Well what about you, tell me something about yourself…"

Author's Note: Thanks again for coming back kiddies! God I love sexual tension (can you tell). I'm sure you figured it out on your own but chapters 8 and 9 are concurrent; little trick that I've developed a taste for in this story so you'll see it again.