Thank you for the reviews everyone who was nice enough to let me know you read this. It makes my day to know that I've got some people who appreciate me. Also, thanks to Nando, my wonderful beta, who I'm sure is just as frustrated with me taking so long to type this up as everyone else is.

The not-so-nice men in blue suits still haven't left, which is starting to get me P.O.'ed since they're eating all my food, so I've decided to put up my disclaimer. They're probably waiting for that and I have to get them to leave.

Ahem. I, Noroi of fanfiction dot net and other web sites that I do not feel like mentioning right now, do not own Final Fantasy 7 nor it's characters. It belongs solely to Square and no one else, except for all the other people who do own it but I just don't know their names. As such, there should be no mistake that I, Noroi, have any part of it because I do in fact, know my own name. However, do not think that anyone who I do not know the name of owns Final Fantasy 7, for that is not true. So, in closing, you should not pay me for my work, neither should you pay just anyone that I do not know the name of for their work because the chances are that they do not deserve the money anymore than I do.

That good enough, you guys? Hey! Get away from my pizza!

Chapter 4:

Tifa applied the last bit of eyeliner to her face in front of her bathroom mirror. She hadn't worn makeup for a while and she felt that since she was going out, she might as well look nice. It wasn't much, but she did feel much prettier with it on. Her hair was still in its regular style, just tied into a loose ponytail near the end, and she decided it was best kept like that. She hadn't known whether she should keep her uniform on or not so she had eventually changed into a pair of nice jeans and green turtle neck sweater. It got pretty cold in Midgar at night even when it was summer and she was pretty sure that a T-shirt would just look bad because of her bandages.

She left the bathroom and sat on her couch. Was this really a good idea? It was too late to back out now but she was beginning to get second thoughts. Getting Reno to talk might be pretty difficult. As unprofessional as he might look, Tifa could already tell that he took his job seriously. And there was always the possibility that he would remember her asking and report it to Tseng. The last thing she needed was him breathing down her neck more than she was sure he already was.

"Damn it," she cursed softly. She couldn't second-guess herself now; it was too late. She needed to keep her nose clean, but she needed to make some progress too. There wasn't much of a choice in the matter. "I'll just do it. Make sure he's nice and drunk before I broach the subject and if he remembers later I'll just burn that bridge when I get there."

She waited a few more minutes before a sharp rapping hit her ears. No doubt it was Reno coming for her. She checked her clock. It was nearly ten; he must have worked late. She might have felt sorry for him if she didn't hate the company he worked for so much.

Opening the door, she prepared to greet him but she stopped in surprise. Reno had knocked on the door but the man she had met earlier, Rude, was behind him. Reno was still in uniform and it looked even scruffier than usual but Rude was dressed casual like her in a pair of black jeans, white T-shirt, and sports jacket.

"Ready Tif?" Reno asked.

"Yes," she said, recovering her composure quickly. "You want to come inside for a moment?"

"Nah, let's just go. I need alcohol bad," Reno replied. So she nodded, grabbed her keys, and left the apartment in tow of her two coworkers.

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The bar, Zolom's Tail, wasn't nearly as bad as she expected it to be. It seemed to be a comfortable place for friends just to come and hang out together. Though there were a few girls that Tifa doubted had high virtue giving Reno the eye and purring at him to come over, it was a lot less sleazy than she had imagined.

They sat at the table and the girls by the bar stools pouted in disappointment but kept watching them anyway. Tifa wished they would stop, she was already feeling uncomfortable as it was. She hadn't expected Rude to be with Reno. But that definitely confirmed that this wasn't a date, which she had been slightly afraid she had agreed to.

'Act casual, act casual,' she thought to herself.

"Yo, Barkeep," Reno called. "How 'bout some drinks here?"

She sighed and shook her head. So, she had another guy to get drunk, that's all. She could do that, even if his size probably got in the way. He looked like he could take a lot.

The barkeeper didn't come over but a waitress did. She was wearing a white blouse with a black bowtie, which matched the color of her skirt that was short enough to be hot but long enough to avoid being thought of as a slut. Her make up was just as modest as Tifa's was and she smiled warmly at the three.

"Hey you guys, brought a friend along?" she asked as she pulled out a small notepad.

"New recruit, Ashley," Reno answered as Rude gave her a small nod in greeting. Reno turned to Tifa to introduce the two. "Tif', this is Ashley. She's pretty much our designated waitress here since most everyone else is scared of us. Ashley, this is Tifa Lockheart."

Ashley laughed. "Scared? Yeah right, I serve you the same amount as the other girls do, you just like it when I do because I'm the only one who hasn't said yes." She bopped him playfully over the head and extended her hand to Tifa. She took it and shook. "Nice to meet you Tifa. Hope you become a regular like these two guys did. Now, what can I get you?"

"Bottle of brandy please," Reno said, dragging out the please to a drawl. Tifa fought hard not to roll her eyes.

"Just a regular beer," Rude said and readjusted his sunglasses.

'Wonder if he ever takes those off,' Tifa thought before Ashley poked her.

"And you darling?"

"Uh," Tifa said. "I'm not sure, this is my first time here. What's good?"

"I'd suggest the Velvet Scotch. It's my personal favorite."

She nodded her head. "Okay, I'll have one of those."

"Just a few minutes," Ashley said and click-clacked away in her high-heels.

Reno leaned back in his chair and sighed contently. "So, how's this for your first night hanging out as an official Turk?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Fine. So, you come here often?"

"Every once in a while," Rude said, startling her. He hadn't talked at all on the car ride there and she had been pretty sure that he was just going to leave the chitchat to Reno. "It's a place for Reno and I to blow off some steam."

The drinks arrived and Tifa gladly took hers, so she wouldn't have to try to think of a response that wouldn't make her I.Q. seem lower than he must already think it was. She didn't know why she felt so nervous around him. It was probably because she had already made a fool out of herself in front of him and feared when she'd next mess up. She had never been that great at confrontation like this. As a soldier, she simply did a good job and worked hard and she got rewarded. There was no need to socialize with anyone. Working with so few people now, who just seemed to want to be friends no matter how much she detested them, was a lot harder. She had become more accustomed to being by herself and found it hard to deal with other people sometimes.

She took her drink and sipped a little from the straw. She could taste the slight flavor of cherry and something far more bitter. If it hadn't been for the sweetness of the fruit to balance it out, she would have spit it out of her mouth. The mix was good though and she found herself enjoying the beverage.

"Good isn't it?" Ashley asked. Tifa nodded. "Thought you'd like it. Just tell me when you want another one."

She left again and Reno and Rude started on their own drinks. The way Reno chugged his told her that he was planning on getting sloshed as soon as possible. Rude however simply sipped from his bottle and went back to being silent and ignoring his surroundings. She felt a bit relieved by that, at least she wouldn't need to make small talk with him.

She really didn't know how to go about making someone drunk quicker. She had planned to tip the waitress and have her slip something in the drinks but since they were so well known, the chance of Ashley going along with it instead of telling the two were nonexistent. Tifa was sure she could do it herself if only Reno was there with her but there was no way Rude would be looking away from the table and giving her an opportunity to try anything. And it was him she was most worried about. Reno looked as if he was perfectly content in getting drunk by himself, without anyone's help.

"More brandy over here," he called.

Tifa looked over at him and blinked. His bottle wasn't empty; it was still half full, enough for a few more glasses at least. Was he drunk already?

"Come on, you drink like a girl Rude. Have some of mine," Reno said as he pushed the bottle towards his bigger friend.

"Then who's driving?" Rude said. "I'll drink at my own pace."

"You're no fun," he accused. "Look, even Tif's had more than you."

It wasn't exactly true. There was less in her tall glass than in his bottle but he had started with more alcohol. Still, Rude took the bottle and downed a good bit off it and handed it back to Reno. It only had a few sips left in it.

"Now leave me alone," he said and proceeded to nurse his beer again.

Reno seemed content for the moment and gladly took his next bottle, which a different waitress handed to him on the way to her own table. She leaned next to him and breathed something in his ear, making the girls by the stools bristle in rage. Tifa wondered why none of them would come over. Not that she wanted them to, but they really had no claim on Reno if they were just going to be sitting there the entire night and stare at him.

"You're going to start a fight between the waitress and some costumers if you don't knock it off," Rude said. "Stop ignoring them. It'll loose its appeal soon."

"Yeah, yeah, I live to serve," Reno said as he stood. Giving a mock solute, he walked over to the women who began to giggle and coo at him. They suddenly looked very different than the dangerous creatures they had resembled a moment ago.

Tifa raised her eyebrows at the sight. She just didn't understand some people. Why would Reno even want such catty girls? She shrugged and turned away. It wasn't any of her business and she wasn't a stick-your-nose-in-other-people's-business kind of person.

"He's always like that," Rude commented. She looked up at him questionably. "Reno loves a challenge but he'll pretty much take any half-decent girl that says yes. He's a good guy but his morals aren't the highest."

"And I thought he was here to be with us," she muttered.

"Don't get me wrong, he doesn't have the lowest standards either, he wanted to stay here."

"What makes you say that?"

"He didn't leave immediately. Would you have wanted him to stay much longer if it meant a cat fight erupting?" he asked simply. She shook her head. "Didn't think so."

Tifa thought about it. It was still rude of Reno to walk out on them like that. Not to mention, her plan was falling apart at the seams. Her chances of getting information out of Reno looked to be exactly zilch at the moment.

"This is turning out to be a great night," she muttered without realizing it. Her eyes flew open and she just barely kept her hand from flying over her mouth. Rude gave her a look and if she strained her eyes enough she would have been sure he had raised her eyebrows at him.

"Bored?" he asked her.

"A little, yeah," she said, thankful that he had misunderstood her.

"Do you want to leave?"

She was caught a little of guard by that question. Did she want to leave and just curl up in bed in her apartment? Yes. Was she willing to give up this idea so easily? Well, not really. But then she looked over at Reno, who looked to have his hands fairly full, (she noticed that he shot her an apologetic look) and sighed.

"No, I'll stay," she said. "At least I have you for company." 'What? Why in the world did I just say that?'

He gave her another look and she nearly fainted in shock when she realized that he was smiling at her. A small smile, but a smile nonetheless.

----------

Tifa gripped her head when Reno gave her a little too loud greeting. She had taken a cab the next morning after her night at Zolom's Tail with the boys because she had wished to stay away from Reno for as long as possible.

Her plan had not exactly worked as well as she had hoped. Reno had returned to the table about half-an-hour latter after making sure he had spent enough time with the women to keep them from turning into a mob, and to apologize had treated Tifa to enough drinks to drown a fish. Needless to say that while she had held her alcohol well enough the night before, the headache she had awoken to made her regret ever attempting to best Reno in his own playing field. She was really beginning to despise bars, what was the use for them anyway?

"Hangover?" he asked as he joined her in the hallway of the ShinRa building.

"Massive," she replied. "I used a potion this morning, but it's still taking a while to kick in."

"The company gave you a Cure Materia, didn't they?" Reno asked. "Why not just use that?"

Tifa dared to glare at her trainer/guy that kept an eye on her. "Like I could concentrate well enough to use magic this morning."

"Come to my office, I use mine for you. Besides, you've got another mission we need to take care off. A little more difficult, so I'll be acting more as back up than I did last time," he explained. They reached his office and Tifa did an inward wince. She never been much of a neat freak herself, but Reno's office looked like it would have looked nicer if somebody from the slums was living in it.

"Maid on vacation?" she asked.

"No, actually she was buried alive here for two days before I noticed she was here. When I dug her out she quit," he told her. He pulled out his electro-mag rod and quickly performed a healing spell on her. "Esuna would have worked better but I never did bother to get that one. Rude's the one who carries most of the healing stuff. Anyway," he said as he pulled out a file that was on top of a small pile of paperwork on his desk, "here's your new assignment. Lab was throwing a fit so we need to take care off this…again."

Tifa open that folder and saw a young woman's face looking up at her from the person's file picture. Underneath it read Aeris Gainsborough: Ancient.

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Finally got this chapter finished and it ends in a cliffhanger. You know, if I were you people reading this, I'd hate me. I'm horrible to you people. The blue suit men are finally gone but only after the sacrifice half of my refrigerator's contents. Some reviews would make me feel better about that though.