Tifa found the cabin rather quickly, thanks to the map she was given with her boarding pass. Putting the magnetic strip on it in front of her door lock, she was amazed when the door opened to reveal a very luxurious and spacious cabin. She quickly walked inside and closed the door, looking around at everything. It had a living room with a widescreen plasma TV was above the electric fireplace, and a dining room! The only thing that annoyed her was the décor of the place, it was too obviously romantic, and she wasn't in the mood for that, she only agreed to this cruise to hash things out with Reno without any distractions. The man was still virtually a stranger to her, and she was having his child! She opened a door off to the side and found herself in the bedroom.

"Glad you made it!" Reno said when she entered. He was lying on the bed, a tiny basket of sample bottles of liqueurs next to him, and some bottles were on the nightstand, presumably empty already. "You can't drink in your condition, so I thought I'd help out by getting rid of them for you."

Tifa frowned. The cruise hadn't even really started yet and he hadn't wasted any time behaving irresponsibly while acting like he's doing her a favor. But they were going to be stuck with each other for two weeks, and she didn't want to start it fighting. Taking a deep breath, she forced her frown away. "This is a nice cabin…it's almost as big as my apartment." she said. The bedroom was dominated by the king bed, with another TV and fireplace on the opposite wall. "Is that the bathroom?" Tifa pointed to another door.

"Yeah, this place has everything." Reno replied cheerfully. Except a cabin mate who actually cared about him, a little voice suddenly whispered inside him, and he shrugged it off. It didn't matter if Tifa wasn't interested, he told himself. There were bound to be plenty of other women on board this cruise who wanted loving.

"Um…this is an interesting bathroom." Tifa said in an odd voice, trying to conceal her distaste as she gazed at the heart-shaped whirlpool tub, big enough for two people. The shower stall was also larger than a standard one, and her frown returned. Was this supposed to be a honeymoon suite?! Remembering what the steward said when she checked in, she turned around to get a look at Reno. "Why do people think we're married?" she asked more harshly than intended.

"I dunno. Probably because this is a stupid Valentine's Day cruise and no single person would voluntarily share a room with someone they weren't attached to." Reno answered, and before Tifa could say anything else, there was a knock on the door.

"Isn't this a wonderful ship?" A beaming Jillian asked when Reno opened the door. "It was so nice of your boss to invite us along too! Oh, your father is waiting for us at the informal meet and greet orientation thing, I told him I'd come and remind you not to miss it."

Tifa had forgotten his parents had been given tickets too at that memorable Christmas dinner. "Just let me unpack and I'll follow you." she told his mother.

"I'll go now." Reno decided, wanting to see what kind of women were onboard as much as not be around his mother and Tifa by himself, and he quickly left.

"How are you feeling, dear?" Jillian asked her once they were alone.

"I'm doing fine." Tifa replied guardedly as she put her clothes and toiletries away. Reno had kept his word when she asked for some space until the cruise and had purposely avoided her, but now she was going to be stuck on a ship with him and his parents, and she was suddenly feeling a bit smothered again, especially with his mother seeing everything she brought with her.

"That's good. I just hope my son doesn't wear you out in your condition, he's a handful." Jillian said.

"Handful?" Tifa inquired blandly, thinking that was a polite way to describe him.

"Oh yes. He needs a woman who understands his special needs." Jillian agreed.

"Special needs?" Tifa wondered what that meant…was there something wrong with Reno? She bit back a laugh at her own mental answers to that question as she put the last of her luggage away.

"Yes, he needs a woman who has enough time and energy to give him all the attention he needs. We did spoil him, but he deserved it, and he was always so sensitive." Jillian told her. "Are you ready to go?" At Tifa's nod, she started leading the way.

Reno's height gave him the advantage to see most of the other cruise goers from where he was in the back, and he was disappointed how many of the women seemed to be already taken…he should have fucking known…frowning as he continued scanning the crowd, he was unpleasantly surprised to spot Tseng and Cloud in the front row. What was going on? His thoughts were interrupted by his mother arriving with Tifa.

"There you are. Come on, I see your father, let's find out what this cruise has to offer." Jillian took Reno's arm and led him over to where Patrick was waiting for them, Tifa reluctantly following.

Cloud was listening with interest at the captain and first mate's speeches before they introduced the various activity directors and guest entertainers. This promised to be a very enjoyable cruise, which had been Tseng's way of apologizing for his overindulgent escapades during the holidays, since Cloud hadn't really found constantly tending to his hungover partner and cleaning up after him very festive. He knew Tseng didn't get much time off, but that was no excuse for overdoing it the first chance he got.

"Now since we limited this cruise to fifty lucky couples, why don't you all start introducing yourselves?" the captain's voice rang out to the passengers.

"My name is Jillian Sinclair, and this is my wonderful husband, Patrick Sinclair. Oh, and my son Richard here and Tifa Lockhart are expecting their first child, so don't think it odd if she doesn't drink during this cruise!" Jillian announced loudly, wanting to help them out.

Cloud joined in the applause, though he was as stunned as they were, judging from how much Reno paled and Tifa blushed. He had thought this was just for him and Tseng…was this a working vacation? He turned to glare accusingly at his lover, but Tseng was looking at the expectant couple, not him.

"They're your parents." Tifa pointedly whispered to Reno as the applause died out, resenting being put on the spot like that.

"Yeah well…" Reno couldn't think of a suitable rejoinder, so he just said the first thing that came to mind. "Wanna just stay in our cabin the whole cruise?"

Tifa stared at him…stuck for days with Reno as her only companion? She had only agreed to this cruise so she could talk to him seriously without distractions, but… "Why don't we discuss it over dinner in two hours?" she found herself suggesting.

"Does that mean you'll be nice to me?" he asked.

Tifa blinked in surprise. There was an almost undetectable note of wistfulness in his voice, and it made her wonder more about him, he was such a hard man to pin down. "Of course I will." she agreed. If nothing else, at least she should be able to get some answers about who he really was during this cruise.

"Then it's a date." Reno said casually and actually smiled at her.

A date. Tifa wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, it would really be their first date, when she was two and a half months pregnant with his child, and his parents already considered her their daughter-in-law. Instead of laughing, she returned his smile.