Reno stared curiously at Tifa as she got ready for their dinner date. "Why are you dressing up? It's just dinner and I've already seen you naked." he pointed out.
"Because I don't get a chance to dress up much." she replied, wondering why she felt so self-conscious to have him watching her. She also didn't get a chance to date much, and sharing a romantically themed cabin with the man she was going out on a first date with seemed too…weird! "I'm ready." she told him reluctantly after checking herself in the mirror one last time.
"It's about time…I'm starving!" Reno exclaimed, throwing down the tv guide and jumping off the bed. "Let's go!"
"This is a nice restaurant." Tifa remarked as they entered the upscale establishment that even had a musician playing classical music on a grand piano in the corner.
"You two aren't dining with the Captain?" The maitre'd seemed surprised to see them, and guided them to one of the best tables when Reno glared at him.
"The Captain?" Tifa asked blankly as they sat down.
"Yeah, our cabin is one of the few luxury suites here, my parents have one too. It comes with all sorts of perks like a standing invite to the Captain's table." Reno explained as he glanced over the menu.
"Oh." Tifa wished she would have looked over the brochure more, but knowing that she'd be safe was her prime concern, and rooming with Reno while his parents were on the same cruise made her confident that despite his many faults, he wouldn't put them in danger. She wished she could be as confident that he cared as much about his unborn child, but she realized that wasn't fair, he had only known a few weeks, and she secretly was still ambivalent about being pregnant by him herself. "So why didn't we do that? It sounds like fun."
"I hate formal dinners." Reno replied instantly, having ambivalent feelings himself about the way she said 'we'. They weren't a couple, no matter his parents thought, but did she want to be? How did she really feel about him? He shook his head and concentrated on reading the menu.
"Well, I think I'll do it tomorrow then." Tifa said as the sommelier approached their table with a bottle.
"This is a complimentary bottle of our finest non-alcoholic champagne for the expectant couple." he told them with a smile and opened it, pouring some into their glasses and leaving the bottle with them, before heading off to another table.
"I'd rather have a double whiskey on the rocks." Reno complained under his breath when the music suddenly changed. "Oh no…"
"What's going on?" Tifa asked him as his parents suddenly appeared at their table.
"We can only stay a moment, it's a shame you are missing the Captain's dinner." Patrick told them.
"We wanted to make sure you were okay, and you are. Being pregnant agrees with you. Isn't she beautiful, Richard?" Jillian asked.
"She always looks good." Reno said before he could stop himself, and raised the menu to cover his slightly blushing face.
"Well, we better get back now." Patrick told Jillian.
"Oh yes, and we hope you enjoy your date night with the better music." Jillian said and then they left.
"Better music?" Tifa asked Reno, unaware she was also slightly blushing, from his unexpected compliment.
"It's Baby, I Love You by the Ramones." Reno explained testily. "My parents are crazy about that song, they told me that's the reason I'm here."
"Oh." Tifa was glad he revealed something personal, but that really wasn't something she wanted to know.
"Are you ready to order yet?" a waiter asked them.
"I'll take a behemoth steak, medium rare. No salad or vegetables, and smother it in hot sauce." Reno said. "And a big bowl of extra cheesy macaroni and cheese as well."
"Do you special requests?" Tifa asked the waiter.
"What would you like?" he wanted to know.
"It's a hot sub sandwich. Chocobo meatballs, simmered in marinara sauce, covered with sautéed onions and half a cup of shredded Italian cheese mix." Tifa explained. "I'd like two of those if possible. If not, I'll take one plate of spicy pasta salad and one smoked ham dinner."
Reno stared at her in disbelief. Did she really want that stuff or was it the pregnancy cravings? "I can't believe you're not fatter." he blurted out after the waiter left.
"You should talk." Tifa snapped back. "At least I'm eating for two, what's your excuse?"
"It's the Sinclair metabolism. And you agreed to this stupid cruise cause you wanted to talk, didn't you?" Reno retorted. "So what'd you wanna talk about?"
Tifa frowned. She did want to talk, but she didn't want to spoil the first real vacation she'd had in years, or the first date. "Just tell me what you'd tell any other woman on a first date." she answered a few moments later.
"I don't date. That's boring." Reno informed her.
It was Tifa's turn to stare at him as she realized they had something else in common besides their child, neither of them knew how to act on a date. That cheered her up a bit. "Well, then pretend this is a job interview." she said with a mischievous grin. "What education and job skills do you have?"
"I only graduated high school, but I'm the best damn helicopter pilot in all of Gaia, I can disable any bomb in 42 seconds or less, and I've got tons of combat experience." he proudly replied.
"Okay, but can you cook?" Tifa asked, fighting back laughter, unsure if it was hormones or the champagne making her want to be silly, but she was starting to really enjoy herself.
"Huh?" Reno blinked at her in confused surprise.
When they got back to their cabin, Tifa was still in a good mood, until Reno started stripping once the door was closed. He headed straight for the shower when he was naked, leaving his clothes on the floor where they landed. She changed into her nightgown, taking her jewelry and makeup off before getting into what would be her side of their king-sized bed. "You sleep naked?" she almost shrieked when he got into bed a little while later.
"Yeah, what's wrong with that? You've already had a piece of this, so please don't turn prudish on me now." Reno said as he got comfortable under the covers.
Tifa was about to complain more when she remembered something his mother had told her at Christmas. "I wonder if it still works…"
"Hey, what are you…" Reno's sentence faded into snoring as Tifa used the technique Jillian had when he was a baby to calm him down when he fought nap time, rubbing his tummy and singing the Three Little Pigs nursery rhyme.
"This might not be such a bad vacation after all." Tifa smiled, knowing she now didn't have to worry about Reno misbehaving himself while they shared a bed.