"I apologize for our chef's behavior." Captain Saxaul said as Tibby resumed his seat.
"I heard some chefs were temperamental." Jillian said with a neutral expression on her face, though inside she was cheering Tifa on.
"Yes, they are." Tibby said resignedly. "But he is good at his job."
"I hope so. Behemoth meat is soooo good!" Tifa said with a smile. "Unfortunately I can't afford it except for really special occasions."
"Like the birth of your first child. Have you thought of names yet?" Torres asked Tifa and Reno.
"The firstborn should always be named after the father." Tseng gave his unsolicited opinion and Cloud winced, knowing all too well the folly of trying to tell Tifa what to do, and a pregnant Tifa seemed even less inclined to put up with it.
"Doesn't matter to me." Reno lied as he gulped down his wine. Tifa frowned, about to turn on him when the food arrived and distracted her, though she was unaware of everyone staring at her when she got whipped cream on her face, though none of them dared risk another outburst by pointing it out to her.
"So, um, is the first cruise you've been on?" Tibby asked them all, trying to steer the conversation back to polite small talk, even though he had done this discussion yesterday with everyone but Reno and Tifa.
"No." were the flat answers from Reno and Tseng, while Cloud and Tifa gave ambivalent answers, unsure if their previous time on boats and airships qualified, leaving Patrick and Jillian as the only positive answers.
"Last night you said you had been a captain for twenty years?" Jillian asked Saxaul.
"I've been serving on ships for twenty years, but I've only been a captain for ten." Saxaul clarified.
"Do you ever get single passengers on these Valentine's cruises?" Reno suddenly asked.
"Can't you ever keep it in your pants?" Tifa snapped at him, though after the words passed her lips, she was puzzled over why she was bothered by him being himself. She knew what kind of man he was, after all. Just because she was having his child didn't change anything between them, did it?
"Can't you ever not embarrass me when we go anywhere?" Reno fired back. "You made yourself look like a clown at the pizzeria, now you've got whipped cream all over your face!"
"Awwww, you two are already fighting like you're married." Jillian beamed at them. She was glad to know her son's lover had guts and strong maternal instincts. If she could only get those two down the aisle, she thought as Reno and Tifa both became flustered, but Tifa suddenly turned green and ran from the room.
"That should tell you what she thinks about marrying me." Reno announced casually to everyone as he got up reluctantly, glad of an excuse to leave, but hoping he wasn't missing out on a great dessert.
Cloud's eyes narrowed as he watched the man leave. He now wondered if perhaps Reno had any feelings for Tifa…his tone had been rather indifferent, but his words indicated that he wasn't happy at her rejection. Maybe it was a Turk thing, Tseng had been a hard man to pin down as well, even after they both realized they wanted each other. Cloud felt himself blushing as he remembered the 'overly enthusiastic' consummation of their mutual desire, and put his head down so no one would notice.
Tifa was angry as she rushed to the privacy of her cabin, though not with a person, but with her condition, which was interrupting a lovely dinner. She hurried to put the keycard in the lock, but she dropped it in her haste, and the nausea got worse when she bent down to pick It up. Slumping to the floor, she took deep breaths to try and hold vomiting off long enough for her to get to her bathroom. A shadow fell over her, and she looked up to see Reno, who without a word took his key card out, opening the door before gently picking her up and carrying her to the bathroom, putting her down in front of the toilet, before going back to the main room to turn the TV on to one of the comedy stations. His silent kindness troubled her more as her dinner came back up. What was going on with him?
"Thank you." she told him a few minutes later as she walked into the main room, looking pale and still a teeny bit green.
Feeling more confident with her gratitude, Reno decided that he might as well go for broke and settle things with her, one way or another. "So um…I know you don't like me, but since everyone thinks we're together anyway, what would you say if I…uh…actually did ask you to marry me? Not forever though, like um…just til you have the baby or something."
Tifa's mind suddenly went blank…was he serious? He was confusing her even more with the most lousy, yet somehow needily charming, proposal she had ever heard. "How much did you have to drink tonight?" she asked numbly.
"Is that a yes or no?" Reno wanted to know, though he was glad she didn't outright reject the idea, his offer not having come out quite the way he intended it to sound.
"I…I need some fresh air." Tifa said, quickly leaving the cabin.