Aerith left Tifa after promising to stop by the next day. Tifa had wanted her to stay and help her open the bar, but Aerith had to go take care of her own business since she had spent the night taking care of the children. And she really needed to talk to Yuffie...it was bad enough being the last of the Cetra, Aerith wanted to chat with her only still-virginal friend to not feel so out of place
Tifa was glad to have running the bar to focus on, to keep her mind off how she would have to confess her sinful night with Reno to Cloud and beg for his forgiveness. She wanted to apologize to Reno as well for her meanness to him, but she felt he should apologize first for his cruel words. Cloud would come back home and then he'd never leave again, proving to everyone that he did love her, she told herself.
Reno checked his appearance one last time in his mirror. He didn't want to wear his Turk uniform for this, since his quarrel with Tifa was personal. He looked like he belonged to a biker gang in his tight ripped jeans, black worn t-shirt, and leather jacket, and women loved bad boys, especially when they had a body like his. Women who weren't Tifa, he corrected himself, frowning as he headed out to his sports car.
Rude was waiting for him outside the bar, dressed in a suit and tie as usual, but not his work uniform. It was a dark grey suit. He was wearing a cream-colored shirt as well with a dark red tie and matching handkerchief in his breast pocket. "You look like you stole that car escaping from jail." he said when Reno drove up.
"You're looking sharp as ever yourself." Reno was used to Rude's opinion of his off-duty wardrobe. "How about we play it that way? I'm about to stand trial and you're my lawyer. Let's see how much ass that routine gets us, buddy." Reno led Rude into the bar before his partner could object.
Tifa was giving instructions to her newest barmaid Laura, unaware of her two newest customers until Laura's eyes widened a bit and she got a funny smile on her face. "Who's that?" she asked her boss.
"Who's who?" Tifa turned around to see Reno and Rude sitting at the end of the bar. She frowned, amazed at the gall of the man to dare show his face at her bar, then realized she should expect nothing less from someone like him.
"Probably just another customer, but let's go find out." she said and gestured for Laura to follow her. "How can I help you?" she asked the off-duty Turks with a forced smile and clenched teeth.
"Is everything okay?" Rude was confused and concerned by her unusual attitude, she was usually genuinely pleasant to them.
"I'm having a busy night and I just need to know what you'd like." Tifa replied, ignoring that there were only five other customers beside themselves.
"Oh, I think you know what I like." Reno told her in a salacious voice.
Tifa took a deep breath and her eyes narrowed...it was bad enough seeing him again so soon, but to have him showing off his body in tight clothes like a...she suddenly smiled sweetly at Reno. "You heard him, Laura, give Mr. Skank and his friend the house special." she said before moving to the other end of the bar.
Laura poured Reno and Rude glasses of the most popular beer, and blushed when Reno winked at her. "I'm not a skank, I'm just a friendly kind of guy." he told the barmaid, thinking that fucking her employee would be a good way to pay Tifa back.
Rude elbowed Reno as soon as Laura left to go take care of other customers. "You slept with Tifa!" he accused him, long familiar with how former conquests treated Reno.
"It was an error in judgment." Reno said coldly as he sipped his beer. "And she started it."
Glaring at Reno, Rude stood up and threw some gil down on the counter to pay for his beer. "Do what you want, I'm going home." He didn't want to be a party to whatever his longtime partner was up to. Tifa was a class act, and even if Rude had accepted he didn't have a chance with her, she deserved better than to be just another notch on Reno's bedposts.
Reno was surprised that Rude left, but shrugged it off and gestured for Laura to come back. "My friend had to leave early, but he still paid for his beer, even if he didn't drink it all, would you mind refilling it for me on his dime?"
"You two don't look like you're friends." Laura said as filled up Rude's beer mug. "He looks so classy and you're..." her voice trailed off as she wondered what to say that wouldn't be insulting to him. He had such a charming smile and the rest of him was just as good.
"I like clothes you can move in." he told her with a hint of lewdness in his expression now. He noticed Tifa constantly glancing over at him, even if she refused to talk to him more, and it was time to prime her barmaid more. "Suits are just for work."
"You wear a suit to work? What kind of work do you do?" Laura wondered. She couldn't possibly picture this man dressed like a business executive.
"I can't tell you that." Reno honestly replied, smiling more as Laura responded as he expected her to.
"Can I have a refill?" one of the other customers at the bar asked Laura.
"Laura." Tifa tried to get her attention, but she was busy being chatted up by Reno, so Tifa dealt with the customer and then strode over to them to save her employee from him.
"But...if you're free after work, I can show you what suits I have. You ever been to the condos on Junon Avenue?" Reno asked Laura as he saw Tifa head towards them.
"I've heard they're really posh." Laura was impressed. "You can afford to live there?"
"Yeah, but I need to see your hands first." Reno told her.
"Why?" Laura held them out for him, noticing he had a gentle touch as he caressed her hands.
"My last overnight guest had really sharp nails. She made my back and chest look like I had been attacked by wildcats." Reno said as soon as Tifa was close enough to hear him.
"I did not!" Tifa found herself blurting out, causing everyone to stare at her as Reno's smile widened. "I did not say you could sexually harass my employees!" she clarified as her cheeks felt hot. "And I didn't say you could ignore other customers, Laura."
"Sorry, Boss." Laura took her hands out of Reno's as she acknowledged the rebuke and got back to work.
"And what the hell do you think you're doing?" Tifa demanded of Reno.
"You might want to get a dictionary." Reno replied as he took another sip of beer. "It's not harassment when it's consensual. Women who like to act otherwise can go fuck themselves. I'm not ashamed of being who I am, and I'll flirt with whoever I want to if they don't want me."
Tifa stood there fuming for a moment at his not-so-subtle insults, wishing she could throw him out without making a scene that would expose their night together, and then she noticed Vincent walking in and sitting down at a empty table not too far from the bar, and when he saw her looking at him, he gestured for her to come over. Deciding to teach Reno a lesson about flirting, she pasted what she thought was a teasing smile on her face. "Hey Vinnie, I've missed you. How have you been?" she asked in her imitation of a sexy voice.
Vincent stared at the dark-haired beauty. Her smile looked odd...did she have a stroke and no one told him? And why was she calling him Vinnie? "Uh, hi. I was hoping to talk to Cloud, I have some information he's been looking for. Is he here?"
Tifa blinked twice, barely managing to keep the smile on her face, not wanting Reno to know that Cloud was gone. "Oh Vinnie, you naughty boy." Tifa let out a silly giggle. "You know you only came here because Cloud isn't home now, and you want me to ask me to run away with you again."
Reno's well-trained ears heard every syllable of Tifa and Vincent's conversation, and was hard-pressed not to laugh. Tifa obviously had no idea how to flirt, and Vincent really wasn't the person to do it with. Watching her embarrass herself was even better revenge than doing her barmaid. His amusement didn't last long however, her cluelessness about flirting and her telling Vincent that Cloud wasn't home made him think about how alone she must really be. He had firsthand evidence about how love-starved she was, after all. He frowned and stood up, putting some gil on the counter and left, ignoring Laura's request to show her his condo.
"Um, I'll just go try and find Cloud on my own." Vincent said when Tifa finally gave him a chance to talk. He wondered if she ever drank on the job. "Thanks for letting me know he's not here." Vincent stood up and edged himself carefully towards the door before fleeing the bar.
Tifa frowned as he left, then noticed Reno had left as well. "Laura, when did Reno leave?"
"Reno? You mean that biker guy? He left while you were talking to that weird guy." Laura was pouting that he left without even giving her his number.
Tifa gratefully crawled into bed later that night. It had been such a trying day, and she was terribly disturbed by thoughts of Reno. He had done everything he could to ruin her day, but what hurt most was knowing she had disgraced herself with a man who obviously didn't care about her, otherwise he wouldn't have been so mean to her and tried to seduce her barmaid. She didn't understand why Reno didn't follow through with Laura though...why would he do something so out of character for him? And why was she even so upset about who he tried to sleep with? She couldn't figure it out, and finally fell into a troubled sleep, wishing Cloud would come home soon so they could put this behind them.
