A/N: Hi I'm back! I decided to write a few chapters for this little collection since it's been so long since I've written for this fandom in general. I know not many read this, but I'm glad that the few ones that do still enjoy my works :)

ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:

AkaiArashi1: Thank you my friend :) Ah, I see, good luck with your studies! Hope my fics won't bore you too soon! ;)

Enjoy! :)

Moments

"Not again," Tifa stared curiously, if not a bit worriedly, at the silent stare off Edge's eligible bachelors were having.

Cloud and Zack sat opposite of each-other at one of the tables in Seventh Heaven, it was a Sunday and the bar was deserted save for former AVALANCHE members sitting at another table drinking jovially.

Yuffie trotted up to her and sat on the high stool, leaning her elbow on the bar counter and leaning close to Tifa to whisper, "So, how long do you think until they butt heads?"

Tifa sighed, shaking her head as she wiped the counter clean, "They've been at it for an hour, who says they're done anytime soon?"

Yuffie rose an eyebrow, "Help me jog my memory, how did this start again?" she glanced back at the two men before looking at her best friend.

The barmaid's gaze remained locked on them, "Zack's motorcycle acted funny and Cloud scolded him for not taking proper care about it. Zack felt offended and tried to defend his nonexistent mechanic skills by doing a race. Cloud, being the irrational ex-SOLDIER whenever he is with Zack, of course couldn't deny that opportunity. So, they both drove off somewhere outside of Edge and returned pushing their bikes all the way back because some monsters caught them by surprise and now none of their motorcycles work anymore,"

Tifa sighed as if she told that story one too many times, which she probably had in the past half an hour. Yuffie still looked confused, "But why are they glaring at each-other like they just relived one of their embarrassing homosexual SOLDIER experiences?"

This time it was Tifa's turn to raise an eyebrow in surprise, "They what? They had such experiences? Cloud never told me," she glanced back at the glaring men, aghast.

Yuffie shrugged nonchalantly, plucking a nut from the small snack bowl next to her, "I have no physical evidence, but don't all soldier boys have those experiences? You know, just like with us,"

Tifa rolled her eyes, "Yuffie, sharing a tent and bathing together aren't considered lesbian experiences," she looked at her friend pointedly, "Besides, we did that because we were on the run from Shinra and I highly doubted you wanted to share the bath with Barret or Cid on our travels,"

The Wutaian female crossed her arms, huffing, "Tch, who would want to share a bath with ashes for breath and Cyborg the swearing sailor?" Tifa released a soft laugh, shaking her head at her friend's antics.

"I doubt Cloud and Zack had any of them, Cloud is too shy to even think about such things and I highly doubt the lady killer Zack Fair swings that way either," she winked, giggling.

A mischievous smile curled Yuffie's lips, "Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?" she shrugged, "Lady killer indeed…"

Tifa quirked an eyebrow playfully, "Ah, I forgot you like the tall, dark and handsome types," while pointedly looking at a certain gunslinger in their group, quietly watching a verbal brawl between Cid and Barret ensue.

Yuffie stiffened, immediately going into the defensive, "Huh?! What?! What in Shiva's blazes do you mean?!" she jumped off the stool, marching resolutely back to the crowded table at the back, "I have no idea what you're talking about Tifa,"

The barmaid shook her head, a fond smile on her face as she whispered under her breath, "I'm sure you do, Yuffie…" turning her attention to the still silent stare off between the two males, Tifa fixed up a few drinks before heading over to their table.

Loudly placing the two tall glasses between them, both men blinked briefly, acknowledging her presence. Finally.

"Here are your drinks,"

Zack rose an eyebrow, "But we didn't order any," he looked up at Tifa in confusion.

The pugilist rested her hands on her hips, "Well, as a barmaid, I felt that it was about time you needed a drink," she smiled.

Cloud pushed the drink away gently, "No, thanks Tifa, we're fine,"

When he looked up at the brunette, her gaze was suddenly trained on him and he recognized it well.

That subtly threatening look she would get in her eye when he did or said something she definitely didn't want to hear or agree with, it sometimes reminded him when he would start a fight in NIbelheim and his mom would give him the same threatening look.

Tifa was still smiling sweetly, but the way her fingers deftly stroked the worn gloves peeking from her pocket and the apparent kindness that failed to reach her eyes whenever she smiled told him she meant business.

As a man that didn't pride himself in his people skills like Tifa's or his knowledge of women like Zack, Cloud was a man that knew when to retreat when he saw a losing battle.

Resignedly, Cloud's gloved hand reached for his drink, finger slowly curling around the cool glass before lifting it up to his nose to scent the strong alcoholic components.

The drink was strong, unnaturally so, definitely not something to give to ordinary customers lest they want to run the risk of alcohol poisoning or a massive hangover in the morning. Thankfully, he nor Zack were ordinary men, but still, it was still broad daylight outside, he didn't think drinking something so strong would be appropriate until evening.

Raising a questioning eyebrow at the woman he lived with, Cloud carefully chose his words, "Are you sure this is a good time to drink, Tifa?"

Hearing the rambunctious laughter behind her, Tifa's lips curled into a smirk, "I think this is as good time as any Cloud," she turned her attention to a stunned Zack, "Well?"

Reading the situation a bit better than his blond counterpart, someone had to, Zack reached for his glass and sniffed it briefly, before taking a cautious sip.

An immediate burn assaulted his nose and throat, but just as quickly as it came, it was gone. Instead of lingering in the back of his throat like he expected, Zack was surprised to find it only left a faint lingering bitterness of the alcohol and close to no burn, "What is this stuff?" he looked at Tifa in awe.

She couldn't help but giggle at the awestricken look on his face, "It's something new I've been working on, I call it SOLDIER Rush." She supplied helpfully after seeing the bewildered looks on both men, "SOLDIER because only you are able to drink it due to the mako in your body which burns off the alcohol far quicker since it's the strongest drink I ever mixed and rush…well…it's a popular name for drinks that boost your energy," she smiled kindly.

Zack whipped his head around to look at Cloud, their fight all but forgotten, "Dude, you have to try this!" excitedly jumping in his seat as Cloud looked at skeptically.

Resigning himself to his fate under the scrutinizing gazes of his friends, Cloud also took a sip before his eyes widened at the taste, "It's…good," he locked gazes with Tifa, who only smiled and left the men to their own devices.

Zack and Cloud both looked bewildered for a moment, before taking a larger gulp of their drinks and wiping their mouths, "Ahhh, been a while since I last tasted the good stuff," Zack patted his chest, a large goofy smile on his face.

Cloud smirked, leaning back against his chair, "So, that's what the higher ups have been doing while the rookies did the grunt work," he joked as he took a sip of his drink, visibly more relaxed and in a rare joking mood, something that usually took a lot more strong drinks to achieve.

Zack's expression was one of mock horror, "Hey! The rookies also got piss drunk at the bar after work! Except you, you were always a goodie two shoes!" Zack crossed his arms, huffing in annoyance.

Cloud shrugged, "Sorry for not wanting a beating from that drill commander for appearing hungover at work,"

Zack sighed, leaning his elbows on the table, "Heh…yeah…what was his name? Mustang? I remember him having a horse name or other…" Zack rubbed his chin, shrugging nonchalantly after a while, "Well, it can't be helped. It's the usually the bad guys you don't remember anyway,"

Cloud sent him a pointed look and Zack scratched the back of his neck, a sheepish grin on his face, "Alright, so maybe you do sometimes remember the bad guys, but it's not like you always think about them and how evil they are,"

Again, Cloud sent him a pointed look, taking a sip from his drink, feeling he would need it.

Zack deflated, "Alright already. Sheesh. Talk about depressive puberty phase," he rolled his eyes playfully.

Then, he smiled, "But this one, I know for sure. It's never the bad guys that create good memories with you and you keep them in here," he pointed at his heart, smiling his typical Zack smile.

Cloud offered a small smile in return, clanking glasses together with Zack as the two men drank in companiable silence.

After Cloud had strictly forbidden Zack from entering the garage as long as he was fixing both of their rides, the former SOLDIER opted to do something else to kill time.

Just as he was about to go upstairs and look over the mapped roads for future deliveries, his own words suddenly echoed in his mind.

It's never the bad guys that create good memories with you and you keep them in here.

Zack gripped his chest, his teeth clenched tightly as if in pain and he had to physically hold in a grunt.

He had lied.

He had memories, good memories with people that were now considered the bad guys.

Sephiroth…

Genesis…

Even Angeal at one point or another.

Fisting the material of his old SOLDIER vest, Zack clenched his fist tightly.

The best memories were always the most painful ones, weren't they?

And suddenly, he felt a gentle but firm hand settle over his clenched fist and stiff shoulder, whispering soothingly close to his ear, "You got that right,"

It was Tifa.

Zack tilted his head slightly to catch her from the corner of his eyes, "I said that out loud, didn't I?" he chuckled, the sound hollow.

Tifa shook her head with a small smile, "How was the drink?"

Zack smiled, "Good. One of your best actually," he smiled at her.

Tifa returned his smile along with a gentle squeeze around his now open hand, "Come on, I tried out a different recipe today," she started leading him towards the bar counter again.

Away from the dark corner his minds took a wrong turn to.

A smirk curled the soldier's lips, "Ah, you're intent on getting me drunk today, are you?" he chuckled at Tifa's short pause before she answered his joking question.

"Well, it would be hard because of the mako in your body, but…" she offered him another one of her beautiful smiles that never failed to get his attention, "I guess I'll just have to work harder to make you smile, won't I?"

He could distinctively remember speaking about getting him drunk and not getting him to smile, but Zack's own lips stretched further into a happy grin at Tifa's words.

Enveloping her hand fully with his own now, Zack raised himself to his full height and followed after Tifa confidently, a grin on his face, "So, where's the booze?"

Tifa laughed.

Thanks for reading! Hope I can update again soon! :)