Life as a SOLDIER

Disclaimer: ….twelve is a big number when it appears in the same sentence as "Fairy Red's fanfic".

A/N: I know, isn't it? Let's continue.

Chapter Twelve: Keep 'Em Rockin' In Midgar! Part Two
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"…and this stage is for today, Saturday, and Sunday! Karaoke night is tonight, and people will be singing along with popular songs and dancing and having a grand old time!" Tifa was showing them around the bar, and was showing them the stage at the left end of the room.

"Who'd want to sing?" asked Cloud, looking at the stage apprehensively. "I wouldn't, I can't sing to save my life."

"I think you sing okay," said Tifa.

"What are you talking about? You were the one who said I sound like a dying Moogle when I sing."

"…oh, yeah!" said Tifa.

"I can sing," said Sephiroth. "Perfectly."

"Sure, you can," said Zack with a frown. "I can't sing either… But I still enjoy it!" said Zack happily.

"Good," said Tifa, walking to behind the bar. "I want you three to serve as bartenders tonight."

"WHA!" went Cloud, Zack, and Sephiroth at the same time.

"That's right!" said Tifa, smiling a bunny smile as she pulled out three bartending outfits. "You three will help me, yes?"

"But…" started Cloud. "Aren't we too young to be bartending!"

"I've been bartending ever since I was 10!" said Tifa proudly.

"You enjoy being a tavern wench?" asked Sephiroth, looking at the waiter outfit with a disgusted look.

Tifa glared at Sephiroth. "What is THAT supposed to mean!" she demanded.

"Oh, excuse me, I meant to say, do you enjoy serving people," Sephiroth corrected himself, giving Tifa a shifty eyed glare.

"Yes, I do!" answered Tifa defiantly, standing tall and proud with her arms akimbo. She smiled at Cloud and Zack. "You two will help me, right?"

"I will!" said Cloud happily, raising a hand.

"As I!" agreed Zack, rising his hand too.

"Well?" asked Tifa, turning a puppy-eyed face to Sephiroth. "Will you be a true gentlemen, and help me? I'm a damsel in distress right now… help me?"

Sephiroth sighed in exasperation. "Fine, fine," he said. "But one night only!" he called warningly over his shoulder as he trudged upstairs to go change.

"On your way then," said Tifa to Cloud and Zack. "I'll be waiting down here to get you ready to serve customers. The bar opens at 6:00 PM tonight, so I want you to know this bar like the back of your hand, okay?"

"Yes, Tifa," answered Cloud and Zack in unison.

"Okay!"

Cloud and Zack hurriedly followed Sephiroth upstairs to the room. Sephiroth was tying a red bowtie to his white shirt. "White's not my color," he grumbled to his own reflection.

"I think white suits you fine," said Cloud friendly.

Sephiroth glanced at Cloud and Zack in the mirror. "Well…" he said. "It can't be that bad, right?" he stood up, and brushed the apron off. "I'll see you downstairs."

"Sure…" said Zack. "I'll look cute in a waiter outfit!" said Zack cheerfully, holding the outfit out. "You change out here, I'll change in the closet," he told Cloud.

"Sure," said Cloud slowly.

He and Zack hurriedly changed into the waiter outfit, and both looked in front of the mirror. "You look soo cute," squealed Zack, putting his hands on Cloud's shoulders. "Look at you!"

Cloud blushed slightly. "Ah--ah! I'm not cute," he stammered.

"You are too," said Zack, tying a red bowtie to Cloud's waiter shirt. "Don't degrade yourself, you look cute!" He tied a red bowtie to his own shirt. "I look so formal now! I'd love for Aeris to see me like this!"

"Maybe you can invite Aeris to the bar?" suggested Cloud.

"Nah, she doesn't like bars and stuff," disagreed Zack. "Maybe I'll see her later. Like tomorrow! I'll introduce you to Aeris tomorrow. Let's go." Zack stood up and waked to the door, Cloud behind him.

"Okay, guys, let me explain the processes!" said Tifa when the three SOLDIERs assembled in front of Tifa. "You all go around and asking people what drinks they want. Then you have to bring them the drinks. If you do a good job. I'll serve you free drinks!"

"For the record, I'm old enough to drink," said Sephiroth, "but the other two will have to wait until they're of age."

"I can drink!" said Zack indignantly. "I'm of age!"

"How old are you?" asked Tifa curiously. "Cloud, I know your sixteen, but what about you two?"

"I'm twenty-five years old," answered Sephiroth.

"I'm twenty-one," said Zack with a scowl at Sephiroth.

Cloud blinked in surprise at this new piece of information. He's twenty-one! Oh, no he's five years older then me…! thought Cloud with shock.

"Well, I'll serve you guys anyway!" said Tifa cheerfully, patting Cloud on the back. "I've been drinking ever since I was eight! One glass of wine every night!"

"Really?" asked Cloud. "I didn't know that…"

"Well, now you do," said Tifa, picking up a tray. "You know how to carry one of these with five or six drinks on them?"

"I can," said Sephiroth. "I'm perfect, I can do anything and everything without a single flaw!"

"No fair," wailed Zack. "It's not fair, for you to constantly remind me if my imperfection!"

"You have no imperfections, and you know it!" said Cloud firmly. "It doesn't matter what you can or can't do! It's you that matter!"

"See, now Cloud can be nice," said Zack.

"Excuse me!" said Tifa loudly. "I want you to go around and practice taking and serving and carrying drinks around! It's much harder then it looks, even for perfect people!" Tifa thrusted the trays into the three SOLDIERs, and stalked to the back. "I'll guide you!"

The three sighed and listened as Tifa gave instructions on how to properly serve people to greeting people properly to drinking good and healthy. By the time it was 4:45 PM, they were ready to serve people.

"Now you all are perfect gentlemen!" said Tifa with glee.

"Whoop-de-do for me," said Sephiroth in a bored voice.

"Whee, I'm a perfect gentlemen!" said Zack.

"I'm glad I'll be able to help you," said Cloud.

"Now, you all have about one hour and fifteen minutes to get ready, so take a break if you like! I'll be upstairs if you need me!"

"Hey, Zack," said Cloud as Tifa went upstairs and Sephiroth went outside. "Can we go see Aeris now? Where does she live?"

"Sure, I guess we can," said Zack. "She lives at a church just a few blocks away from here. Go on without me real quick, I want to change into my SOLDIER outfit."

"Sure," said Cloud, and he walked outside and down two blocks. He stopped in front of tall impressive church. "Whoa…!" he gasped. "This church is huge…" He opened the door; the door squeaked loudly as it opened. Cloud left the door open and walked inside, looking around. "Wow, this is a beautiful church… Does Aeris really live here?" Cloud stopped at the center of the church, looking at a beautiful garden of lilies in front of him. "These are pretty…"

"Oh? I didn't know I had a visitor," said a woman's voice.

Cloud jumped and whirled around to see a light brown haired woman with green eyes. This--this must be Aeris! thought Cloud in astonishment. "Uh… hello," he said.

"Hello," said Aeris. She walked into the light, and Cloud could see she was holding a watering can. "May I ask who you are?"

"Uh… I-- My name's Cloud. Cloud Strife."

"Cloud Strife?" repeated Aeris. With a smile, she shifted the position of the watering can so she could hold out a hand. "I'm Aeris Gainsborough. But you can call me Aeris."

"Ok-okay…" stammered Cloud, taking her hand and shaking it.

"You're a SOLDIER, aren't you?" asked Aeris, holding her watering can with both hands again. "Do you know if a SOLDIER named Zack is around in Midgar?" asked Aeris.

"Oh… I know who Zack is!" said Cloud excitedly. "He's a great friend of mine! I really, really look up to him!"

Aeris looked mildly surprised. "So I see you know Zack," she said with a knowing smile. "He's easily likeable, isn't he? Here," she said kindly, holding out the watering can. "Say hello to my plants as well!"

Cloud blushed suddenly. "Oh, you… Do you know I… that I… about Zack…"

"I'm not sure if it's that, but I sense a certain attachment coming from you. Whatever you feel for Zack is a really strong feeling. Is it the same way I feel for Zack?" she asked, sitting down on a bench.

"Uh…" started Cloud, looking down embarrassed. "I… yes, I think I like Zack a lot… A bit more then just friends…"

"Don't be embarrassed," said Aeris, giggling to herself. "I understand how you feel. But I'm not unduly worried, I know how it feels to have your heart broken. I won't cause you that agony."

Cloud stared in awe at Aeris. "You… You're so…"

Aeris smiled secretively, and gestured to her flowers. "Enough about me and you. The flowers deserve some love too. Go on, Cloud, water them."

Cloud stared at Aeris, and bent over the gardens, watering them with Aeris's watering can. To his surprise, some of the flowers squeaked in surprise and shook the water off, happily taking in the water as the droplets fell to the ground. He looked back at Aeris. "Ae--Aeris!" he said in surprise.

"Yes?" asked Aeris.

"The flowers…! They made a sound! I mean, when I watered them, they squeaked in surprise! They moved!"

"That's not unusual," said Aeris, looking slightly amused. "Didn't you know that flowers enjoy being watered?" she stood up and walked over to Cloud, taking her watering can back. "I think they like you," she said to Cloud.

"They like me?" asked Cloud, looking down at the flowers. They indeed seem to smile when they looked up at Cloud. He laughed to himself. "They--like me," he stammered.

"Cloud! Aeris! There you are!" called Zack. "I see you found the church!"

"Zack, it's good to see you again," said Aeris pleasantly. "I was showing Cloud the water garden," she explained, gesturing to the garden.

"Ah, surprised you too, huh?" asked Zack with a smile. "Surprised me first time too. Aeris has that power, she can make flowers look alive to anyone."

"Oh, it's no doing of mine," said Aeris modestly. "All plants have their own personalities; you just have to look close enough for it."

"Yeah, but you help us open our eyes to see it. That's your power, isn't it?" asked Zack, standing next to Aeris to admire the garden. "Your flowers are lovely by the way. As usual."

"All you need is to shower them with love and water every single day," said Aeris. "How many times have I told you that?" asked Aeris with a playful slap on Zack's shoulder.

"At last count, about seven times," retorted Zack, giving Aeris a playful slap on the shoulder in return.

Cloud looked up at the two, trying hard to not feel jealous. Zack likes her, he reminded himself. His happiness is your happiness…Don't be jealous of Aeris…

Aeris did a double-take on Zack and Cloud's outfits. "Oh! You two are certainly dressed for the occasion! Are you going to a fancy party or something?"

"Oh--No, that's not it," said Zack hurriedly. "Uh… actually, we're going to serve at the bar, the 7th Heaven Bar."

"Oh," said Aeris.

"Uh… You want to come?" asked Zack.

"Oh, no, I don't like bars," said Aeris politely. "They're not to my style."

"Okay, then."

"So, you two gonna leave soon, or you gonna keep me company for a while?" asked Aeris.

"Oh, sorry Aeris, we can't stay long today, Tifa wants us to be there by 6:00, and she advised that we don't be late."

"We really wish we could stay, though!" added Cloud quickly.

"That's okay, I understand," said Aeris.

"We'll come back tomorrow," promised Zack. "We have to go now. Bye, Aeris!" said Zack cheerfully, waving to Aeris.

"See you later," she agreed, waving back.

"Bye," called Cloud over his shoulder. "So you decided to stay in your waiter outfit?" asked Cloud as he and Zack walked out of the church.

"Yeah, Tifa asked me what I was going to my room for and I said I was gonna change and she got angry and told me that it'd be best for me not to ruin the outfit by taking it off. She was so forceful about it I decided to just stay in the waiter outfit and go on ahead to meet you and Aeris. Speaking of Aeris, what did you think of her?" asked Zack curiously.

"Well…" started Cloud, looking back to see her. But she wasn't there. "! Zack, she's gone!"

"I know," answered Zack.

"Huh? But--she's not there, she disappeared or something!"

"She's a Cetra; she tells me that she does that sometimes. Aeris always told me that it was safer to hide."

"Oh…" said Cloud, looking back. "I see… Uh, well, I thought she was an okay person. She seems to know a lot about flowers, and she's very shrewd… I mean, she's good at reading people."

"I know that side of her," said Zack with a fond smile at the church.

Cloud sighed. "Well, we should get going," he said.

"Okay, let's go!"

At 6:00 PM…

"Okay, since tonight's Friday, I should tell you about my uncle; he started a service a long time ago called 'Three Beer Night'. The bar won't be very wild tonight because everyone is only served three drinks. Three drinks aren't enough to get you drunk. So you all can rest easy."

"How can a 'Free Beer Night' make us rest easy?" asked Zack. "They'll be demanding drinks left right and center…"

"No, it's 'Three Beer Night'," corrected Tifa, holding up three fingers. "Now let's get started!" Tifa opened the door, flipped the sign to "We're Open", and walked back to behind the bar. "Let's get ready!"

Cloud, Zack, and Sephiroth sighed and got ready to serve the stream of customers.

"Hey, Tifa, heard about your uncle," called one person.

"Yeah, he was a good man."

"I know," said Tifa. "Come on in, and together we'll drink to his memory."

One by one people shuffled in. They all seemed to know Tifa, and Tifa seemed to know them.

"Well, now's our cue," said Sephiroth, and the three of them hurried around the customers, asking the for what they want and such.

Although it wasn't as easy as Tifa had anticipated. Soon, people were saying that they wanted more the three beers, and that a true drinking to her uncles memory would be more then three beers, and that they should have a whole big part over it. Within the space in an hour, the bar had become a great, wild, party place.

"Tifa, the people are wild!" called Cloud as he went back to behind the bar to Tifa. "It's getting really bad!"

"Well…" said Tifa nervously, "at least it's not too bad. People are having a grand time."

"At least no one's dead drunk," said Zack, coming to stand next to Tifa. "Cause there's always one drunk who ruins it for everyone!"

"One drunk?" asked Sephiroth, coming behind Tifa, and the foursome could see that the bar was starting to get restless.

"HEY, THAT'S MY BEER!" yelled one guy,

"NO, IT'S MINE! IT WAS ON MY TABLE!"

Tifa sighed. "I need to fix this somehow… Ah!" Tifa ran out to the stage and picked the mike up. "People, who's ready for karaoke time!"

"YAY!" cheered the bar.

"Here, I'll pass the mike around, and you all can take turns singing songs!"

"Whee!" cheered the bar, all of them taking the mike, all trying to sing along with the karaoke songs.

"Phew," sighed Tifa, sitting down at the bar. "That took care of the problem."

"What about our drinks?" asked Sephiroth. "Do we get some too?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," said Tifa absentmindedly. "Help yourselves, I'll be right back," said Tifa, pulling out a huge bottle of wine and trudging outside.

"Hey, this is a pretty good wine," commented Sephiroth, reading the label on the wine bottle. "Châteaux, '90! Wow, that's good!"

"You like the Chateaux? I didn't know that," said Zack. "Pour me a glass!"

"Sure, sure," said Sephiroth, pulling out three glasses.

"Who's the third glass for?" asked Cloud as Sephiroth filled every glass to the rim with crystal clear châteaux.

Sephiroth smirked an evil smirk. "Why, it's for you, Cloud!"

"Wha-- No, I don't drink," said Cloud hurriedly.

"There's a first time for everything," said Sephiroth matter-of-factly. "Take this, and drink it! Come on, I dare you!"

"No, really, I--I can't," stammered Cloud.

"Don't be such a big baby," scolded Sephiroth, taking Cloud's hand and putting the wineglass in it.

"Yeah, wine is great!" agreed Zack. "Lets share a toast together!" He held up his glass. "To freedom!"

"To freedom," agreed Sephiroth, lifting his own glass.

"…to--to freedom," said Cloud, lifting his own drink.

The three clinked their glasses together, and drank their wine glass quickly in one gulp.

"Aah!" sighed Zack. "That's some good stuff! Lets have some more!"

"No!" said Sephiroth, suddenly looking very serious as he put the wine bottle back. "Only one glass of ze Châteaux! Honestly, who taught you how to drink wine?"

"But, come on, Sephy!" said Zack. "Let us have just one more!"

"Fine, but not of ze Châteaux," said Sephiroth, putting the Châteaux away and pulling out regular red wine. "Let's drink this instead!"

"Cloud, how are you feeling?" asked Zack, looking at Cloud.

"That was really good!" said Cloud. "I'm ready to try other wines!"

"Okay!" agreed Sephiroth, pouring a generous amount of red wine into each of their glasses. "You know, I wonder why they call it wine, after a few glasses, you can't feel a thing, you can't taste anything!"

When Tifa came back about twenty minutes later, she saw Sephiroth was standing on the stage, singing along to a French song on the karaoke while the bar people cheered, and Zack and Cloud were on sitting at the bar drinking wine glass after wine glass. "What--what's going on here!" she demanded, running to Zack and Cloud. "What happened here!"

"Oh, we decided to keep the party going!" said Zack.

"And Cloud, what's wrong with Cloud!" demanded Tifa.

"Nothings wrong with me," said Cloud a little loudly. "I feel fine! I've had about fourteen of these wine glasses, and I don't feel a thing!"

"Okay, good, that very good, the I'll teach you a few defense movements, just in case any girl try to hit on you!"

"Okay!" said Cloud excitedly standing up.

Sephiroth was still singing in French:

"Don't leave without me, let me survive
You who fly to other lives, let me live
The blue of infinite, the joy of being free
On rays on suns
On songs on wonders
and in a sky of love
Le bleu de l'infini la joie d'etre libre
Vous qui cherchez une autre vie
Vous qui volez vers l'an 2 000
Ne partez pas sans moi"

"Wait, Tifa, I want to try that too!" said Cloud, pointing at the stage.

Tifa sighed. "Sure, okay, let's wait for Sephiroth to be done…"

"The blue of the infinite, the joy of being free
You who are looking for another life
You who are flying towards the year 2, 000
Don't leave without me," sang Sephiroth, at the last notes.

Everyone in the bar cheered loudly. "Who's next?" asked the crowd.

"Cloud is," announced Tifa.

"YAY!" cheered everyone as Cloud took the mike from Sephiroth.

"Here, sing this song," said Sephiroth, handing him a sheet of song lyrics in French.

"Okay!" said Cloud cheerfully, though he didn't know how to read French, much less speak it. He took a deep breath and belted out,

"Matin solitaire
Soleil a l'envers
Mes jours s'endorment
Quand tu t'en vas
Murs de ma maison
Pour seul horizon
Un vide enorme
Tombe sur moi
Le temps qui balance
Entre deux silences
Le telephone
Ne repond pas!"

Though he sang terribly, the crowd still cheered loudly. That was proof positive that everyone was dead drunk. Tifa sighed wearily. "I was going to make this a SOBER bar…"

"Oh, well, at least Cloud's having a good time," said Zack. "See, he like singing." He winced. "Even though he sings like a dying Moogle…"

"I know," agreed Tifa sadly. "I'll just sit here and wait here for Cloud to come back."

"Un soir? Un matin? Un hiver, une aube
Un printemps qu'il choisira
Rien, je n'en sais rien, je mets des lumieres
Les nuits au bord des chemins," finished Cloud.

"Good! Yay! We loved it!" cheered the crowd.

As someone else took the mike, Cloud jumped off the stage and ran to Tifa. "Tifa, okay now I'm ready for the defense lessons!"

"Okay!" said Tifa, standing up. "Okay, when some comes at you like this--" she trailed off as Cloud fell down in a faint. She sighed, "Zack, help me get him to the room."

"Sure!" said Zack, picking Cloud's feet up as Tifa picked Cloud up by the head and they carried Cloud upstairs to the guestroom. "Poor Cloud, I shouldn't have let him dink so much," he said apologetically.

"I guess Cloud can't hold his liquor in," said Tifa, putting a blanket over Cloud. "I can, I should have taught him to drink when I had the chance. But I was always around and near guys, he could rarely ever get to me. Our times together were pretty rare…"

"Oh," said Zack.

"Well, never mind, let's let him sleep it off here and you and I return to the bar before it gets completely out of hand!"

"God, that's a great idea," said Zack and he and Tifa hurried downstairs to take care of the bar while Cloud snoozed on the bed.

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Hah, hah, hah, I thought this would be a cute chapter. What do you all think? Are you still reading it? Do you still like it? I hope so! Stay tuned for next installment of my fanfic, okay? Bye!