Disclaimer: Same as always!

AN: Just to keep the ball rolling. Enjoy! Thanks for reading and/or reviewing!

Seventh Heaven had been late to close last night. The patrons were in especially celebratory spirits because of the upcoming weekend. The weeks were long and arduous; most people spent their time at busy jobs, trying to make heads and tails of all the things that had happened in the past couple of years. Cities were being rebuilt. Families were trying to find a sense of normalcy in everyday life. And if one looked a stranger in the eye long enough, you could still see that spark of fear in them. What -- if anything -- would come next? Most people couldn't even fathom it. So they drowned themselves in hard work and busy schedules, and tried their best to make the most out of every free moment they had.

But it was Tifa, whom at the end of the night, cleaned up the remnants of these free moments and worked herself hard so that others could have a good time. Maybe that's why she even came to work in a bar in the first place. She liked knowing that she was contributing to the happiness of others. More recently she had even grown fond of the constant demands of her job. It kept her from thinking too hard about all the things in her life that had gone wrong. It kept her from thinking about all that was broken that could not be rebuilt.

She wondered how different things would be now if she had only been kinder to a few people back when it really mattered...

Barret had stopped by last night, while she was closing the bar, to pick up Marlene and Denzel. He wanted to take them out for a play date because he finally had some time off to do so. Tifa was both grateful and sad at the same time. On the one hand, this would mean she could sleep in, and get some things done without worrying too much about leaving the kids alone. On the other, it would mean that she was the one left to herself. At least Denzel and Marlene had each other. Who did she have?

An incessant pounding at the door shook Tifa to consciousness somewhere around nine in the morning. She was surprised to see a certain brunette standing outside, a bit impatient, with a lopsided grin on his face. As soon as he heard the lock click he eagerly swaggered inside, not looking a bit like he had been up until three in the morning, drinking nearly half a handle of alcohol.

"Gooooood morning!"

Tifa frowned a bit, refusing to let herself smile at his chipper antics.

"Zack, it's really early. What are you doing here?"

"I just thought since I'm sure you missed the sunrise that you should still be able to wake up and see something amazing. So, here I am. Oh! And also, I brought you something."

Pulling out a small bouquet of yellow and white flowers that he had tucked into his waistband, he handed them over to his friend. There was the first hint of a steely look before she muttered a small 'thank you'.

"These don't happen to be from --"

"--A little old lady down the street where I live. She tells me I look like her son. He's a traveling merchant so she doesn't get to see him much. She sells the flowers she grows in her yard to keep herself active. I thought they'd brighten up the bar."

Tifa cocked her head and looked at Zack with a mixed look of wariness and confusion. She wasn't used to be around someone so open and so --

"So whatcha doin' today?"

"Denzel and Marlene are with Barret. I thought I would sleep in and get some errands done this afternoon." She shot him a very pointed look.

Zack put his hands together and gave her a guilty look.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to wake you up. I was only kidding about that sunrise thing..."

"Don't worry about it. Really. I'm sure it's better that I'm up now anyhow. I can get all my stuff done earlier, and I could use the free time."

"Hey, I've got some errands to run today too. Mind if I tag along?"

Zack had walked into the kitchen and turned a chair around to sit in while he looked up at Tifa inquisitively. She returned the gaze for a second, thinking to herself how much he looked like a stray puppy that hoped you didn't mind when it followed you around. She couldn't help but shake her head and smile.

"Sure. I don't see why not."

"So, does that make it a date?"

Picking up a dirty dishrag, she chucked it squarely at Zack's face.

"I'm going to go take a shower and change. Try not to get in any trouble while I'm gone." She turned to walk back upstairs and hesitated just for a moment.

"If...if you're hungry, there's some stuff in the fridge. Help yourself!"

Not quite knowing why she was so embarrassed by being so welcoming towards the dark-haired man, she walked off in a hurry.

Zack picked a fruit from out of the bowl at the center of the table he was seated at. Nibbling idly at the apple, he rocked the chair back on two legs and propped his feet on the table, wondering what he was doing, and why.

It didn't seem like so long ago that she had told him she hated him. After all, he was part of the company that had cost her everything in life that she loved. Her friends, her family. Her home, her town. It was even sort of their fault that she had lost Cloud; but only in an abstract kind of way. He could still remember the flush on her face when she had apologized to him for being so judgemental towards him. She had been young and hurt. He didn't even give it a second thought when he told her that she had no reason to apologize to him. He may not know what she'd gone through, but he understood, and there were no hard feelings. From that point on they worked at something of a tentative friendship. It was only very recently that they had become better friends. But, that, was a story for another time.

He heard the water start as he chomped away on his apple, wondering what was next.