A/N: Sorry very much for the delay in updating- I had a test to study for. And it was murder.

Wow, you people are so nice. I haven't checked my email in about three hundred years, so I'm sorry to the people who messaged me or sent comments that I didn't reply to. XO

Chapter Eight: The Date, Part 1
"Aaaannddd…D'you got any fives?" Yuffie asked hopefully, peering at her cards with such intensity that the tip of her tongue was sticking out. It was actually kind of cute, to tell the truth.

Vincent mentally slapped himself, and then spent the next few moments trying in vain to convince all the laughing voices in his head that he hadn't really thought anything along those lines. He didn't doubt that he'd be hearing about this for a very long time.

He realized that Yuffie was looking at him expectantly. "Hellooo? Vinnie? Are ya in there? Earth to Vincent Valentine!"

Blinking, he tried to remember what she'd been saying before he'd gotten…distracted. Something about Go Fish, since she'd somehow convinced him into playing with an old deck of cards she'd found in a drawer. They were playing on the floor, which made no sense since they could choose from any table in the building. But the Great Ninja had demanded it, and Vincent had given in, since it was easier than arguing. Yuffie was extremely obstinate when it came to getting her to change her mind.

"Vincent." Yuffie said again, sounding extremely exasperated. "Do. You. Have. Any. Fives?" to pass the time while she waited for his response, she began arranging her many pairs into a straight line in front of her.

He shook his head, and she reached for a card. Actually, he did have a five. It was just that when Yuffie made a pair, she got up and did a victory dance. At the moment, Yuffie had sixteen pairs, which meant she'd done sixteen victory dances; Vincent had had enough.

"I wonder…" the ninja mused. "I wonder how Cloud and Tifa are doing on their date?" She giggled. "I bet they're just sitting there staring at each other."

It wasn't too hard to imagine. Cloud wasn't exactly the talkative type, and even though Tifa attempt to keep a conversation going, there was no way she'd be able to keep it up for long. While Cloud wasn't quite as bad as Vincent when it came to long periods of utter silence, there was no dispute over the fact that he won a close second in the Silence Awards.

"You know what I think?" the ninja asked with a mischievous look on her face. Without waiting for Vincent to reply, she kept right on going. "I think we should go and see how they're doing." She leaned foreward; elbows propped on her knees, and gave Vincent the evil eye. "Whaddayathink?" she asked, making it all one word.

"I think you should leave them alone." He said firmly, giving her the evil eye right back. "Trust me, Yuffie. You've done enough."

This earned him a look of surprise from his fellow bar-sitter, who nearly dropped her cards. "That's the most you've said at one time all night." She pointed out with a grin.

Vincent had the feeling that it was the Yuffie-ness rubbing off on him. It was nearly impossible to be around someone as talkative as she was without any repercussions. It was like… an infectious disease. Yuffinitis. Of course, 'talkative' for Vincent meant saying more than ten words in a sentence, which he'd done several times that night.

It was definitely contagious.

"Vincent." Yuffie said in utter exasperation. She must be pretty annoyed, since she used his full name and not Vinny, Vin-Vin, Vincento, Joe, or some other ridiculous nickname. In a way, it was a relief. "Vincent, it's your turn."

"Do you have any sixes?"

"Go fish. Joe."

Tifa arrived at the restaurant with fifteen minutes to spare, nervous beyond belief and feeling extremely awkward in the first dress she'd worn since she was six. There was no sign of Cloud, so she sat down at a table to wait, politely dismissing the waiter who asked for her order

He'd said he might be a little late, but she didn't know how late 'a little' was. Five minutes? Fifteen? Now that it came down to it, she was beginning to realize how awkward it would be if she was sitting there waiting for a long time, with all of those eyes on her. People would probably be feeling sorry for her, for that poor girl who'd been stood up by her date.

Again, Tifa pounded that little pessimistic voice into oblivion, and took a sip of water. Of course he'd show up. That was a ridiculous thing to be thinking when she'd only been in the restaurant for all of two minutes

Ah. There was the first one, from a table where a middle-aged couple was halfway through the desert course- a head inclined in her direction and shaken almost imperceptibly, a gesture that spelled 'nosiness and pity' clear as day. Didn't these people have something better to do than watch her while they ate supper?

The waiter came by again. "Are you ready to order?" he asked looking down. For a moment, Tifa wondered whether he was shy, and then remembered that sitting down in a dress made said dress ride up considerably.

She cleared her throat emphatically, and made a very big show of slowly cracking her knuckles, and the waiter looked up, beginning to blush furiously. "No." She said. "I am not ready to order. Do not ask again."

Cringing a little, the man backed off, going to find a table with a customer that would be less likely to attack him.

Five minutes passed, and then ten. Fifteen. Tifa resolutely ignored the sidelong looks, and decided to wait a little longer. For all she knew, traffic had been particularly bad that day, or something. It was extremely unlikely, but maybe he'd call her, or something.

As if on cue, her cell phone rang, and the number displayed was Cloud's. This really was a momentous occasion- not only had he answered his phone, but he'd actually used it to make a call as well. With a small smile, Tifa flipped the phone open.

"Hello?" As before, she could hear wind rushing by on the other end. So he was driving- that could be a good or a bad sign.

"It's Cloud." Maybe the reason Cloud didn't make many phone calls was that he sounded very awkward on the phone. "Sorry about the wait- I'm on my way now." When he continued, Tifa could almost hear the smile in his voice. "So… word on the street is that you're wearing a dress," he said. Tifa covered her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing. If she wasn't mistaken, Cloud was teasing her.

"You'll have to find out when you get here, won't you?" She replied, the small smile growing much larger. He laughed-just a little, but it was still a laugh- and said goodbye. As Tifa slipped the phone back into her purse, the smile stayed on her face.

Somehow, the innocent game of 'Go Fish' had become a competition to the death. Vincent wasn't sure how, but suddenly, they were on their fifteenth game with no sign of stopping. It was probably his fault for letting things get out of hand.

He'd started letting Yuffie win a long time ago, since it put her in a good mood and distracted her from her plan to prank call the restaurant Tifa and Cloud were going to. Well, that and the fact that when she won, she looked very cu-

He managed to stop that thought just in time. With a mental reminder to never pick up a bottle of wine ever again no matter how much he felt he needed the alcohol, Vincent began to shuffle the cards. How many glasses had he drunk, anyway? Since he couldn't remember, he decided that it must have been too many.

Yuffie was staring up at the ceiling- well; actually, she was staring at the underside of the table they were still camped out underneath- with a thoughtful look on her face. "Vinnie," she said slowly. "Why do I have the feeling that we're forgetting something? And don't say 'Because we are forgetting something, Yuffie', or I'll kick your grumpy ass out the window." She frowned. "Not that you would say something like that. It's too many words."

Vincent ignored the last comment, a skill he'd perfected over the last three years. Now that she mentioned it, it did seem like they were forgetting something. He thought back to his conversation with Cid right before the pilot had left the bar. Hadn't Highwind reminded them to do something?

It dawned on them both at the same time, and they stared at each other with horrified looks on their faces.

"Oh shit." Yuffie said weakly. " We forgot about Marlene."

Tifa looked up as she heard the restaurant door open. She had to admit, Cloud looked more than a little awkward as he walked in. Tifa guessed that he didn't have much experience with the whole dating thing.

Seeing that he was scanning the sea of tables, she raised her hand and waved to him, hoping that he'd see her among all of the other people. After a few moments, he did, and made his way quickly across the room. Tifa noticed that he had one hand behind his back, and wondered if he'd brought her flowers. That would be so adorable.

Cloud sat down. "Sorry I'm late," He said quietly. "I had to pick something up." He took his hand from behind his back, revealing- yep. Flowers. Red roses, to be exact. "A special delivery."

Tifa blushed, and took the flowers. "These are beautiful," she said appreciatively. "It's fall! Where did you find roses?"

Cloud didn't feel like telling her that he'd drove thirty miles out of his way to find a florist that still had roses. It really wasn't important. "I'm… glad you like them…"

There was a moment of awkward silence, since neither of them could be called experts at the whole dating thing.

Thankfully, the waiter saved them. It was the same man as before, only this time he made a valiant effort to keep his eyes on Tifa's face, and not the neckline of her dress. "Would you like to look at a menu?" He asked cautiously, holding up the menus like a shield.

He looked extremely relieved when they accepted, and scurried away again as soon as the menus were out of his hands.

Cloud gave Tifa a curious look. "What was all that about?" He asked, opening up the menu. "You don't think he recognized us, do you?"

It was a plausible excuse, since most people were sometimes intimidated when they found out that the two-time saviors of the world were eating in their restaurant. Cid, who apparently expected idol-worship and not nervousness, was probably the most annoyed about this.

Tifa decided not to tell Cloud the real reason for the waiter's nervousness, since he could be kind of touchy about things like that sometimes. She just nodded, and opened her menu as well. "That must have been it." She agreed, toying with the stems of the roses as she scanned the list.

A/N: I am pretty mean, dontcha think? This wasn't a very long chapter, but it wasn't short either. Sorry about the delay- I had a bloody huge test to study for, as I think I mentioned.

Oh, and speaking of which- I haven't forgotten about THE LIST, even though it has been conspicuously absent for the last few chapters. It will reappear soon, since it is the point of this whole fic.

And Reno will make another appearance too… (dramatic drum roll, please!)