Tifa flinched involuntarily when the bell above the door jingled. She had no reason to suspect that it was Reeve returning. It had been nearly twenty-four hours since he had left to meet up with Yuffie and Vincent and she had not heard a word from any of them. Still, she was jittery and could not help it. Her nerves still felt exposed and raw after their strange confrontation and she was not sure she could handle another encounter with him so soon. Tifa drew in a deep breath to steady herself and turned toward the door, ready to be pleasant no matter who it was. When her eyes landed on Vincent, the calm she had gathered quickly deserted her and she dropped the mugs she had been holding.

A number of observations struck Tifa all at once. Vincent was not wearing his cloak. He still wore the black pants and shirt that she had often seen beneath it. He had not removed his gauntlet or changed his boots, but everything looked different without the heavy, red material covering it. She took a moment to admire how attractive his face was before she noticed his hair.

The long, black hair had been cut short, barely brushing his shoulders with some shorter strands neatly framing his face. It reminded her of a picture Reeve had unearthed of Vincent in his Turk days, but a little longer. He no longer needed a headband to keep it out of his eyes.

Then she realized he was angry... really angry. Tifa swallowed hard as he stalked up to the bar. If he was angry, that meant...

"Damn." Tifa turned and grabbed the broom from the corner and started to sweep up the broken glass.

"You had no right to tell Reeve what I told you." Vincent said, voice low and dangerous.

Once upon a time, Vincent had frightened Tifa. She had rarely talked to him and when she had to, she refused to do it alone. She had privately begged Cloud to never group them together. Something about his silence put her on edge. As Cid and Yuffie warmed up to him, she found it easier to talk to him until she eventually came to see him as a friend. Had he ever glared at her then like he was now, she would have run screaming from the room. The thought made her smile. She quickly banished it, glad she had been turned away from him dumping glass in the garbage can. It would have only upset him more.

When she was composed again, she turned back to him with a sigh, "Did you even TRY to tell her?"

"That is beside the point." Vincent replied coolly.

"So, no then." Tifa smiled up at him, "I like the haircut."

Vincent's shoulders sagged and the fight went out of him, "I'd like a drink, please."

"Since I'm such a meddler, it's on the house." Tifa started mixing a drink for him, "I WAS trying to help."

Vincent smiled slightly and Tifa was struck by how strange it looked on him. She quickly decided she liked it, "The situation is more complex than that."

He took the glass from her with a nod of thanks and retreated to his usual table. Before she could ask him about the mission or Yuffie, the front door opened and Cloud came in. He juggled three large bottles as he tried to shut the door with his foot. Tifa rushed around the bar and took two of the bottles from him, "Welcome home!"

Cloud smiled, "Thanks, Tifa. Sorry about the quiet exit the other night. I didn't want to wake anyone when I got the call."

Tifa shrugged and set the bottles up on the racks behind the bar, trying to pretend it had not bothered her, "Don't worry about it."

Setting the last bottle on the bar, Cloud turned back toward the door and shut it. He spotted Vincent and Tifa laughed at his expression of shock. Cloud blinked rapidly, setting his features into a less surprised expression, "Hey Vincent."

"Cloud."

Cloud scratched the back of his neck, "I hardly recognized you! You look good."

A look passed between them that Tifa did not understand. She watched as Cloud sat down across from him and they settled into a conversation that was just a little too quiet for her to hear. Curiosity was killing her, but she did not want to eavesdrop. She poured Cloud a mug of his favorite beer and brought it to him, hoping to figure out what they were talking about, but she could not make sense of what they were saying in what little she heard.

After a few minutes of trying to figure out how to read lips, Tifa heard a horn honk behind the bar. She glanced back over at Cloud and Vincent. Vincent was still sipping his drink, but Cloud's mug was empty. She caught his eye, "Do you mind? Vincent's still working on his drink and I don't want it to get watered down while we haul boxes in..."

"I refuse to help you, anyway."

His voice was deadly serious and his expression betrayed no amusement, but Tifa knew he was teasing her. She felt a silly pride in knowing that he would joke with her now. Even Cloud shot him an amused look as he climbed to his feet.

Before Tifa could respond, the door to the kitchen banged open, "That's a shame... all those studly, rippling muscles going to waste..."

Both Tifa and Cloud stared in open-mouthed shock at Yuffie as she carried in a box of supplies. Vincent's cloak was wrapped around her shoulders, but it had been dramatically shortened until it fell just below her knees. In many ways, that was more shocking than Vincent's sudden changes in appearance.

"You have never seen my muscles." Vincent replied blandly, shifting over as Yuffie came to perch on the edge of his table, "They may be neither "studly' nor 'rippling.'"

"Come on, Tifa, those supplies are waiting." Cloud wrapped a hand around her arm and pulled her into the kitchen.

Tifa signed for the delivery and she and Cloud made quick work of carrying the boxes into the kitchen. She set the last box down with more force than she intended to, rattling the glasses inside. Cloud looked at her, eyebrow arched in an unspoken question.

"Vincent's a big, fat liar." Tifa hissed, opening the box of glasses, "They were awfully cozy for Yuffie to not know what's going on! She's wearing his cloak for crying out loud!"

Cloud frowned, eyeing Tifa suspiciously, "What IS going on?"

"It's complicated." Tifa muttered, turning away so she did not have to meet his eyes, "Reeve and I tried to set up Yuffie and Vincent."

Cloud's eyes widened in surprise, "Reeve?"

"I called him and asked him to put them on a mission together." Tifa admitted, putting glasses up on to a nearby shelf, "Vincent may have mentioned having feelings for Yuffie and I thought that some time together might do them some good. Reeve agreed... we only wanted to see them happy."

"Tifa, you shouldn't meddle." Cloud replied, his voice disapproving, "We've all got to find our own happiness. You can't force it on other people."

That was something she knew all too well. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him so. When they had first built the bar in Edge, Tifa knew Cloud was still pining after Aeris. Her death had shattered him and it was not until after Sephiroth was defeated that he was able to start picking up the pieces. Tifa knew that the guilt over Aeris's death weighed heavily on him. He often spoke of looking for her, as if she were missing instead of dead. Through it all, Tifa had tried to be there for him. She gave him a room and fed him when he stayed there. She let him know in lots of little ways that she loved him and would wait for him through the grief.

When Barrett asked her to look after Marlene while he figured himself out, she had been glad of it. The little girl provided her a much needed distraction. Cloud had come around more, too. For a time, Tifa thought that things would finally work themselves out. Then one day, she saw Cloud tie a pink ribbon in Marlene's hair and listened to them talk about the Flower Lady who had saved her life.

Denzel had come shortly after that. When Cloud realized the extent of the boy's Geostigma, he threw himself into a search for the cure. It was not long until he developed the illness himself. He had hidden it well, Tifa had not even known he was ill until she and Marlene found his hideout in Aeris's church. After that, things quickly spun out of control. With Marlene and Denzel missing, Cloud acting strangely and the remnants attacking people, Tifa had felt adrift and lonely. When the Turks brought Cloud back to Seventh Heaven, she had finally thrown down the gauntlet. She had demanded that he make a choice between the memory of Aeris and her and the present. She missed Aeris too, but she was determined to continue living her life and she wanted to do it with him.

Eventually they overcame it with the help of all their friends, defeating the remnants and banishing Sephiroth back to the Lifestream. For a time, things seemed to improve. Cloud spent more time at home and with their friends. He helped the kids with school work. He even helped out around the bar. After a few months, he started to wander again. Tifa was afraid to say anything to him, not wanting to run him off. Still, with each passing day, the urge to corner him again and ask for a decision grew.

She watched him as he put food in the appropriate places and wondered what he would say if she pressed her feelings. For every time she caught him staring at a picture of Aeris or touching the ribbon he wore in remembrance of her, Tifa could think of another time when he said something to her or looked at her in a way that clearly showed he felt something for her, as well. She wanted to wait, but it was getting harder and harder.

The kitchen door swung open and Yuffie walked in, a broad grin on her face. She helped Tifa and Cloud finish putting away the supplies and then slipped her arm through Tifa's. Tifa chuckled at the devious look on Yuffie's face, "What's up?"

Yuffie glanced over her shoulder at Cloud and hauled Tifa closer to the door, "Bossman says he stopped by here right before we called for extraction."

Tifa swallowed hard, trying not to blush, "Oh?"

"I knew it!" Yuffie said with a triumphant laugh, "You two DID set us up!"

Tifa panicked. If Vincent had not talked to Yuffie, she did not want to be the one to spill the bean, "I can explain."

"No need." Yuffie assured her, letting go of Tifa's arm, "I told Vincent you two were scheming. Next time, don't meddle! Vincent and I weren't REALLY mad at each other. We screw around like that, sometimes. In truth, it was good that we were there, but I would have rather not had to spend three days in Mideel. Vincent and I are the best of buddies, promise."

Tifa let out a sigh of relief. Yuffie misunderstood the purpose of her meddling. Tifa used the girl's confusion to hastily create an explanation, "That's good. You just seemed so angry that I wanted to help. I only asked Reeve to put the two of you on a mission together. I didn't expect it to take so long or be so important."

"Like I said, it was good we were there. I've actually got to take Vincent and go meet with Reeve to get debriefed..." Yuffie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, "...and then we're gonna talk about the mission, too."

Tifa laughed and followed Yuffie into the bar, "Maybe you'll get to see Vincent's studly muscles."

"I heard that." Vincent said, tone flat as he stood up, "The two of you are disturbing me with your obsession over my unclothed body."

Yuffie only giggled and wrapped her arm around Vincent's so she could haul him from the bar. She waved and the two disappeared through the door. Tifa still hoped that things would work out between the two of them, but decided not to put herself in the middle of it again.

When she turned back around, she saw Cloud examining the coins embedded in the wall. He looked over at Tifa in confusion, "What happened here?"

Tifa felt herself blush and just shook her head, "I got a little irrational yesterday. I think they're kind of a funny decoration, actually."

Cloud shrugged and climbed up the stairs. Tifa stared at the coins and wondered what she should do.

A/N: Not much to be said. I'm starting to figure out a shape for the story. The next part is already underway. Thank you to everyone who has read this story and to all of you who are continuing it. I feel like I'm really starting to hit my stride with writing again. It's a great feeling.

Since I forgot to mention it last time, I've started a LJ that will include all new chapters/stories I post here as well as some random bits that don't seem like they'll manage well as a story of their own. Feel free to drop by! .com