-Seventh Heaven-

It was four in the morning and the Seventh Heaven bar in the rebuilt city of Midgar was still open. Usually, the bar was completely empty this late into the night, but tonight there were two men occupying two stools in front of the counter. The barmaid stood polishing a glass when she noticed the bald man staring at her. She gave him a reproachful look, and he immediately looked away, blushing scarlet. His red haired friend Reno watched with amusement as his best friend and co-worker interacted with the woman he had admired from afar for more than a year.

Rude and Reno had been working non-stop for the entire month working and running errands for their boss, and had gotten one Friday off from work which they had decided to enjoy. Well, Reno had decided anyway. It was he who forced Rude to go out drinking to the Seventh Heaven bar. Rude was reluctant to go there, as he knew Tifa was the barmaid. When Reno and Rude arrived in front of Seventh Heaven and saw Tifa tending bar, Rude almost tuned back. He knew that Reno had brought him to this specific bar for a reason. Reno noticed his friend's hesitation and grabbed his arm. "Come on, yo! Where else are we going to get good drinks from?" He asked in mock surprise. Rude was not too keen to make an intoxicated fool of himself in front of Tifa Lockheart. However, he sighed and followed his red-haired friend half-heartedly into the bar and sat down next to Reno. Without a word, Tifa poured them her best drinks and made a beeline towards a couple that seemed they were ready to order.

After a couple of drinks on Reno's part, and a little more than a few drinks on Rude's, he was starting to feel quite tipsy. He watched Tifa as she went from table to table filling drinks and avoiding the hands of intoxicated men who whooped at the attractive barmaid. Rude did not understand how Tifa put up with such behaviour, and inwardly flinched that he could do nothing to stop it.

Reno was watching Rude closely with a smirk on his face. He would occasionally say such things as "enjoying the scenery?" or "hmm…the bar seems to be occupied well tonight" at which Rude would look down at his glass and blush horribly (a rare feat for him). After a few hours, all the other costumers started to depart until Reno and Rude were the only people left in the bar. By this time, Rude was bordering on drunk and his usual sunglasses were nowhere to be found. He was also starting to feel nervous every time Tifa sent a glance in their direction.

Eventually Tifa walked up to the counter and cleared her throat in a way that clearly suggested that the two Turks had overstayed their welcome. She wished that Cloud would come back soon as she did not feel like dealing with Rude and Reno at the moment. It was not as if she was afraid of the two men, she was just too tired from the long night of serving alcohol to do much else. All she wanted to do was curl up in her bed and fall asleep. After a while, she let out a huge yawn so that the men would get the hint and leave.

Reno got the message, and looked at the dishelved Rude, "I think she wants us to leave, yo" he smirked as he looked from Tifa to Rude, who looked a little sick.

Rude suddenly got up from his seat, mumbled, "pardon me" and ran towards the bathroom. There was a sound of gagging followed by vomit hitting a toilet from the bathroom. With an apologetic look at the concerned Tifa, Reno ran into the bathroom to take care of Rude. Tifa had never imagined Rude to lose control like that. He always seemed so cool and collected. She shook her head and was about to call Cloud when she heard her name come from the direction of the bathroom. She curiously stepped closer.

"Dude, why did you drink so much?" Reno was scolding Rude. Now there was a first.

"I just wanted to stay here…" Rude's voice sounded hoarse, "Tifa…doesn't she get offended by those men gawking at her? …It's just not right!"

"She chose her career, just like we did."

"I know…but still…" Rude's voice was barely a whisper.

"I think you should just tell her how you feel, man. I've never seen you in worse shape." Reno was concerned for his friend. There was another gagging sound as Rude vomited once again. After a while, he got up from the floor with a groan, walked to the sink, and splashed his face with cold water. He was not so dizzy anymore and he could walk in a straight line.

"Let's just get out of here before I embarrass myself even more." He took out the extra pair of his sunglasses from his coat pocket, put them on, and followed Reno out of the bathroom door. Reno was surprised to see a shocked looking Tifa standing very close to the men's room. Rude looked up when Reno halted and upon seeing Tifa, immediately looked down at his shoes. Had Tifa heard their conversation? Rude's mind was already working overtime thinking of ways to avoid Tifa in the future. This did constitute "embarrassing himself more".

Reno almost ran to the bar exit and stepped outside, Rude hot in his tracks. He was almost out of the door when he heard a soft voice speaking his name. He stopped dead in his tracks.

"Rude…" Tifa repeated. Rude turned to face her, a blush slowly rising on his cheeks. Nothing made Rude blush like Tifa Lockheart did. Tifa stepped closer to Rude. His heart rate spiked and his hands started to sweat.

Suddenly, the door banged open and Cloud barged in. "Tifa! I'm back!" he yelled. "Oh…uh…" Cloud scratched the back of his yellow head in discomfort.

"I was just leaving," Rude said as he made his way to the exit. He had never been so mortified in his entire life.

"Good night, Rude!" Tifa said and Rude turned around for a split second to see Tifa smiling a beautiful, special sort of smile. Rude turned around, and grinning from ear to ear stepped out into the crisp city air. He wouldn't have to avoid Tifa Lockheart after all.

Author's note: In case you were wondering, this takes place before the events of Advent Children (About a year after the events of the game).

Thanks so much to those who reviewed! (all two of you lol)