"Bar's closed, come back …" Tifa walked out of the kitchen as she heard the little bell at the door tinkle and stopped in her tracks "Oh, it's you" her brows knitted "What are you doing here?

"Shouldn't you be more charming as a hostess?" the was a sly smirk on the man's lips as he took a few long ,casual steps towards the bar. "Looking pretty as ever…"

One slender brow raised as she folded her arms across her chest.

"So where's your reasonable and much more presentable, not to mention tolerable, other half?"

"You wound me Tifa…"

"I could if you want" she offered with a smile.

"Aaah…." He gave a short laugh and made himself comfortable on one of the chairs "Seriously, I'm really in a need of a drink here…"

She kept her eyes fixed on his greenish ones for a longer while, feeling that annoying twitch forming on one of her eyelids.

It was the lack of magnesium in her organism, she told herself in her thoughts.

She's been experiencing that a lot lately.

At first it was just the kids getting their hands full of the chocolate bits she had hidden, eating it all and experiencing the worst case of sugar-high EVER. Worst for her that is, as she spent the whole days trying to either calm them down or to at least hide the most dangerous and sharp objects in the building. That was the day she cursed the idea of having two floored building!

Then it was Cloud falling sick all of the sudden and they needed to find Zack a new bed so not to get him catch the bloody flu as well. As Barret had put it eloquently, one hedgehog getting' all slimy and fuckingly hazardous to one's daughter's health (apparently, it was a word in the man's book of etiquette) was enough. That resulted in Zack sleeping on a quickly bought bed in the attic, no heating system there whatsoever, said bed too short and his feet dangling in the air in the night. Tifa's Cactuar Vodka supply was now running very low thanks to that as Zack claimed it helped him ignore the cold.

When she finally thought everything has calmed down, the main water pipe froze due to the constantly decreasing temperatures and burst… right in the bathroom. Tifa only hoped that someone up there loved her and that her electric bill that month would have no more than two zeros, as they had placed seven heaters into that room to dry the walls afterwards. And who could have thought that small water cascades down the stairs brought so much trouble… they all lost count on how many times everyone tripped on the bloody steps. Tifa still sported some bruises.

And to think that yesterday, just before going to bed, she actually prayed to whoever was watching over her for one , ONE day of peace and quiet.

Apparently, that couldn't be done. Someone up there surely had to have fun in making her life as unsteady and hectic and oh my god just plain crazy.

And so, today, just after throwing Zack out of the bed, cutting his supply of hot water to get him out of the bloody bathroom and almost pushing the children outside to go and play in the fresh snow so she could tend to herself and her poor business, she got Reno on her head.

Who looked as if he wasn't going to move even an inch until he got his drink.

"Oh alright…" she sighed finally, walking up to the counter "You want a drink or just feel the need to brag about something which has no importance to me?" her fingers laced together as she leaned onto the mahogany surface.

"I repeat, you wound me…"

"Tifa…" there was a terrible yawn heard, and soon enough a very groggy looking Zack entered the bar "Have you got … Reno? "

His hair were still slightly damp from his shower, but his eyes still bore the signs of sleep of which he had been deprived of. Due to the low temperatures that have occurred lately, he chose to wear a thick sweater over his old uniform.

"Nice to see you up, Zackary" the red haired man smirked slightly "Well darling, what about that drink?"

"Zackary?"crimson eyes lit up with amusement.

"…." The dark hair man threw the Turk an unpleasant look "What a bad Turk like you doing in a good bar like this?"

"As you just said, SOLIDIER boy. This here's a bar. She's a hot bartender. I want a drink" he took off his dark blue jacket and there it to the seat next to him, his white shirt all wrinkled and crumpled "Why are you here anyway?"

Tifa hid a grin, fishing out a tall glass and a bottle of Reno's regular beer. She thought everyone, including herself, got used to Zack's presence in a bar, even if the said man would pop up every now and then like a big surprise…

Like that time when he decided to come down the stairs from the attic, while she was climbing up there to check on him if he wasn't freezing his ass off. Those being his words from the previous morning.

And that was the night when Cloud Strife and both children learned that Tifa Lockhart, martial artist expert, one of the world saving heroes was actually capable of screaming like a true damsel in distress.

As for Tifa herself, she blushed for the next two days…

"A bottle of Corel Ale and a glass" she placed the said objects in front of the red head, shaking off the memories of that embarrassing night "Anything else you want?"

"How 'bout a room?" Reno grinned cheekily "Heard you take men in, Tifa?"

"HEY!" Zack protested before she could even open her mouth "For your information I am a gift of heaven's to this household!" he slammed his fist onto the counter, choosing not to notice the wide eyes Tifa made, and that satisfied smirk that blossomed just seconds later on her lips.

Oh gods, will he hear about that one later…

One of the things he learned very quickly about Tifa in the last couple of weeks of living at her house? She may be nice, and quiet and the support figure Aerith described her as, but one thing the flower girl didn't manage to mention, was that Tifa would pick on little words and tease the living daylight out of him.

Funny, Cloud made tons of silly comments and she would only smile or chuckle lightly...

"Ha!" the Turk snorted, ignoring the crystal clear glass in front of him and took a gulp from the bottle "A gift of heaven my ass, you were just lucky you dated Aerith back in the days so you got sent back here along with her!"

"At least I'm not the one drinking in the noon on the job!"

"Who said I'm on the job?" Reno smirked and took another sip "Where ya goin' lass?"

Tifa turned around, half way to the kitchen door, one slender brow raised.

"I see you are oh so well acquainted with each other, so I do believe I could leave you two alone and maybe I can finally get something done around here"

"C'me here" the red head patted the chair next to him "I'm am desperate for some good company, since good beer is what I got already. And Zackary isn't really on top of my list right now… "

Tifa sighed heavily and folded her arms again.

"I only let you drink right now because you pay me, so don't push it" she finally said, and promptly ignored Zack's triumphant grin as the man left for the kitchen.

"You're a feisty woman Tifa… I can fully understand what people see in you" Reno flashed her a wide grin and finished off his beer "So how 'bout that room, eh?"

"Alright Reno, let's get it straight" Tifa sighed and once again rested her hands on the counter "One thing is, I don't need you hitting on me in any so drop the act and focus on my face, not my chest".

"Oh don't be such a spoil sport Tifa!" green eyes snapped immediately to hers.

" Second thing is I do NOT run a hotel here and get that into that red head of yours! It is a BAR."

"You got Spikes and Mister Heaven here living in, why can't I stay here? I'm clean, nice , great taste in clothes…"

"Toilet trained" Zack mumbled, from the door, mouth half full of something he obviously grabbed from the counter.

"You stay out of this" she pointed one finger at the ex-SOLDIER, then poked Reno's temple with it "And you! You don't have great taste, you have uniforms!"

"Makes no difference!"

"Reno, for gods' sake, can't you take no for an answer to ANYTHING?" she groaned lightly, running one hand through her hair "I am not renting rooms for anyone! I'm was never doing that!! I have two children in my care, a delivery boy and a guy brought back to life! I don't need anyone else thank you, especially not beer addicted Turks with EMRs at their sides!"

"Ha, thaths telling him off Teefsh!" the dark haired man said in a muffled voice, obviously pleased with the outcome.

"What are you eating?" crimson eyes were turned to him as crumbles spilled from his mouth.

"…something I found on the table…. ?" he blinked with uncertainty.

"Zack, those are leftovers! I made you breakfast you big oaf!" she smacked his shoulder lightly, an exasperated light in her eyes.

"You did…?" his whole face brightened up, a genuine happy smile curling his lips upwards.

She just rolled her eyes and pushed him into the kitchen. The room was clean and vast, smelling of freshly cut vegetables and pasta. She pushed him onto one of the chairs, Zack sitting obediently with a large smile on his face, as he watched her pull out a plate from the fridge.

"Here you go…" she sighed again, placing it in front of him.

"Aw how sweet is that!" an amused voice made them both turn "I mean it, such a family picture, a mother and her son…."

"Don't push it Reno…." Tifa growled lightly, her red eyes darkening.

"Come on Tifa! Everyone would like to have such a hot mother like you!"

Crimson and violet blue eyes suddenly wide, glued to the lean frame of the nonchalant Turk, a half empty bottle of chilled beer in his hand. Obviously he found himself a new one.

One thought flashed through Zack's mind, and that was a quick musing of how fast could Reno run actually, because he would have to put that skill in use pretty quickly by the looks of it. Sure, Tifa was an attractive young woman, and all men around here drooled all over the bar at one point or other, but Reno was actually crossing the limits right now. Especially with calling her a hot mom he had a real chance to end up with that bottle pushed down his throat!

"No wonder Rude is head over heels for you!" the Turk continued, ignoring the dead glare he received from the bartender.

And her eye lid twitched again.

She needed that magnesium.

Or maybe she just needed to lock herself up in the attic and pretend the world is not there to deal with.

"Wait, did you say Rude?" Zack quickly swallowed the large bit he took of one of his sandwiches "Rude the Killer Glance?"

"The same!"

"Look I ask one… wait, you two got Rude a nickname??"

"Oh yeah Teef, you ever saw that guy without the protective glasses?" Zack took another bite and saw her shake her head as a negative "It's like one glance and your blood freezes over"

"I always thought he was a nice guy…" Tifa sat on the counter slightly bedazzled, her frustration with the Turk in her kitchen already gone.

"That is until he takes of those glasses of doom!" Reno grinned "And besides, it was Tseng anyway who came up with the name"

"Tseng?" Tifa blinked.

She never managed to share maybe more than two sentences with Reno's team leader, yet she always saw him as a very collected man, devoted to his job, Elena and comrades. In that exact order. He was a quiet person, and was probably the only one of the Turks she didn't want to break a plate on the moment she saw him.

Then again, she only felt that need whenever Reno stepped over the threshold of the bar…

Tifa shook her head, clearing her mind on concentrating herself on the bickering just in front of her. Zack and Reno obviously couldn't stay away from each other throats for too long, and were sending each other nasty glared – the ex-SOLDIER from above his sandwich, the Turk from above the green bottle.

"Will you shut up?!" she finally snapped, feeling a throbbing pain that started to form in the very center of her head.

The room immediately fell silent, both pair of eyes glued to her, evident surprise swirling in both sets.

"Did you…just snap at us?" Reno finally asked, his brows almost reaching towards his hairline.

She just stared at him.

"What? I know we didn't get along like best friends when we first met, but we always were on good terms!" he grinned, once again taking a long swing out of his bottle.

"Good terms? GOOD terms?? Reno, I broke your nose in Wutai when you slapped my butt in that bloody bar and you call that good terms?!"

"Well darlin', ya know what they say… hate and love cannot exist without each other!"

Zack couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the look on Tifa's face. It was something that combined the blankness of a stunned visage and absolute disbelief. Now he could understand why the girl rarely picked up Reno's calls, and those were happening rather often.

At least once a day.

She slipped of the counter, and opened the fridge again, looking for something in the fridge.

"Well darlin', I got what I wanted!" the red head grinned "I'm gonna drop round and talk with'cha about that room for rent, this place needs a little cheer!"

"You do that and consider yourself dead, then and there" she growled, hands elbows deep in the frozen compartment, before fishing out a great piece of meat.

"I knew there was chemistry and magic between us ,Teef!" Reno watched her stand up, throw him yet another glare, climb onto a high chair and open one of the cupboards.

And before Zack or Tifa could even react, he walked up to the bartender and patted her on the bum.

Twice.

Tifa froze, her eyes wide and fingers suddenly tightened, their knuckles awfully white on a pack of sugar.

"Reno…" Zack sounded awfully like suppressing a laugh.

"Hm?" the red head was already holding his hand on the door knob as he threw the younger man a amused look.

"Run. Fast"

Reno only hear Tifa grind her teeth suddenly and turn violently on the chair. Before she jumped off the piece of furniture, he was already out the bar, running for his dear life, his red pony tail resembling a thin flame over his back.

He managed to hear another chair fall down, making a lot of noise on the wooden floors.

"RENO! Get back here so I can make you regret being born!!"

Man, Tifa sure did have anger-management problems, Reno mused, still running, hearing the snow crunch under his feet despite all the kids playing out in the streets. And hearing Tifa right behind him, her being lighter and faster and probably used to running more than he was. He could almost feel the young bartender's fists slamming into his back. The little hair on his neck rose slightly, as he thought that maybe that light slap wasn't the brightest idea he could get… Strange, he could hear another set of feet running…

"Ren..ack!"

The Turk stopped abruptly, the soles of his feet digging into the snow, at the strange sound that reached his ears. Like Tifa choked on her own spit all of the sudden He turned around, and couldn't help but grin.

Who would have thought that Zack would be his savior in such an unusual way? The ex-SOLDIER managed to catch up with Tifa, even get in front of her, only to sweep her off her feet and throw her over his shoulder, holding her steady by her legs. It took a whole minute for the bartender to fully realize the slightly compromising position she found herself in, her hair flowing down and covering most of her face, hands gripped suddenly on the deep purple of his trousers.

Only then Tifa pounded her fists on Zack's back.

"You let me down this instant! I've got a Turk to kill!"

"No you don't, now you behave young lady!"

"Don't you patronize me, Zackary Fair!!" she sold another punch to the strong back.

"Well I'll be seeing you two round then!" Reno waved at them, and took his chance to run off again.

He would need to find a new place to lounge at for the next couple of days, before he could go back to the "Seventh Heaven". He had a feeling he wouldn't be welcomed there right now.

"You calm already?" Zack asked with amusement, turning around and making his way back towards the bar.

She squeaked slightly and once again grabbed the tattered material as her torso swung slightly due to his movement.

He only then noticed a large snow fort built in the sidewalk, and children's heads poking out from every "window" the construction had.

Marlene and Denzel included, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

He stopped in his tracks, ignoring the slight pain he was beginning to feel at the base of his spine, where Tifa's fists most often landed.

And she called him a handful!

"Uncle Zack…." Marlene was the first one to open her mouth, her eyes big in her small face "What are you doing to Tifa?"

"I've heard knights do that to princesses" a little girl with curly black hair said with certain hesitance, Lini from the Spooks as Tifa remembered correctly.

"Carry them over their shoulders?" Denzel was rather skeptical of it, especially since his guardian's face was from happy about her current position.

Sickingly pale would be more appropriate.

"I only heard that they carry them" Lini stomped her little foot once, her red cheeks gaining more color for a brief moment "And then they kiss and there are stars all around and rainbows and they live happily ever after"

Unable to keep a straight face at the most adorable kiddy logic, as well as imagining stars and rainbows appearing right now, Zack started to laugh so hard…

"OUCH!"

That he lost his grip on the lean legs and they were gone from his line of vision in a flash.

OH…shit…

He turned around like lightning, already on his knees helping his friend in the very difficult task of wiping snow out of her face and hair. He was welcomed by a very angered glare from beneath long lashes…

"Zack…" Tifa growled lightly as smirk found its way to his lips "If you even consider doing something as stupid…."

She was caught off as he shoved a fistful of snow right into her face. She felt his other hand push at her shoulder and soon she was on the ground, the snow oh so cold at her back and Zack rubbing more and more snow in her face, his knees on both sides of her hips, so he could keep her in one place. And she squeaked again, as it slipped under her shirt.

"Zack!" she really tried to hold on to her anger, but the childish way he behaved right now cause more and more laughter from her.

"I told you I'll get you for the kid comment!!" he picked up another fistful of snow, her hair already damp and her skin gained pinkish hue.

"Snow fight!!" one of the kids behind him yelled and in a mere second snowballs were flying all over the street, the girls squeaking very now and then as some of the frozen powder got under their scarves and collars.

Zack then decided than tormenting Tifa with snow wasn't enough. Not to make up for his hurt pride at least.

"Get off, you're heavy" she panted out finally, wiping the remains of melted snow of her face.

"No" there was that satisfied grin on his lips again, and a sparkle in blue eyes.

That flash of skin just between her shirt and trousers looked awfully tempting…

Zack poked her both sides in the same time.

And there was another squeak, a slight jerk of the smaller body, and a flash of panic in the crimson eyes.

Oh he was going to enjoy this, Zack thought, his grin turning slightly more mean than it should.

Tifa was ticklish.

His fingers dug into the skin again, the pressure lighter at first ,than harder, digging into the ribs and just underneath them, ignoring the meak protests and the way she squirmed. Swatting her hands away every now and then, Zack continued to assault her sides, until she couldn't even laugh anymore, out of breath and with tears rolling down her face, her hands trying to hold her stomach.

Only then he grinned again, and muffled the damp mass of her hair.

"Payback" he said with a wink and got up.

Feeling absolutely positive about himself, about getting his one of a kind revenge, he turned around to face the kids who finally calmed down…

… only to find a snowball flying straight towards him.

Zack only managed to closed his eyes before it hit him straight in the face, his skin immediately reacting to the cold and he felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Got you!" a very familiar , chirpy voice reached his ears.

Trust Aerith to appear in one of the best moments of his life!

The flower girl giggled as she then walked up and helped Tifa up, the bartender all covered in snow, her clothes and hair drenched through. Zack shook his head, bits of the white fluffiness falling out of his hair.

"You shouldn't mess with me Aerith, I still got a record to settle with you!" he grinned at her "So you better barricade that church of yours, or it's in for some serious desecrating!"

"You wouldn't" green eyes flashed cold for a moment.

"Oh believe me I would!"

"Tifa…" Marlene's voice interrupted them and the girl ran up to them, wrapping her small arms around her guardian's legs "I'm hungry…"

"Come on then, darling" Tifa smiled warmly at her, picking her up with no effort at all "Let's make something for us and Denzel and Aerith surely will join us?" she linked one arm with the older girl's.

"Gladly! This lovely wintery weather makes me hungry!"

"Yeah me too" Zack grinned, patting the Cetra on the back "And there's nothing better than Tifa's lunch to fix that!"

"Who said anything about you, Zackary oh the Gift of Heavens?" crimson eyes twinkled as she threw him a gaze over her shoulder, already making her way to the bar.

"Oh hey come ooon, Teef!!" there was a whiny note in his voice as he followed them quickly "Pretty please, Teef??"

Damn Reno!!

It was all his fault anyway, Zack thought to himself, as he buried his hands deep in his pockets and went after them into the bar.
Stupid Turk.