A/N: Sorry for the late update, I had my finals and our house is being renovated! Hope you enjoy this and don't hesitate to leave a review :)

Chapter 3: O, Brother of Mine

"Hello, welcome to 7th Heaven, what may I serve you? The usual?" Tifa asked the (unwelcomed, for Cloud) customer.

"Yeah, yeah, the usual! Along with a serving of your scrumptious a-" Reno stopped as he noticed the glare in Cloud's eyes. It was as if he was almost daring him to say that word and then see (or feel) for himself the results of saying that. "A- a- apple pie," he finished with a gulp.

Nice save there Reno, otherwise you were a goner for today, thought the red haired man as he counted all the times he had been up against Cloud and company. If he wanted to have his share of fun with Tifa, he'd have to be careful.

"The usual for me too please, and some cinnamon bread sandwiches," came a deep voice as a tall bald man entered the bar with his glasses perched on his eyes even though there was no sun to be seen around the bar. Rude, the man in question, turned towards the bar and sat down next to his partner.

Tifa handed the guys their drinks and then turned to the kitchen to prepare the apple pie. Since she was still busy with prep when these guys came, her snacks were not completely ready but the guys knew that her food was worth the wait so they did not complain. As she turned towards the kitchen, she looked at Cloud, an unspoken question in her eyes. He gave her a heads up and she proceeded to go in while he tended the bar.

"Reno, it is better to just leave her alone, it is heavily implied by his eyes that she is taken even though it is not said out loud," said Rude to his friend while they were waiting. He had seen the entire scene and knew what had went through his friend's mind.

"Yeah whatever, he better make his move fast or else it won't be a matter of time before anybody else does that,"Reno muttered such that only Rude could make it out and proceeded to annoy Cloud just for the heck of it. "So Brother, how come you're out of the delivery business? Still trying to gather all your stamina back? Or you are starting to enjoy family life and are too lazy to get out?"

"The holiday is for Tifa and I am not your brother," was Cloud's succint reply to the annoying man. Why did he have to come to Tifa's bar was something that always bummed out Cloud. As if there were a shortage of bars in Edge. If only he were paid a Gil for every annoying word that came out this man's mouth, he'd be rich, thought Cloud.

Completely ignoring that Cloud had a final tone in his voice, Reno continued, "So you going to stick with Tifa now? Might've been good if you'd have warned the male population of Edge for stealing their eye candy. It isn't that now we won't be able to come here, it is just that now we have to find time to come when you aren't here. Don't get the idea that we're afraid of you. It is quite the oppos-"

Reno was cut off mid sentence as Rude slapped his hand over his mouth to shut him up. He had seen that Cloud had closed his eyes and was now ready to throw him out of the bar. He would have done that too if it weren't for Tifa. It was a wonder that Tifa was still in the kitchen and not at the front which is why she couldn't even hear him otherwise, it would have been awkward for her too.

Cloud proceeded to ignore him, still keeping his brain shut and continued to dry the glasses he was supposed to help Tifa with. Reno knew that Cloud hated the word 'Brother' because of the Remnants had call him that. He also knew that he hated it even more if it were used in a sentence that was related with Tifa as one of those same 'Brothers' had actually gotten pretty close to beating up her real good. So, he decided to have just a little more fun with Cloud.

He was waiting for his expression to return to that dead look from that of annoyance to make his move so there was peace for some time in the room. Or whatever it is when Reno is in the room and not talking or being in idiot. After that brief moment there came the sound of a slight snicker.

"So Brother, have you two actually done it? How is it with her?" asked Reno from Cloud. That was the last straw for Cloud and his patience failed him. Reno had struck a raw nerve and as if on auto-pilot, the glass Cloud was holding in his hand left him and hit Reno straight between the eyes with a Plonk!

"Owww! What was that for you dumbo!" Reno said all the while rubbing his forehead and the bridge of his nose. Meanwhile, Rude smirked. He had actually seen this coming. Only a fool would talk to Cloud like that and Reno was a fool who was hard to ignore. Gathering his senses, he grabbed Reno's hand and started pulling him towards the door.

"The snacks won't be necessary. Thank you for the drinks and the service," Rude said and put some Gil on the counter before leaving. He still had a smirk on his face and gave Cloud a thumbs up sign before turning around and leaving. Cloud was confused for a moment at Rude's response and then shook his head before smirking and going to get the stray glass from the floor.

Heh, so Reno actually can get on everybody's nerves. Serves him right for being in my way. Wait! How can I even think that. He was not in my way, nobody is in my way. I am the lone choice here, the perfect companion to that beauty goddess, went Cloud's train of thought. His one little erratic throw and subsequent victory had made him a little cocky and he couldn't notice how well he liked that boost to his ego. Yeah he would see to it that the male population of Edge keep their pants on.

"Or some of the female population too Spike-o!"

Ugh... Zack! Do you even have to go there! Let's not even dwell on the possibility of such customers coming in 7th Heaven, was all Cloud could say to Zack's comment as he felt him disappear with a loud laugh.

"I heard Zack's laugh. What happened? Oh and your food is here guys!" Tifa said while coming out of the kitchen with two plates in her hand and opening the door with the back of her foot. She had our back towards the counter so she didn't know the Turks weren't there. On turning around, she uttered a brief Oh, as she realised the Turks had left.

"What happened to them?"Tifa asked turning towards Cloud.

"Rude said the snacks won't be necessary as they were leaving and thanked for the service. Here, he left his dues," Cloud said giving Tifa the gil left by him. Her eyes went wide as she saw that it included the price for the snacks too even though they didn't eat them. She gave a slight smile and nodded saying, "Thank you for tending them. However, what happens to these now?" She turned to Cloud and asked, a finger on her cheek, "The first customer doesn't come in a couple of hours and these will go to waste now."

"No they won't."

A/N II: Thank you again frosterd and Gambatte! I hope you were not disappointed with who brother turned out to be! :)