Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

Chapter 6 : Make Yourself At Home

Tifa couldn't help but smile to herself as she opened the fridge. It was mostly full of beer with not a single vegetable in sight. There was one bottle of water and the only edible food was a small plate of leftover cooked meat hiding on the middle shelf. Such a stereotypical single guy's fridge. She giggled to herself as she took hold of the plate and pulled it out and set it on the counter top. She noticed that R had disappeared into the other room so she figured she would make him a sandwich too as a small thank you for all his help. After all, surely he was hungry? Quickly locating the bread, and some mayonnaise to ease the dryness of the bread and the meat, she set to making two simple sandwiches and set them on two small plates that she found in a cupboard. Neither plate matched the other and she stifled a small laugh. He probably didn't entertain guests much in this neck of the woods. Glancing back at the fridge, she figured he would probably be thisty too, so she grabbed a bottle of beer for him. With a moment of hesitation, Tifa grabbed a beer for herself too. She couldn't locate a bottle opener for the beer, but being a barmaid for as long as she had meant that wasn't a problem. Using the handle end of the butter knife, she popped open both beers and took a sip of one. The familiar taste caused a shiver of pleasure through her body. Tifa had always enjoyed a beer at the end of her shifts, it had been too long since she'd taken the time to sit down and treat herself to one.

Balancing the plates and bottles in her arms, she headed into the living room. It wasn't exactly sparse, but it wasn't overly homely either. There was a small corner couch in the middle of the room which had a few blankets draped over the back and a few mismatched cushions scattered here and there. In front of it a small coffee table that looked like it was made from reclaimed wood. It has been varnished, but still looked rustic. The floor was also polished wood, as were the beams that criss-crossed the ceiling. There was a tall lamp in the corner providing the only light in the room since the heavy curtains were pulled across the single window in the room, probably to keep the chill out more than anything else. Tifa also noticed there was a log fire with a pile of chopped wood in a basket at the side and was reminded of how cold she was. Putting the plates and beers down on the table, she knelt in front of the fireplace and set to preparing a stack of wood in the hearth. Once she was done, she picked up the box of matches lying beside the fireplace and carefully lit one, placing it gently into the centre of the kindling. It took a couple of attempts for the fire to catch, but eventually the kindling caught fire and started crackling and popping as the flame spread. Tifa sighed and stared into the fire, remembering the old days when she was chasing Sephiroth around Gaia with her friends. The fond memories of those times had usually involved sitting round a campfire with everyone, sharing stories of simpler peaceful times. Lighting the fire was easy back then thanks to Materia. She smiled and watched the flames engulf the kindling and she rubbed her arms as the warmth started to fill the small room.

Tifa glanced over at the bedroom door, then at the food and beer, then back at the door. She hadn't even seen R's face, but she had enjoyed the flirtatious chat between them. Getting to her feet, she smoothed her hair back with her fingers, which was probably sticking up in all angles from her hat. Satisfied that it was reasonably tamed, she trotted over to his door and gently knocked three times. She was warming up fine now and was in no rush to jump in the shower or go to sleep. A bit of company in front of the fire sounded ideal to Tifa.

She nibbled on her bottom lip as she waited for him to answer the door. It had been so long since Tifa had even felt so much as a flutter in her stomach due to male company. And it wasn't like her to be like this with someone she just met, but he didn't seem to mind. Tifa had been so young when her life had started taking dramatic twists and turns that now at 24 years old, she figured she owed it herself to act like the single young woman she was. Not that she had any intention of sleeping around, but if she found a guy who had enough charm and wit to make her laugh and engage her in conversation, she wasn't going to brush them off anymore like she would have before. Besides, it's not like I have any special at home waiting for me.

Brushing off the train of dark thoughts that were threatening to ruin her evening, she knocked again and clasped her hands behind her back, which in turn pushed her bust outwards and upwards slightly. She wasn't the kind of girl to obviously throw her assets around, but maybe a bit of something different was just what the doctor ordered. She needed this distraction, to be away from Edge. To be away from…..him. Chewing on her lip again, Tifa pressed her ear to the door. She could hear shuffling around, so she knew R hadn't fallen asleep on her. She didn't want the sandwich to go to waste, he didn't seem to have much food in the cabin as it was. She wrapped her slender fingers around the doorknob and gently turned it. Creaking the door open a small amount, she leaned forward.

"Hey, R? You in there? I made sandwiches and grabbed us a couple of beers. And I lit a fire, I hope you don't mind?" She called through the gap in the door. He must not have been expecting her to open the door, because she suddenly heard him yelp in surprise followed by a crash. Without thinking, she pushed the door open and looked in. "Oh my god, R are you ok? I didn't mean to scare you!" She let go of the door knob as she spotted a pile of clothes and towels just in front of the door to what was probably the en suite. She felt colour rise in her cheeks as she realised she had caught him on his way into the shower. Oh my god Tifa, he could have been naked! What were you thinking? She felt hands coming up to cover her mouth as he flailed around on the floor, trapped in the various materials. Before she could help herself, laughter burst from her lips at the sight of limbs scrambling to free themselves. Obviously realising that she was now standing in the open doorway, the pile of clothes and towels stopped suddenly. Tifa was still laughing as he started to turn towards her. Her laughter started to die in her throat as the clothing slipped and she noticed a shock of bright red hair. As he turned, she saw a familiar red mark on his cheek and the colour drained from her face. And as he finished turning completely to look at her, with a grin and an unapologetic shrug, Tifa had to hold onto the doorframe to stop her legs from collapsing beneath her.

"Erm…. Surprise?"

Tifa barely heard the second word out his mouth as she screamed.

AN: Fun fact, I have a friend who can open a beer bottle with pretty much anything. We tend not to have those screw tops that you get stateside, so he learned to get a cap off with anything he could get his hands of. I can do it too but it takes a good few attempts for me!

So, Tifa has clicked who her knight and shining armour is. It should get interesting from here! I hope Tifa doesn't seem too OOC I actually used to be very anti-Tifa because I was a total Cleris fan. But after playing CC and deciding that Aeris and Zack were where it was at, I've softened up to Tifa a lot. And I kinda love this pairing too. So yeah, if anything is way off, please let me know! :)

You guys will be happy to know I churned out another 10K+ words for this today so I have at least another 10 chapters! It gets pretty conversation heavy after this so I hope that's ok!