Rufus Shinra always threw the biggest and fanciest parties no matter the occasion. It was his 28th birthday and he invited everyone in the district to attend. While Rufus was nowhere to be seen at the moment, his guests were dressed in formal wear and snacking on h'orderves and elegant flutes of wine. Some guests were dancing in the center of the ballroom; the band was playing soft jazz with wind and string instruments.

Cloud was dressed in black slacks as well as black shoes and a white collared shirt topped with a black overcoat. Tifa wore a long skin-tight black halter-top dress with a slit on the side that showed a generous amount of her legs; her black heels made her legs seem even longer.

"It's been so long since I've had an excuse to dress up," Tifa took out a mirror from her gold clutch and examined her eyeliner, "I wonder where Raine is? She said she was coming."

Cloud shrugged and Tifa grabbed two flutes of red wine from a passing waiter. She handed one to Cloud and waved when she saw Yuffie coming over with Raine by her side. Yuffie's choice of attire was a short blue strapless dress with a tulle shirt.

Cloud sharply sucked in a breath when he saw Raine. She was draped in a green spaghetti strap dress and her hair cascaded down her back in loose curls.

"Hey." She said softly.

"Hey." Cloud replied.

Raine averted her eyes and rubbed her bare bicep; she was still feeling awkward from their encounter the day before.

"Cloud, you look nice! Tifa, you're sizzling!" Yuffie chirped.

"Thanks, Yuffie! You look more mature than you usually do."

Yuffie pouted and puffed her cheeks out,

"That's what Cid said, too!"

Raine yelped when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her onto the dance floor. She wasn't too thrilled when she discovered it was Reno.

"Wanna dance, yo?"

"You're supposed to ask me that before you drag drag me away."

Reno shrugged. Raine was surprised with how coordinated Reno was with his feet; he was actually really good at dancing.

"You're a lot smarter than I thought you were. Sorry for underestimating you."

"So it was you who made Cloud act strange."

"You're cute and innocent, the perfect guinea pig."

"I'm not as innocent as you think I am."

"Oh? Do tell. I'm awesome at keeping secrets."

Raine rolled her eyes. There was something annoyingly charming about Reno.

Cloud watched as Reno dipped Raine and brought her back up before twirling her around. He frowned; he didn't know Reno was good at dancing.

"Are you alright, Cloud?" Tifa asked.

"I'm fine."

Tifa shrugged and went back to watching the dance floor. Cloud stuffed his hands into his pockets and remembered something when his fingers brushed against something cool in his pocket.

"Tifa."

"Hmm? "

Tifa was surprised when Cloud took out a necklace from his pocket and placed it around her neck. It had a round locket as a pendant and she ran her fingers over the intricate designs.

"How did you-"

"Reno found it. I...went through great pains to get it. It was your grandmother's, right? I know how important your family is to you."

Tifa teared up as she opened the locket and saw an old picture of chikd self and her grandmother. Tifa closed the locket and hugged Cloud tightly.

"Thank you, Cloud! I don't know how to thank you."

"You don't have to." He said casually.

"But I want to."

Cloud was confused by Tifa words. He pulled away and opened his mouth to ask Tifa what she meant but the opportunity was stolen from him.

Reno stopped dancing and he was staring off to the side.

"What's up?" Raine asked.

She followed Reno's gaze and she stopped when she saw Cloud and Tifa kissing. His arms were wrapped around her waist and her arms were clearly locked around his neck, pulling him to her. Raine felt a pang in her chest and she glanced at Reno; was this his intention all along? Raine shook her head and dismissed the thought. Reno looked uncomfortable and he almost seemed heartbroken. An interesting thought popped into her head.

"Reno, do you like Tifa?"

Reno chuckled as he led Raine off the dance floor.

"Seems like the cat's finally out of the bag, yo."

He grabbed a flute of wine and gulped it down in one shot before grabbing another.

"Reno, you're going to get drunk."

"So what? It's a party. You can't have a party without getting drunk."

Raine sighed and glanced at Cloud and Tifa but she discovered that they were gone.