Chapter 12

A Takeout Kind of Night

Tifa had already called her staff and gave them the night off. Operating a bar for several hours after returning from a WRO job didn't interest her, especially when hungry kids still needed dinner. She shut the backdoor and hopped into her truck just as she heard fighting over a game controller. Cloud can handle it.

She hated to drive with the café was so close. But the thought of carrying back food and drinks for several city blocks didn't sound appealing after the stressful mission. Tonight was a takeout kind of night, and that called for getting it easy.

Tifa stopped at a red light, one of the few installed in Edge. Reeve was still working to build that part of the city infrastructure. His tireless efforts to see to everyone's welfare was something she liked most about him. A massive task for one man, but Reeve was experienced in that field. Urban planning and the needs of the masses were his specialties.

Just when the light turned green, someone rapped on her passenger side window. Vincent stood on the other side, appearing out of nowhere, one of his extraordinary talents. She unlocked the door, motioned him inside as the cars behind her honked.

"You always cause traffic jams?" Vincent slammed the door shut and adjusted his holster as he made himself comfortable.

She grinned, lifting a shoulder to deliver a playful response. "Only when handsome hitchhikers are around."

He ducked his head as she drove them across the intersection. She glanced sideways to see he had concealed his face in the cowl of his cape, making it impossible to know if he frowned or smiled at her flirtation.

Before she could worry about the uncomfortable silence, he spoke up with an obvious question. "So, where are you headed?"

"Oh, right! Getting some takeout from the Tonberry Café a few blocks down." She glanced at him again to see him staring at her with a lopsided grin. "What?"

"Nothing." Her eyes darted between the road and him, wondering what he found so amusing about her suddenly.

"What? You're making me nervous!" Tifa could barely concentrate on steering while his gaze burned into her.

"I just noticed how close you sit to the steering wheel." He chuckled, as if her shorter height was something new.

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm taller than average, mister. Everyone can't be as tall as a zolom!"

He held up his hands in defeat. "Noted."

His laughter died out as she pulled into the café parking lot. The small restaurant was situated near Sector 2, offering patrons outdoor seating facing the destroyed city. A metal railing had been built to deter anyone from climbing into the debris. Some cleanup effort had been started, giving this part of Edge a more optimistic outlook.

Vincent followed her in and stood close as she read out their order. Tifa paused as she looked at the menu, suddenly unsure of what she wanted for herself. "Uh—Vincent, why don't you order yours? I'm still deciding."

"Just a sandwich basket," he said from behind her.

"Oh, I'll have the same. That sounds good," she piped up. The longer they stood there smelling the aroma of the café, the hungrier she became.

"Add a family-sized pineapple salad to that." He handed the server his card before Tifa could pull hers out of her bag.

"You don't have to do that." Tifa tried to intervene, pulling her own card from a pocket, but the server grabbed his card and ran it through the payment reader.

"Too late." He put his card back in a pocket and gestured for her to pick a table while they waited for their order.

Their table overlooked the ruins of old Midgar. Tifa shook her head, thinking of the horrors that continued all this time deep beneath the surface. Sometimes it seemed they'd achieved nothing.

"You ok?" Vincent watched her with his hands folded in front of his face as he leaned back in his chair, elbows propped on the armrests.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about Shalua and what she must have endured." Tifa saw his eyes flicker, a twitch of his eyelid as though reliving a horrible memory. "Are you ok?"

"What do you mean?" He held his chin in his hand, never dropping his gaze.

"I just…I just worried that—well—Cloud seemed affected by her rescue. For a second, he sort of reverted back to that blank look, you know?" She stared into her lap, unable to meet his unreadable expression. "I just worried that it had you thinking about your own past too. And what happened?"

She left the real question unasked. Are you thinking of your time in a tank?

When he kept quiet, she continued to explain. "I just mean—your memories—must be painful." She met his gaze and felt relieved that he wasn't glaring back. He appeared understanding, and a small smile flitted across his lips. "I you don't leave and spend all your time alone again, is all."

He chuckled and leaned forward, placing a comforting hand on her fingers.

"You worry too much. My mind is resilient."

She nodded as he pulled his hand away. He and Cloud had many differences, strength of mind being one of them.

"Besides, it was always my emotions that got the better of me. Shamed as I am to admit," he said.

Tifa tilted her head at him. Did he really mean emotions? He always seemed in control. Barret was emotional. And Cid and Yuffie. But not Vincent. The longer she sat quietly staring at him, the more she realized that maybe she didn't give him enough credit for his feelings. His thoughts—and sentiments for Lucrecia led him to his doom—and then to self-exile.

He looked away from her suddenly. Sometimes it seemed he could read her mind. She dismissed the burning question she wanted to ask—about Lucrecia. Maybe later she would tackle that subject with him. But not yet. She feared the topic would upset him.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. I love having you around more. You feel more part of the family than before!"

"Appreciate you saying it," he said, smiling another lopsided grin.

Her heart swelled at the sight of his friendliness. Tifa couldn't remember him ever being so friendly as he had the past few weeks. Not with her, anyway.

"To tell you the truth," he said. "I feel closer to everyone. I used to worry that rejoining the living would be too difficult. But our team—you," he paused, holding her gaze before he continued, "I never could've stepped back in without these connections."

Tifa's cheeks heated at his gaze, his words—the emphasis—that she was a reason he gave up solitude.

"You know you're always welcome." She laughed at herself as a silly thought popped into her head. "You could even move in, if you wanted!"

Her laughter brought back the lopsided grin to his face.

"You're out of space. I don't think the kids' room would work for me," he smirked, and she laughed harder, trying to imagine his tall form laid out on a kid-sized bed.

"Well, there are two other options. But fair warning—Cloud kicks in his sleep!"

His smile widened. "I guess I'll take the other option instead."

A shocked look passed over his face briefly as his words and their meaning seemed to dawn on him. The heat in Tifa's face spread down her neck and she sucked in a breath. A sudden tingle had her crossing her legs, fearing that he would notice the burning pleasure that had traveled through her body at his suggestive slip.

Neither spoke through their intense stare at one another, but it wasn't awkward. She caught a flash of anticipation in his eyes, a glint of hopefulness she wanted to be true.

The mood was abruptly disrupted when the server shouted their order. "Number 6!"

Vincent held a hand out and said, "That's us."

She quietly followed him to the counter, and they picked up their To-Go bag.

She could think of nothing to say. His flirtatious response was thrilling and chased all coherent thoughts from her mind. She at least composed herself enough to handle her truck. But neither revisited the topic as they headed back to 7th Heaven.

She heard the kids still shouting even from the driveway. Barret unsuccessfully tried to invoke some discipline, but he was truly as soft as a magic bunny where the kids were concerned.

"If y'all don't knock it off, I'm gonna take that away for a whole week!"

"Foods here!" Tifa passed through the door as Vincent held it open for her.

"Vincent!" Marlene tackled him, nearly causing the drink carriage to spill out of his hand as she fought to climb into his embrace.

Cloud followed them in through the door, carrying a pile of mail. He eyed Vincent for a few moments, appearing as though he battled internally to speak. His mouth opened and shut, but he turned without even offering a greeting.

Tifa rolled her eyes at him. She wished he would finally just spit out whatever was bothering him about Vincent's frequent presence. She knew he wasn't jealous of him. But the inconsiderate glowers and snubbing were becoming intolerable.

Tifa dropped the matter as Cloud helped the other men set the table and urged Marlene to pick a seat.

"I'm gonna sit by Vincent!"

Tifa bit back a smile when she noticed Vincent fighting to hide his amusement. He never admitted it, but she knew Marlene had him wrapped around her little finger.

She rifled through the mail as the others dove into the meal.

"Oh! Here it is. Finally!" She held up two envelopes etched with fancy lettering and symbols, giving an appearance of being decorated with gold filigree.

"What is it?" Barret asked through a mouthful of fried potato.

"Our invitations to the gala! I thought Reeve had forgotten us this year." She placed the mail on the counter and joined the rest at the table.

Barret and Cloud both groaned, while Vincent only looked up in confusion as Marlene and Denzel slyly threw bits of salad at each other.

Tifa glared, their unenthusiastic expressions annoying her to no end. How often did they do anything fun like a gala?

"Oh, come on. It's fun every year. This time they're going with a casino theme!" They still didn't look interested, but she glanced at Vincent and pressed on. "Are you going this year, Vincent?"

She meant her question to sound conversational, but cringed at its hopeful plea, more desperation radiating in her voice than she meant to reveal.

"Sounds like it'd be crowded," was all he said as he caught a pineapple sailing through the air toward his face.

Marlene giggled at Denzel's accidental misfire but cheered as her aim hit her target, and the boy let out an "Ugh!" when a piece of fruit stuck to his forehead.

"Knock it off," Tifa gently warned them, and the kids obediently remembered their manners. She turned her attention to her sandwich, avoiding Vincent's stare and quickly taking a bite in an attempt to hide her disappointment.