vatheon | The night's far from over, and I'm far from sober

Entry tags:

The night's far from over, and I'm far from sober

Who: Zack, Cloud, and Tifa
What: Two guys, a girl, and a bar. With a lot of alcohol
When: Before the barrier breach
Style: Starting in prose but I can match!
Status: Cloooosed

So of course when Tifa opened her bar, Zack had to visit. And by visit he meant drag Cloud along and have a guys' night out. Which, admittedly, he's done a lot of dragging him around lately, but they have a lot of lost time to catch up on. And with no Sephiroths or Shinra or shadows from the past to haunt their steps, this is the perfect time for them to relax and just be two guys hanging out.

Seeing that things were free for them in Vatheon, that meant no reasonable limit on the alcohol intake. Zack had plans to knock back shots and pitchers like he was dying from thirst, and he intended to make sure his bestie did the same. Because for the love of the Planet, the man needed to loosen up.

Seated at the bar, Zack congenially pounded the bartop. "Tifa! A round of shots for me and Cloud! We got a long night ahead of us."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"What, I don't even get a hello first?" Tifa asked, raising an amused eyebrow at Zack's enthusiasm. Still, she didn't hesitate to pour the requested drinks and set them down on the counter in front of the two.

Her smile softened for Cloud, because she knew he'd be out of his element here. "How much convincing did it take for him to get you here anyway?"

Out of his element was definitely one way to put it. It's not like he hadn't gotten used to being in bars all together, but given the general idea he'd been given of what this outing was supposed to involve... It's no wonder he's more flopping into his seat than sitting enthusiastically.

But it's time with Zack. That's supposed to be the point. He gives Tifa a small smile, shrugging. "He's good at twisting arms." There a pause before he added on; "Hi, Tifa." Might as well make up for his someone else's rudeness for once.

"That was my way of saying hi!" And she knew they were coming, right?

...

HE DIDN'T MEAN TO BE RUDE OKAY.

"Oh, come on! It's just us having some drinks. And you've been living in a bar for years now." Totally missing the point of his discomfort, but Zack also didn't want to dwell on all that for long. The more they focused on it, the more uncomfortable Cloud would get, and that was detrimental to his plans.

"Hi, Cloud," she replied, and cast Zack a look. "Your delivery could use a little work." In other words, pounding the bar and yelling her name was not an acceptable form of greeting, but she'd forgive him.

She blinked at his next remark, though. "Living in a bar?" Why would Cloud be living in a bar unless--

...was it her bar? He had indicated they were living pretty close.

As soon as the words had left his friend's mouth about his living arrangements back home, Cloud reached out and grabbed the shot glass, quickly downing the shot. And coughing slightly after.

He'd forgotten to mention that part, hadn't he? Thanks, Zack.

He gave a small shrug. "You had extra space for my delivery service."

Zack just... side eyed Cloud for a moment before taking his own shot. Phew, that was strong. Setting it down, he considered calling Cloud out on his lie. But he'll wait to see what Tifa had to say first.

"A bar and a delivery service. It's a combination, all right."

Cloud, what was with that reaction. It wasn't as if she'd asked a lot of questions about her future, but he had been strangely evasive about certain things.

"Well, you could've mentioned that. You're really making a habit of crashing at my place, aren't you?"

It's still awkward to try and tell your childhood friend that you're semi raising two kids together. What. He smiles a little, shrugging. "Guess so."

"That's one way of putting it."

Zack to the rescue, hinting at things to get people to ask more questions. Because clearly Cloud hasn't told Tifa too much.

"So, what do you recommend for a long night in?" he asked Tifa.

"It's not like I mind." No, Zack, there didn't seem to be any more questions out of that.

As an answer, Tifa just poured them a couple beers. "Why don't you start with this and we'll work our way up?"

He gave a small smile of thanks as he went to grab his beer glass, but doesn't move to take a sip. He's gonna just... let that shot settle in first. That sounds like a good idea. His chest still burns a little.

"Must be nice to have something familiar from home." Running a bar, not annoying boys drinking in it, that is.

Darn it, Tifa. Way to ruin his fun - er, his attempts to help you guys!

He sips his beer, not minding the burn in his throat. The beer might help with the burn, after all.

"Vatheon could use a bit more of home. Not everything, but some things. And I think the bar's a good start."

"It's nice to be doing something," she agreed. "It felt weird not working."

Speaking of, she caught the request of one of her other customers and poured another drink, stepping away for a moment to deliver it.

"So," she said when she came back, "if this is a start, what's the rest?"

Not working was definitely a weird feeling. It at least felt somewhat normalizing to watch Tifa at her normal activities. Still. He almost missed making deliveries. "Makes me miss my bike," he mutters into his glass, before he takes a sip of his beer.

He glances to Zack for the details of the rest of the night, though. He'd probably stop after the beer if he had a full say in the plans, after all.

"Your bike is a definite piece of home we need here. Not sure how to go about getting it, though." That bike was awesome, and Zack desperately wanted to take a spin on it.

...Okay, clearly he had something different in mind when he said about bringing stuff from home here. He fully intends to stay in Tifa's bar and get schnockered. "Kinda miss materia, if we're being honest. It's weird not carrying them around."

"There are some pretty talented mechanics here. We can ask my friend Darkleer if he knows anything about motorcycles."

Not that Cloud owned a bike in what Tifa remembered, but he had seemed pretty happy with the one they'd stolen from the Shinra building during their escape. It wasn't hard to picture. ...it certainly wasn't a bad picture, either.

She raised an eyebrow at Zack. "Materia? That's an answer I would've expected from Yuffie."

He nods, a small smile at the suggestion. If he could have a bike again - any bike, even, not necessarily his own (sweet as that would be) - it would improve his outlook on being stuck in this place for sure. He'd be willing to attempt talking to anyone for that.

"Yuffie would be a lot more passionate about it," he said with a smirk. 'kinda miss' would be an understatement for that girl if she were brought here and found out there wasn't any to go around.

"Hey, it has to be worth a shot. And it'd be a fun project. Not that many vehicles down here anyway, so it'd be a heck of a sight, too."

He laughed before taking a swig of his beer. Oh, Yuffie. Now there was a walking, breathing trip and a half. "I'm just saying it's weird without them. At least I don't have a hoarding problem like she does."

"You'll be the envy of every guy in the city," Tifa said, noting how much Zack seemed to enjoy the idea, too. There would probably be a lot of requests to borrow it down the line.

"A reserved, mature Yuffie." She paused, and made a face at that mental image. "At least she's getting a little better, I think."

He snorts, not sure how much he wants to be the envy of anyone. He just wants his bike - a bike - anything to ride, really. It'd remind him enough of home to make things feel a little more normal. "Guess we'll see."

Cloud is trying to picture a reserve Yuffie. Mature, maybe. But reserved... He buries his chuckles in another sip of beer. "... She's still Yuffie."

"We will see. Some way or another, we're getting you a bike." Now Zack was bound and determined to do this and there was no stopping him.

He shakes his head, his own memories of Yuffie making him laugh. "Should have seen her when she was little. She was pretty feisty back then, too."

"It's an inevitability now, isn't it?"

Tifa took a moment to try picturing the opposite; Yuffie as a little girl. "She must've been a real handful. Maybe that's why her father's still catching up on sleep."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The night's far from over, and I'm far from sober

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

UGH UGH SORRY

<3

<3<3

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject