Day 49: Noon - Main Street
Having said goodbye to Remy, Meche paused to think about where to go next. Lunch was the obvious decision, and looking at all the cookbooks had made her hungry anyway. She was pretty sure she remembered a restaurant on the next side street over ("Twin Pines," the coupon said); hopefully it had something a little healthier than burgers. She steeled
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Just down the street he had said. Well, she stil hadn't found it yet. And no one was helping either. Most of the locals ignored her and her questions.
Who put a stinger up these people's butts?
"Shiva..." The brunette stopped on the sidewalk and studied her coupons hard as if they could show the way if just kept staring. If she hadn't wasted all this time looking for the place, she could have gotten her nails done. Obviously she took great care of her hands, but the only time she ever groomed her finger nails was when they were starting to get too long to fight with. Another man passed her while she stood practically in the middle of the sidewalk, letting her know how much he appreciated the inconvenience with a sneer. Even her friendly smile was getting her nowhere. Self-consciously, Tifa tried to pull up her hoodie, hoping to hide her affiliation with the institute. Unfortunately, the grey hoodie was just too small to make it over her chest.
"...." Fuck this, she was going to eat and then get her nails did. Trailing back against the wall of the nearest business, she sat on a pair of concrete steps and fished through her lunch. Oh hey, she got a bagel too! Not bothering to pull it apart into two, the young fighter began instead to tear off chunks, smacking her mouth in order to bleed out some of her frustration.
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But when he'd found himself getting a little bit bored, enough to glance out of the shop window, he'd spotted a familiar girl walking down the rainy street. He'd only just been thinking about the tour guide. Even though he knew that only really applied back in Nibelheim, he was still eager to talk to Tifa again.
Their conversation had been cut woefully short last time.
By the time Zack made it out into the rain (and it was coming down even harder now, wasn't it?), Tifa had found a place to sit and was actually trying to eat something. He made a beeline for the girl, pausing in front of her with hands placed firmly in each hip. "This isn't really the best spot to chow down, is it?" he asked with a tilt of his head. They had those coupons, but it looked like Tifa was still working on the breakfast they'd been provided with.
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"You seem to catch me at my most embarrassing moments..." Exhaling, she looked down at her pitiful lunch. "A little rain never hurt anymore." Unfortunately the former couldn't be said about paper sacks, hers already beginning to deteriorate. As if on cue, the bottom broke from the weight of her drink, which plopped down onto the stairs and rolled slowly away.
"As if a bagel could really keep us full..." Not allowing this to ruin her afternoon, Tifa stood up, dusted off her now damp butt, and collected what remained of her soggy lunch. "Did you already eat...?" She wanted to ask him where Cloud had gone to since Zack and he had sat together in the morning, but she decided a better way to broach the topic needed to be found. It would be rude to ask about her friend when the two of them needed desperately to catch up.
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Maybe the rain wasn't hurting them, but there were better places to eat. Or so he assumed, anyway. Besides, Tifa's statement was refuted when her bag fell apart. Zack had the reflexes to scoop up the drink soon after it hit the ground, at least. Luckily for them, it hadn't broken apart and spilled everywhere. Sure, the rain would have washed it away, but it wouldn't have earned them any points with the townspeople.
Handing her the drink as she stood up, Zack shook his head in response to her question. "Nope, but it looks like we've got two options. I think I passed one of the places earlier..." The Tasty Burger, right? It didn't look like the pinnacle of fine cuisine, but Zack wasn't expecting too much out of this place. Surprisingly enough, the food back at the institute was probably better than the stuff here.
For the moment, he had to hold back his questions. He got the feeling Tifa had a bunch of her own, but it would be better if they found somewhere to sit down first.
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"Okay, let's do that then..." She wasn't sure where either Tasty Burger or Twin Pines were, so the brunette was happy to let Zack take the lead. "And... then we can talk..."
With renewed vigor, Tifa smiled eagerly and rested her hand amiably on his shoulder, like she would with any of her friends. Strangely though, her brown eyes narrowed in on her thumb as it rubbed across the material of Zack's wet jacket. Her grin grew smaller with every stroke until her round face held none of its usually vibrant glow. Emotions too sensitive to be made public began to overwhelm her body. To know the horror that Cloud and he had shared, what all had been lost, and to know that now, right here, the dark-haired SOLDIER was standing beside her, smiling just the same as when they were younger.
Tifa had to look away, taking advantage of her long bangs to hide her eyes and her bottom lip that was threatening to tremble. The embarrassment that this was happening in public only fueled her sudden swell of emotions. It was hard to compartmentalize when they kept growing out of control. She just hoped Zack would give her a moment to pull herself together so they could just leave and pretend nothing like this had really happened.
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Just as he was about to head off back in that direction, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Tifa was holding onto him in a way that was more than just a friendly tap, and Zack slowly turned to meet her eyes. Unfortunately, she'd already looked away, and he could tell that she was probably fighting with some sort of guilt. He frowned, uncertain as to why she should feel that way when she'd had nothing to do with what had happened to him.
She clearly knew all about it, though. And how couldn't she, when she'd apparently been part of the offensive against Sephiroth's return? Clenching his jaw, he waited until it looked like she was ready to keep moving, and then silently coaxed her along with him in the direction of the restaurant. Zack didn't know a whole lot about Tifa, but he figured that she'd rather they talk about this once they had some food in them.
[To here.]
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