Day 49: Noon - Main Street

[sheisthecause]

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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[zack_fair]

Tifa had a point. He always seemed to wander up on her when she was in the middle of something and not paying attention, but it wasn't like he meant to take her by surprise. Zack had been forced to sneak into places during missions in the past, but it wasn't exactly his area of expertise. Then again, with the way the rain was coming down, he couldn't blame her for not hearing him coming.

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.

[36_24_35]

"Thanks..." Tifa replied sheepishly with a soft laugh. She was kind of embarrassed that, out of the two of them, she was the one acting the fool. With nowhere else to put her juice, she held it in her hand with the rest of her soggy breakfast. Her attention moved up into grey sky, flinching lightly when a rain drop hit too near her eye. The weather was hardly terrible, but Zack was right, why be outside getting rained on when there were plenty of places to take shelter in?

"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.

[zack_fair]

It was decided, then! Tifa didn't really seem to know where she was going (some tour guide! Though he knew better than to tease her; they hadn't been that close), so it was up to him to lead them to food. Zack didn't know where the Twin Pines place was either, so that left them with the Tasty Burger.

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.]