Edge, 7th Heaven

[coeurinquiet]

Who: Tifa Lockhart, Barret Wallace

Status: Open (It's a public restaurant~)

When: 9AM(ish)

Where: Edge, 7th Heaven

What: Tifa opens the restaurant, Barret stops by while the kids are at school to rant about the latest BioFuse news.

Comments

[gunarmwallace]

He didn't like it. Didn't like it at all. The low simmer of fury coursed through him after reading the article about Biofuse and their digs on WRO, and he just didn't like what he saw. Perhaps a couple years ago, this large, gunarmed man might have blown a gasket at the news print, roared and hollered about the dirty politics, not understanding why people just can't help each other and instead make underhanded remarks at those who seem to be doing less than they are when they are both striving to the very same goal--a better future. It still made no sense to him, but instead of the holler, he withheld the rage and attempted to turn it inward where it may fizzle and dissipate.

Barret was always a man of impulse with a quick temper. But as the years began to creep upon him, and his fight to chase away the demons of his past continued, he was able to place a leash on a good bit of that rage. He still struggled with it, struggled with the surge of violence that normally followed, but there was certainly noticeable progress.

That restraint was being tested as he walked through the doors of the familiar Seventh Heaven; his home away from the madness of WRO, BioFuse, and even Shin-Ra. Shin-Ra was no longer a threat to him, but their existence would always be a bitter reminder of his past. Then again, if it weren't for them, weren't Sephiroth, he wouldn't have some of the strong friendships that he did now. Like...

"Tifa!" he shouted, but there wasn't any anger or malice in the name. His greeting was simply loud, as a smile followed it when his eyes settled upon her. He'd been gone for months, away from his best friends and little girl. He'd even missed Denzel, whom he'd grown fond of over the years. Even though he was still out there helping the world, still fighting, he knew there would always be a semblance of welcome and warmth waiting for him there. "Marlene and Denzel keepin' out of trouble, or do I have to whoop some asses?"

[coeurinquiet]

The sound of the bell as the door swung open was a welcome surprise made even better by the voice that carried her name behind it. Turning around, she smiled as Barret entered. Setting down the glass she was currently wiping down, Tifa walked out from behind the bar to greet her friend, her hair bouncing behind her in a simple ponytail, a new hairstyle she'd taken to recently. Marlene would be thrilled to have her father back in town, and she wondered if the news wouldn't bring a smile to Cloud and Denzel's faces too.

"Barret! It's good to see you!" she returned the enthusiastic greeting. Not only was she not alone on a slow morning anymore, but now she had a friend to keep her company before she'd gone and cleaned the place again. She had to laugh at his remark, feeling good about just being able to laugh about anything at the moment. Tifa smiled, a teasing light in her brown eyes. "They've been good. Cloud too. Are you hungry? I can whip up some pancakes or something, if you want." Walking over to the table, she picked up the newspaper, hastily clearing away the unpleasant news in case Barret was already steaming about it.

[gunarmwallace]

It was much too late for Tifa to remove and hide the reason for the uneasiness he was trying to keep below the surface. Still, for the moment he ignored it to give his friend a brief squeeze around the shoulders with a single, large arm. His laugh was light and deep at her response to his inquiry, a twinkle to his eye just barely noticeable as they conversed about simpler things for the moment, "I think Cloud might be too big for me to put over my knee anyway, but I'd sure give it a shot."

He wore a thoughtful look as he took a second to think about the offer of breakfast, "Pancakes sound good. If ya don't mind, of course." And he knew she didn't, but the courtesy he knew she'd appreciate.

And then it came to the serious part--the paper. "I'm sure ya read what the hell them bastards are sayin' over at BioFuse..."

[coeurinquiet]

Tifa returned the quick hug before pulling back and laughing as the image of Barret attempting to discipline Cloud conjured itself in her mind. It was a humorous change from what it had previously been dwelling on anyway. With that and breakfast on her mind, she made her way back to the kitchen. Pausing at the swinging door, she tossed a look over her shoulder.

"Is blueberry good? I can make plain or chocolate chip too," Tifa asked, ever eager to please customers or friends with a hot meal. Unfortunately, it was just as she asked that he brought up the paper, causing that familiar feeling of distaste to build up in her mouth. At the mention of it, she was sure he'd be able to tell what her thoughts were on the subject. However, unpleasant as it was, Tifa didn't attempt to keep quiet about it this time.

"...It wasn't the nicest headline to wake up to," she admitted, shaking her head with a sigh. "I can't believe the politics that are involved in just trying to make the world a better place." Tifa forced a small laugh. "I guess I'm kind of a simple woman, huh?" It was true, though. She was used to fighting for the Planet, waging war against Shin-Ra... Difficult things at the time, but less complicated in a strange way.

In the end, however, even that hadn't been as simple and as black and white as she might've thought in the wake of Nibelheim. Tifa had to live every day knowing that she'd caused the deaths of a lot of innocent people in her crusade to bring down the evil empire that had been Shin-Ra Inc, and she knew that in ways she wasn't any better than them at the end of the day.

[gunarmwallace]

"Blueberrys' good," Barret replied, taking a place at the table Tifa was formerly sitting at. He propped his elbows upon the edge as he kept his attention trained on her out of the corners of his eyes. He had a lot of respect for her and her opinion. Although he knew politics wasn't something she liked to put her hand into, her thoughts on them were often sound and valuable when she vocalized them.

"Ain't gonna get much better. In fact, feels like it's only gonna get a lot worse. BioFuse..." he shook his head, raking a hand over his cornrows and down to the tips of his braids, "Good intentioned. But they seem a bit on the side of too radical."

[coeurinquiet]

The kitchen wasn't far from the front of the restaurant, so it wasn't too hard to carry on a conversation as she mixed the batter she'd whipped up earlier for Denzel, Marlene, and Cloud together with the blueberries she had set aside; the kids had always been more fond of chocolate chip pancakes, and she hadn't seen Cloud this morning to make him a batch. When they were finally sizzling in the pan, Tifa turned back to the conversation at hand, voice raised just slightly to be heard over the sounds of baking.

"I know it seems really idealistic of me, but I wish it didn't feel like they're doing this for all the wrong reasons. Why does there need to be a competition to this place? It all just seems..." Tifa bit her lip, trying to find the right word. "I don't know. It seems a little fishy to me. It's hard to tell whether or not they're genuine, but I guess maybe that's just because I'm biased when it comes to world restoration organizations." It was hard to be fair, but it was the truth. Reeve, Vincent... They were her companions, her friends. She knew that the WRO was run by people who's hearts were in the right place, but how could she expect the rest of the world to blindly trust and follow an organization that was getting all this negative press from a rival group?

[repentingsinner]

The door opened easily under Vincent's hand, the sound of the bell hanging above the door alerting those in the bar of his presence. He guided the door closed to ensure it didn't slam. The warm smell of cooking wafted over to him, and he wondered briefly if he should have taken up on Reeve's offer of breakfast. Perhaps - but he hadn't been hungry then, appetite only awakening after the walk from WRO headquarters to the Seventh Heaven. He gazed around briefly - empty except for Barret (which came as no surprise, simple knowledge that the dark skinned man was back from his work) and Tifa, who he assumed was in the kitchen.

It was of some good news that he came across them both, for he'd be able to ask if they'd heard of anything important. Another glance around confirmed the lack of Cloud as well as the children before he took a seat at the bar. "Barret," he greeted.

[gunarmwallace]

The scent of cooking pancakes wafted through his senses, bringing a small grin of satisfaction to his lips. It'd been much too long since he'd had a home cooked meal, even if it was something as simple as fluffy pancakes. Still, the hunger in his stomach spoke to him as clearly as Tifa was speaking to him.

"It ain't always easy to tell who doin' things for the right reasons and who doin' things for attention. If I didn't know Reeve like I did, maybe I'd think the same of him. I don't know, but this shit with BioFuse...it ain't right."

He stopped when he heard the bell chime to see Vincent stroll through the entrance. A small smile broke through as he watched him approach the table and greet him with only his name. Entirely Vincent-esque behavior. "Vincent, don't tell me you're here to steal my breakfast--I ain't afraid to fight you for it." He told him loud enough for Tifa to hear, the jest in his voice clear and obvious.

[coeurinquiet]

Tifa agreed silently, flipping the pancakes and pouring the rest of the batter in equal, round pools in the empty pan. A stack of pancakes was piling up, and she wondered for a minute if maybe she should just cook up the rest of the stack.

Yes, pancakes were a much more pleasant matter to contemplate as opposed to BioFuse.

Barret's enthusiastic greeting didn't go unheard, and she was all smiles again as took a quick break lean back through the doorway. Vincent was just in time to join in their discussion of politics over pancakes.

"Are you hungry, Vincent? I've got plenty here," Tifa's voiced carried just over the sizzling sounds emanating from the stove.

[repentingsinner]

Vincent simply rose an eyebrow at the larger man - whether his expression was an as if or otherwise, it was difficult to tell, as the mild quirk of his lips was hidden by the collar of his cloak. He pushed the ends of his cloak behind him as to not sit on them, removing the rifle from his back holster - as the barrel was beginning to dig into his shoulder blade - and placing it on the table, far enough away to not be in the way but close enough to be reachable if needed.

"As long as you have an excess," he replied to Tifa, voice raising only a fraction to be heard.

[gunarmwallace]

Barret wasn't the least bit surprised by Vincent's reaction, or perhaps lack thereof. He could at least tell by the look in the mans' eyes that he was somewhat amused by his humor. Because of this, he remained relaxed.

He glanced back toward Tifa for a moment before looking back at the newest of their gathering, a bit of a serious glint to his dark irises, "So, what are your thoughts on the headlines? Same as ours, I'd imagine. Prediction of trouble." He didn't need to ask the mysterious ex-Turk if he'd read the article, already knowing the man had a knack for keeping up to date on world wide events as well as the most obscure details on a situation.

[coeurinquiet]

"Don't worry. There's plenty," Tifa assured Vincent with a smile before ducking back into the kitchen. The pancakes needed to be flipped, and more added to the pan as the done batch was deposited on the plate next to it. There. Almost done. It didn't take too long to make pancakes anyway, especially when you already had everything all mixed together.

The young woman let her mind wander, listening to Barret as he brought up BioFuse again and keep her mouth shut for the time being so as to listen to what Vincent had to say on the matter. Maybe there would be word of how Reeve was taking things? It couldn't have been well, considering. Tifa's eyes fixated on the batter as it puffed up, losing herself for a second or two before she snapped out of it.

If she wasn't careful, the pancakes would burn.

[repentingsinner]

Vincent gazed at Barret silently for a moment, fingering a buckle of his cape before unhooking the first two covering his mouth to talk more freely. "Trouble, yes. Unnecessary competition over who is more kind." He turned his head down to frown at the grains of dark wood in the table, tapping the index finger of his prosthetic claw against it in an idle manner.

"I'm not against BioFuse's program. They pick up where the WRO is slacking, that is undeniable. But because WRO is a form of higher power, they will be critized the more." A brief shrug from him before he added, "Reeve may be stopping by."

[gunarmwallace]

Barret nodded and leaned back in his chair while gazing back at the ex-Turk. Always the logical one. "Guess you're right. I still don't like what that damn shithead said about thinkin' things were better off with Shin-Ra in power. He didn't know about all the underhanded activities goin' on. Guess it's nice to be ignorant." He sighed, absently patting his metallic arm. He was hoping there wouldn't be another day in his lifetime where he had to use the appendage as a weapon against fellow man.

[coeurinquiet]

The door to the kitchen swung up, and Tifa emerged with a smile, always happy to cook for her friends. A tray piled high with blueberry pancakes and various assortments of butter, syrup, and powdered sugar was balanced on one hand while the other carried a similar tray with two cups and a pitcher of orange juice. She slid the tray on the table with the ease of someone who'd worked in the business for some time before heaving a sigh.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but does anyone want any coffee?" she asked, trying to sound cheerful despite the gloomy news.

[repentingsinner]

"I do," Vincent said with a dip of his head. He'd finished perhaps only half a cup at the WRO, and more would hardly do him harm. He poured himself a cup of orange juice to drink on the side, sipping at the sweet drink while waiting for Barret to serve himself.

Tifa's attempt at cheer caught his attention, and he glanced at her briefly before diverting his attention elsewhere.