Bartending!

[antishinra]

Tifa's spent most of the afternoon working out by the lake. The change in seasons marked without her nearest and dearest makes her a little more melancholy than she hopes to let on, but even though she knows the lake and its surroundings are magic -- an illusion -- today the brightness gleaming off the water seemed... really nice. Or maybe she

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[bothbutneither]

He's not usually much for paying attention to the specials on the board on his way through, but the words Arctic Kiss bring back so many memories of frigidly cold and sad Blue Crow that he has to stop and ask about it.

"What's an Arctic Kiss? The drink version, that is. I know what a real one is." He's never met this bartender, but that's no surprise: if he's not playing his sax at a place, he pays so little attention to the people working there. That's kind of a shame, because a second glance tells him that he and this very pretty lady could have a great discussion on the care and feeding of long black hair.

But if the Arctic Kiss ingredients sound good, he might just have to take one upstairs for Faye. Even if she's not there, it's the thought that counts, right?

[antishinra]

He reminds her just a little bit of Vincent. The hair's different, though, and while Vincent's long hair sometimes has a tendency to seem a little wayward, this guy's hair looks like pure silk.

Not to mention his eyes are blue -- like Cloud's used to be before the mako -- and he's already smiling at her.

"It's pretty simple: chilled vodka and champagne. Would you like to try one?" Curious, she smiles back. "And have you been to the Arctic?"

She's gotten the impression it's a lot like the very northernmost parts of the Northern Continent.

[bothbutneither]

Chilled vodka and champagne sounds exactly like his kind of drink; he'll have to get a second one for Faye. "I'd love to try one. It sounds great."

Shaking back his hair -- there's a reason he always wore it tied back when he played at the Rester House -- he takes a seat at the bar. "I haven't been to the Arctic on Earth, but the planet I lived on before I got here was far away from the sun and really cold. It snowed... oh, eleven months out of the year."

It's funny what people can get used to. Sure, he missed the warmth of the engineered days on Mars and the way the phase gates magnified the sun's rays so nicely there, but it isn't something he even thought about most of the time.

[antishinra]

"Really?" Even in the middle of pouring his drink, she sounds impressed. She can hardly imagine living in a place like that. "I hope you like snow."

She likes it. Coming in from the cold and having a hot drink is a comfort, and sometimes a snowball fight is just plain good for the soul. But she doesn't think she'd like snow eleven months out of the year.

She puts his glass, the sides of it fogged, down in front of him. "So you're not from Earth, either. We're in a definite minority."

But she doesn't sound like she minds very much.

[bothbutneither]

"No." His fingers leave prints on the sides of the glass where he touches it: he's been so warm for so long and he really wouldn't mind snow again, but not this time of year. "Earth in my time isn't a very safe place. Too many rock showers; a lot of the population's moved underground." And that's too much like captivity for him, so... no. Even if he could walk out that door and for some impossible reason be alive, he doubts he'd pick Earth

[antishinra]

Leaning on the bar, she smiles her approval. Those are some of the best things about snow, of course, and there are more she can think of, although snowboarding and snowballs fights aren't as poetic.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Tifa." Her smile broadens. "I'm from a planet called Gaia."

She doesn't know Callisto, but that's no surprise. He clearly knows Earth pretty well, and nobody she's met from Earth has been familiar with Gaia.

[bothbutneither]

He knows the name from mythology, but that's as far as he goes with it. "We must be from different star systems or something." That's not too surprising, considering some of the people he's met here and the things he's heard.

"You mix a mean Arctic Kiss, Tifa." He can feel his smile in the corners of his eyes as much as anywhere now. It's been a long time since he sat down here and talked about... well, a lot of nothing with someone new. "Before I leave, I'll hit you up for another to take upstairs for a friend."

Friend. What else is he going to call Faye? For now, that works. She's like... a diamond who was just waiting to be discovered and he's the man who was just lucky enough to be there at the right time. Someone had to catch her before she fell, and he hasn't regretted doing that for a minute.

Fate is so weird.

[antishinra]

"I guess so," she starts, nodding a little, but she practically beams when he compliments her and asks for a second to take upstairs. "Thank you! I'll be happy to make you another."

That's awfully nice of him, and she's eager to make sure the second Arctic Kiss is just as good as the first. Gren will have to hurry up the stairs with it to make sure his friend gets it at its coldest.

She places the finished product on the bar, too, and she gives him a big grin. "I hope your friend likes it."

[bothbutneither]

This whole encounter's made him grin. "Oh, thanks. I'm sure she will. She's never turned her nose up at anything with champagne in it before." There's always a first time, he guesses, and there's only one thing service this good deserves: a tip.

A big tip.

It's not the first time he's been glad he and Faye took that trip to Santo, but never for the specific reason of having pocket cash for the first time in some two and a half years. It's still the currency from Santo, but he knows Bar will make it a fair trade for Tifa; he sets a handful of pretty paper money down. "This is for you: I really appreciate it. Next time I see you, I'll let you know what my friend thought of it."

As far as he's concerned, it's sweet and pungent and tasty. Even if the alcohol in it doesn't have any real physical effect on him, it's still a really good drink. Standing, he picks up both drinks carefully.

"Better get it to her while it's still arctic."

If he's lucky, Faye will seal it for him with a kiss of her own, and wouldn't that be nice? "Take care,

[antishinra]

"Thank you." She lets out a little laugh. "You too, Gren."

She's still grinning as she picks up the tip he left, and she's never seen money like it before but will happily give it to the bar to add to her tab when the bar's back on duty. How much it's worth doesn't really matter. Her needs are covered for right now, thanks to this job.

But it's really pretty, and she takes a second to admire the bill before tucking it away for later.

Hopefully Gren's friend enjoys the Arctic Kiss as much as he did.