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HEY. This place. Just like he wanted, and a note: maybe it's just a case of right place right time, or maybe Bar's sick of takin' his gil. Whatever it is, shit yeah, he'll tend bar for a couple hours instead of drinkin' his life away. There's plenty of time for that after.Since he was 18 he's worked for Shin-Ra and pourin' drinks behind a bar wasn'
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(The bar must really need help tonight.)
She has to give him credit, though: he seems to have taken to his temporary job better than she'd have predicted. Empty cup in hand, she finally stands up and walks toward the bar, and when she catches his eye, she gives him a very small smile.
"How does it feel on that side of the bar?"
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If he's one thing, that one thing's determined and like he'd ever show her if he was flailing and didn't think he could do a thing? He doesn't think so. "At least I have the easy specials. Bottle of ale? Glass of beer? Sex in the Red Zone? Or a refill on whatever it was you had there?"
He's pretty sure the only rule back here is don't friggin' kill anyone and he's gonna try real hard not to. Also to be nice, 'cause there ain't a reason in the world not to be. Him and her, they made a little bit of peace last time and he'll try to keep it goin'.
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She may be opening herself up to his commentary just by ordering the way she did. But she won't let him get to her. There's no flirtation in her tone, and even if he wasn't the Turk who dropped the plate on Sector 7, her heart's in Edge and he knows that as well as she does.
She just wants to watch him mix a drink for her while their positions are reversed like this.
"Is this your first time tending the bar?"
He hasn't been back there before when she's been around to see it.
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She taps the stem of the cherry with her fingertip, making it bob inside her glass. "Nice touch."
After a taste-test drink, she pauses a moment and then nods. "This is pretty good, Reno."
She smiles. It's not a hard drink: only three ingredients -- all straightforward liquids -- and nothing fancy required. But he's done exactly what he should have, as far as she can tell. Sex in the Red Zone isn't a drink she's ever had before.
"I bet you could garnish with a slice of lemon if you wanted." With so much lemonade in the drink, it'd work. But cherries are classic and less trouble. "All that time spent in bars was worth something after all. Are we going to start seeing you back there more often?"
She's almost certain of what the answer will be and she's glad for it, but it doesn't mean she can't be friendly. She's good at it.
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Only partly. There is something he can say, though.
"Anyhow, you're much better at it than me. And prettier to look at. So thanks, but I'll stick to that side of the bar unless it's by request like tonight."
Come to think of it, the bar must've been hard up if it's askin' him to work there. He's just Mister Lookin-At-You-is-Makin-Me-Sober, and who wants a friggin' lush for a bartender?
Next Sex in the Red Zone he makes gets garnished with a lemon, though. Just to show he actually knows how to listen.
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She smiles. He did compliment her twice, and she certainly didn't expect it. She's almost surprised by it.
And she's not going to chance things: she doesn't care what Reno thinks of her, but as long as she has to keep traveling in the same circles as he does, she'd prefer it if they remained civil to each other.
(Although she can't help thinking she's been the one who's been more civil up to this point, if only because of her job behind the bar.)
There's a small pouch in the pocket of her skirt, and inside it her fingers find the gil she's looking for. It's not as sizable as his tips have been -- and since he's the one who can leave and do his real job whenever he wants, that seems fair -- but it is a nice tip ( ... )
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Did she just tip him?
That's pretty friggin' cool. "Thanks, Tifa." He pockets the money with a nod and watches as she moves away. It's only after she's gone that he pulls the gil back out and sets it aside: that and any other tips he might get tonight? They're goin' right to pay off some of her tab.
So long as she doesn't see him do it. What she doesn't know is that former enemies or not, he'd step in front of her in a fight and he wouldn't just do it 'cause his partner likes her. Nah, he likes her too, even though she dumped a beer on him: he deserved that one. It's just he never knows how to act around her.
Anyhow, he almost feels like he passed some kind of test he didn't know he was takin' tonight, and that's a relief. But who's she think he learned bartenders are supposed to be nice to everyone from? Maybe she'll figure that out sooner or later.
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