Title: Return
Fandom: Final Fantasy: Advent Children
Characters: Tifa, Cloud, OC
Prompt: 050 - Spade
Word Count: 456
Date finished: 08/05/2006
Rating: G
Summary: The night after Sephiroth's defeat at Seventh Heaven bar.
Author's Notes: When I asked my friend what she thought of when I said Spade, she said it sounded like a guy in a romance novel. She did so well with "Tending Bar" that I decided to try it. Not that I can even imagine Cloud laughing, but....
Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Square Enix and Sony Pictures as far as I know.

Just like everyone knew he was gone.

Tifa sighed. Which meant every two-gil hustler in Edge had come into the bar at one time or another to hit on her. It was like they waited in line, each taking his turn.

This guy - he'd said his name was Spade, although she couldn't say much to ridicule his name, since she was in love with a guy named Cloud - was the most persistent of the lot. In spite of his name, though, he was the most normal, the least offensive, and actually tried to woo her, instead of assuming she'd be impressed by his… manliness or whatever.

"Tifa. You were closed the last couple of days. Are you okay?"

Tifa smiled, reaching for a glass to start his favorite mixture of the Corel Alcohol. "I'm fine," she said. "I'm sure you didn't miss the dragon yesterday?"

"Far from it," he said, leaning against the bar. "You weren't in the middle of that, were you?"

"Sort of," Tifa said, and gave him his drink.

He laughed. "Sort of?" he teased.

"I was there for moral support," she clarified. "My talents are geared more to one on one." She realized what she'd said when his smile became a leer, and felt her face flush.

"I'd like to see that," he said, his voice low.

She only smiled and turned to serve the next customer, hoping he hadn't noticed her change in color.

He stayed at the bar, capturing her attention just enough that she remembered he was there without monopolizing her time. She appreciated his consideration - but she wished he would just go away.

As the evening wore on, she began glancing at the clock, more distracted than usual. She caught quizzical glances from Spade and just smiled, which made him smile. But her impatience grew as the night grew later.

She knew the moment Cloud walked in; the whole place went silent, and Spade faded toward the back of the room and out of her life. The silence didn't seem to affect Cloud as he walked to the bar, stopping across from her. "Are Marlene and Denzel in bed yet?" he asked in a low voice.

"They're waiting for you, I'm sure," she said with a smile. "You're late."

"Hit a snag."

Only then did she notice the blood on his arm. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "I'll see you later." He strode from the bar through the back door.

As soon as he was gone, people started speaking again, and over the noise of the resumed conversations, faintly, she heard Cloud's laughter.

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