Maybe... But it's not something I would have heard from anyone else.
[Definitely not for the past for most of his life. There's a bit of a wry, rueful smile as he briefly thinks about what his comrades would think if they heard it.]
[Her hand gives his a squeeze before she goes back to eating.]
Still think you're underselling yourself, but... I know I'm right. And that anything to do with animals suits you well. Better than me, anyway. It's a lot of work, and I've only got the one cat, and a chocobo.
[There's an appreciative grin as he brushes his thumb against her hand before they pull away. But as he returns back to his lobster (which he is willing to share some if she wants to try), he looks at her curiously.]
[After her initial surprise of the question being turned around on herβ]
Honestly? I'm... not sure. Back home, I was a tour guide... before my village burned. [She forces her smile wider, not wanting to linger on that thought.] I thought that maybe that's what I would be doing for a long time, but... then I ended up buying out a bar in the slums, and the rest is history. I actually enjoy it, though.
[Even if it was overwhelming at first, and she'd spent all of her savings on it. It was worth it in the end.]
But... [She continues, poking at the food.] I sometimes think it might be fun to try doing something else.
[Now she's curious to know what he would have imagined her to do, considering that she's been That Bartender for what feels like forever.]
I wasn't at first. I was working at a steamed bun shop when I got to the city. Had some medical bills to pay off. It was alright, I wasn't making much there, but it was something.
[She takes a piece of lobster and laughs to herself. Funny how this life is such a contrast to the life that she is talking about now.]
When I turned eighteen though, I met the owner of the original Seventh Heaven and he offered me a job. Worked mostly as a waitress there, taking orders and making food, but...
[Her expression goes soft.]
After he died, they were ready to sell the bar. No one wanted to take it, so I did. Used up all those savings for medical bills to buy it instead.
[He'll eat quietly as she speaks, listening carefully. So she worked at a steamed bun shop...and then the bar? And medical bills...
There were questions there, but he decides it might be better to hold off on those. No, if anything he could guess why and there's a moment his fork stills before he continues.]
So from tour guide to steamed bun seller to bartender... Quite the path.
[A wry smile.]
You do seem to like cooking and helping people. If not a bartender, then I could easily see you as a chef. But you were also teaching martial arts, weren't you?
[He remembers her telling him something about it before.]
[A chef, huh? Yeah, she could see herself doing that, too.
She brightens.]
I was, yeah! Well... not really the martial arts that most people know, but I was teaching the elders in the village proper stretches and helping them stay in shape. Honestly, thought about picking up something like that here, too... for a while.
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...Bit strange hearing that.
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[Is he really not used to getting compliments?]
How is it strange? It's all true.
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[Definitely not for the past for most of his life. There's a bit of a wry, rueful smile as he briefly thinks about what his comrades would think if they heard it.]
I was always considered the opposite.
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[Though, that is a little surprising that people wouldn't think him so.]
Have people never seen you with Valo?
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[A light but fond smile.]
I only had him for a few months before arriving into this world, and no one knew I liked dogs or other animals until a couple of years before that.
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I'm honestly a little surprised to hear that no one even knew. Your face lights up every time you see one.
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[Her hand gives his a squeeze before she goes back to eating.]
Still think you're underselling yourself, but... I know I'm right. And that anything to do with animals suits you well. Better than me, anyway. It's a lot of work, and I've only got the one cat, and a chocobo.
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What about you, then?
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Me?
[After her initial surprise of the question being turned around on herβ]
Honestly? I'm... not sure. Back home, I was a tour guide... before my village burned. [She forces her smile wider, not wanting to linger on that thought.] I thought that maybe that's what I would be doing for a long time, but... then I ended up buying out a bar in the slums, and the rest is history. I actually enjoy it, though.
[Even if it was overwhelming at first, and she'd spent all of her savings on it. It was worth it in the end.]
But... [She continues, poking at the food.] I sometimes think it might be fun to try doing something else.
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How did you become a bartender to begin with? Not something I would have imagined you to be.
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[Now she's curious to know what he would have imagined her to do, considering that she's been That Bartender for what feels like forever.]
I wasn't at first. I was working at a steamed bun shop when I got to the city. Had some medical bills to pay off. It was alright, I wasn't making much there, but it was something.
[She takes a piece of lobster and laughs to herself. Funny how this life is such a contrast to the life that she is talking about now.]
When I turned eighteen though, I met the owner of the original Seventh Heaven and he offered me a job. Worked mostly as a waitress there, taking orders and making food, but...
[Her expression goes soft.]
After he died, they were ready to sell the bar. No one wanted to take it, so I did. Used up all those savings for medical bills to buy it instead.
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There were questions there, but he decides it might be better to hold off on those. No, if anything he could guess why and there's a moment his fork stills before he continues.]
So from tour guide to steamed bun seller to bartender... Quite the path.
[A wry smile.]
You do seem to like cooking and helping people. If not a bartender, then I could easily see you as a chef. But you were also teaching martial arts, weren't you?
[He remembers her telling him something about it before.]
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She brightens.]
I was, yeah! Well... not really the martial arts that most people know, but I was teaching the elders in the village proper stretches and helping them stay in shape. Honestly, thought about picking up something like that here, too... for a while.
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[He looks at her curiously.]
Is that the "something else" you were thinking about earlier? Or different?
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[She shrugs.]
Teaching martial arts in all its forms. Meditation, stretches, and fighting. Maybe on the ship, like a traveling school!
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[And then she got a boyfriendβ]
Plus, I don't even know if the rest of the crew would want in on something like that. It would've been asking for a lot.
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Why does it matter if they do or not? Because of the ship and the bar?
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[And the last thing that Tifa wants to do is impose, or drag people into something they do not want to do!
But she shakes off that thought.]
... Think that's what I would have done if it weren't for the bar, honestly. Both here and back home.
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I see. And it would be a bit difficult to run a ship on your own, even if it was smaller. You'd still need a decent crew to help man it.
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[She nods, taking a bite of lobster.]
I'd need the same thing for me. I know how to run a ship now, and even steer one, but can't do that while managing everything else.
[Well, she probably could and would if she had to, but...]
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You're right, you can't handle everything on your own.
[And this is speaking to practical matters, not capability.]
I still think you should be able to do something similar. Perhaps not a traveling ship, but have people come to you.
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[She cants her head at him.]
You still really think I should do this, huh?
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[A small half shrug.]
If it's something you always wanted to do and try... And if it would make you happier, why not?
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