First off this is a fanfic so I highly doubt most people here would want to read this. Yet two said that they did, so I am going to go ahead and post this here for them. This short story is already finished, so this isn't a continuing thing. I'll make a post for each chapter...there are twelve in all. Also I did my best to proofread it, but I am sure there is stuff I've missed...so please forgive any errors.
Eva Kaflin was taking a grumpy old woman's order the first time she saw him. She was trying to smile her sweetest and nod to all of the demands that the woman was making.
"I cannot have have anything that would have been processed with peanuts." the old woman spat at Eva.
"I assure you there are no peanuts in the restuarant ma'am...nor have there ever been. So that's a..." Eva quickly looked down at her order pad. "Glass of water then? Anything else I can get you?" Eva could have sworn that the old woman had ordered more in the five minutes she had been standing next to her booth listening to her gripe.
"Hrmph! The last time I was here the food was awful. The toast was over-buttered and the bacon burnt..." As the old woman carried on with her tirade Eva fought to keep her mind focused. She was about to ask her why she kept coming back if she hated everything so much when a young man entered through the front doors. Eva's breath caught a little in her throat. She had never seen anyone so beautiful in her entire life. It was not only the way he looked, but he seem to have an inner light about him that she had never seen before in the dusty down-trodden people that often visited the little resturant. And yet he seemed incredibly sad. She tucked her pencil behind her ear and headed for him instantly.
"Hey you there...waitress! Did you get my order?! Damn! I don't know why I keep coming back to this place!"
Eva glanced up shyly at the young man and asked, "Would you follow me this way, please?"
"OK." he mumbled softly.
Once he was seated Eva took out her pad again and asked him what he wanted to drink.
"Just tea, please." he answered softly.
"OK, I'll bring that back to you while you look over our menu." Eva said placing a worn menu down on the table.
"I just want tea. Nothing else. Please." the young man told the table.
"OK." Eva said doubtfully as she took the menu back.
Once she got back to the kitchen she got the old woman's ice water and the young man's tea. As an afterthought she added a slice of lemon to the the saucer that the tea was on. He didn't say if he wanted any lemon, but she put it there just in case. She placed the woman's water in front of her and then headed for the man's table.
"Here you go." she said as she sat the saucer on his table. She hoped that he would look up at her so she could get just one glimpse of his beautiful face again, but his head remained down. When he said nothing in return, Eva slowly started for the kitchen.
"Hey! I didn't want any ice in this water! Do you hear me?!"
Eva mumbled an apology to the woman and took her glass to the back. As she brought out a fresh glass sans ice she felt a hand softly touch her arm.
"Excuse me. Could I ask you something, miss?" the young man had turned his face to her at last and Eva gasped. His eyes were the most brilliant blue she had ever seen.
"Sure. Just a moment and I will be with you." she answered him nodding to the waiting woman.
When she got back to the man's booth he nodded at the seat across from him. She carefully sat down and tried not to stare at him...quite a difficult task now that she was so close to him. "I...I don't have long...I'm still on duty." she stammered.
"This won't take long." he replied. "Have you seen anyone...unsual...in this town lately?"
"No, just you...um...I mean, we don't get outsiders too much here. We're kind of out of the way." she blushed furiously as she answered him and wished for a cup of something to take a sip of to hide it.
"You haven't seen three men and a woman travelling together or in pairs in matching black suits then?" he asked again.
"Oh nothing like that at all!" Eva exclaimed. "Such a party would certainly stand out here."
"Yeah, I suppose they would." he said more to himself than her.
"Now if you would excuse me, I really do have to get back to work." Eva said standing up.
"Sure. I won't keep you any longer."
Three hours later it was time for her to close the restuarant. She tried not to glance at the table with the young man at it again, but she was unable to keep her eyes away. Not only because of the way he looked but because of the fact that he hadn't touched his tea and he had kept his head down the entire night. She had come by his table a few times asking if he needed anything at all, but he just kept shaking his head no. Now that she had to close up she came back to his table one last time.
"I'm very sorry sir, but the restuarant is closing now and I'm afraid you can't stay."
"It's OK. I was just on my way out anyway." the man got up from his seat.
Suddenly on a whim Eva blurted out, "Where...where are you staying tonight? The one motel in town isn't very reputable."
"I'm heading out again. I have some people that I am looking for."
"You can't. You haven't eaten anything in at least the past three hours and I have a feeling it's been a lot longer than that. Please come to my house. I'll cook us something good to eat...a lot better than the crap they serve here. I even have a spare bedroom...it's pretty cozy."
"No...I don't think so."
"Please. I insist." Eva wasn't sure why she was insisting except that the thought of this young man walking out of the resturant and leaving her life forever hurt her.
"All right then, but I have leave first thing in the morning. I actually wasn't looking too forward to sleeping on the ground again anyway."
"I understand." Eva replied. She looked at his face to see if she could detect a hint of a smile at that last to see if he was making a joke, but his face remained down. "By the way, I'm Eva Kaflin! I'm pleased to meet you...um...?"
"Cloud...Cloud Strife."