Author's note: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. This is for the 30 Kisses challenge using list lambda. Theme 27: Under the Moon.

Time After Time

Tonight was dinner, take eight. Elena was hoping they'd actually get halfway through the meal this time, but really, she didn't expect to be that lucky. Both she and Tseng seemed to have absolutely no luck at all when it came to any attempts for non-work related get togethers. The two of them had been attempting to have that dinner together for about a year now. The original plan (they had discussed it at the hospital after Meteor had been stopped) was for the two of them to go out for dinner and dancing. Needless to say, they hadn't actually met much success with that.

So tonight, Elena hadn't bothered to dress up. In fact, both of them were still in their work clothes. They'd gone directly from work to the restaurant the moment they had gotten off duty. So they might not look like a couple out on a date, but at least this time, nothing had interrupted them so far and they had actually managed to get to the main course. That was a record for the two of them.

Taking a bite of the steak she'd ordered, Elena smiled. Tseng arched an eyebrow at her.

"How is it?"

She giggled. "I'm not saying. It will jinx the date."

"Saying how your dinner tastes will jinx the date?"

His PHP rang.

"See?"

Tseng sighed but pulled the device out. "This is Tseng."

Two minutes later, the PHP was back in his pocket and he had risen to his feet and asked the waiter for their bill.

"Shall we?" he asked.

Elena just laughed and collected her jacket. They were both armed and ready for work. Still, at least they had gotten further through the evening this time.

"I'm beginning to think it's a lost cause," Elena sighed as they headed out the door.

He leaned in and kissed her. "Maybe we should just skip the first date and move on to other things?"

She shrugged as they stepped into the night; with the full moon hanging over them, it felt like they should be going home for dessert instead of out to deal with a problem. Still, Elena wasn't to complain. This skipping their dinner date idea had merit.

"I can work with that."