Notes: I can't guarantee I'll finish this before the deadline but I'll try. Not my best work, and I haven't had much time to give it a good edit (will retcon later i guess) but this is a pairing I've wanted to write for a very long time and never did.
It's 100% grade C for crack.
20:04 PM
Balamb Hotel
Seifer swirled the ice in his drink and shot a glance at the man beside him, who hadn't said more than two words since he'd arrived. He knew why he was here, but he preferred to get on with the particulars so he could enjoy the evening in peace. Squall Leonhart was definitely not his first choice of drinking partners, and this was business.
Squall wouldn't look at him and sat slumped over his own drink with his eyes fixed on the mirror behind the bar, watching the waitress move about the empty room fixing napkins and vases for patrons that weren't there. Every now and then, Squall thumbed the envelope in front of him and grunted.
Two drinks to Squall's one later, Seifer pressed a finger to the edge of the envelope and tugged it. Squall slapped his hand down and turned a frosty glare Seifer's way.
"You gonna give up the goods or do you plan to grunt at me all night?"
Squall didn't relinquish the envelope.
"I need your word you're not going to screw this up," Squall said.
"Your dad sent me. What do you think?"
"My father might trust you," Squall said. "I don't."
"You don't have to trust me," Seifer said and knocked back the rest of his drink. "I'm in the contract, whether you like it or not."
Squall flicked the edge of the envelope and grunted again. Seifer signaled for another round and crossed his arms over his chest.
"It's not personal, Leonhart," Seifer said.
Squall's eyebrows lifted and he smirked.
"Ironic, coming from you."
"You worried your daddy likes me better than he likes you?" Seifer quipped.
"Better you than me," Squall said. Seifer couldn't tell if Squall meant that or not. "You understand that failure isn't an option. The contents are priceless and we can't afford to lose them."
"Sure, got it," Seifer said. He turned his attention to the bartender, who was busy watching the game and not making a fresh drink. "Hey, barkeep. Am I gonna have to go back there and make it myself or what?"
"Hold your damn chocobos," the bartender said. "There's thirty seconds left!"
Seifer was about thirty seconds from climbing over the bar and helping himself, but he didn't fancy going back to prison over a drink.
"I'm timing you."
"How about not making a scene." Squall said through clenched teeth. "I need you to take this seriously."
"Totally serious," Seifer said. "He's got about 15 seconds left. Then everything behind that bar is fair game."
Squall pinched the bridge of his nose and slid the envelope toward him.
"This contains the combination to the box," Squall said. "Under no circumstances are you to give it to anyone."
Seifer stuck the envelope in the pocket of his peacoat without opening it.
"Under no circumstances are you to open the box," Squall said. "I can't stress that enough."
"What the hell is it?"
"Can't tell you that."
"Oh come on. You can't give me the combination to a mystery box and not tell me what's in it."
Squall just stared at him, unblinking.
"All I can tell you is that it's important to my father that it get delivered to the Shumi."
"So its full of nuts and berries"
"It's none of your – "
"Business. Yeah, got it," Seifer said. "Who're you sending with me?"
"Tilmitt."
Seifer forgot about the drink the bartender still wasn't making and narrowed his eyes. Tilmitt. The only other person who could have been a worse choice was Dincht.
"I thought we were trying to avoid an international incident," Seifer said. "You searched her stuff for bombs before she left, right?"
Squall made a funny choking sound. Almost like he was trying not to laugh.
"You know she'll probably try to murder me in my sleep."
"Are you worried?" Squall asked with a cool, level stare.
"Hell no," Seifer said. "I could bench press two of her."
The bartender was still ignoring him. He reached over the bar and grabbed the neck of a bottle left unattended and upended it into his glass.
Squall stared at him for a second, like he was debating whether or not to say anything, then tossed a handful of Gil on the counter.
"You're out on the first train tomorrow morning. Don't be late."
Seifer extended his middle finger and saluted.
"Don't screw this up, Seifer."
Seifer flicked his fingers against the side of his empty glass and grinned.
"It ain't me you gotta worry about."
3:03 AM
Balamb Train Station
Selphie gritted her teeth and paced up and down the steps of the train station entrance, her fist balled around the envelope containing the details of her mission and her arms wrapped tight around an ornate wooden box set with slivers of mother of pearl and brass. They'd offered to check it for her, but no way was she letting it out of her sight. Whatever was in it, it was priceless.
And that priceless thing had been entrusted to her. No way was she going to entrust it to someone who might accidentally lose or damage it.
It was a pretty box, but it reminded her of the kind of thing people put the ashes of their loved ones or pets inside. She didn't think they would ask a highly ranked SeeD and a mercenary to transport someone's ashes all the way to Trabia, but who knew with the Shumi?
She gave the box a shake. Something inside emitted a musical hum, like a couple of dissonant tuning forks. Sort of calming and pleasant. She shook it again and pictured some sort of rare instrument she wouldn't have a name for if she saw it in person.
It was now 3:10 AM and Almasy still hadn't showed up. He was now 22 minutes late.
Selphie could understand running five or maybe even fifteen minutes behind schedule. She wasn't exactly timely herself, but when it came to other people, she expected them to show up when they were supposed to.
It didn't bode well for the mission ahead of her. She could handle going solo if she had to. In this case, it was preferred. She could not be held accountable for her actions if the big dumb idiot crossed her. As it was, he deserved to be tied to a phone pole while she fired rounds from a grenade launcher at his pretty face.
The speakers inside the train station announced it was time to board. Selphie took one last glance at the dark, deserted street, and picked up her bag.
Fine. Solo it was. She didn't need Seifer Almasy's help anyway, and she wasn't going to let his tardiness spoil her more or less exemplary record.
The platform inside was deserted, except for the bored attendant awaiting passengers.
"Good morning!" she chirped and handed over her ticket. "How are you today?"
"Could use a good strong cup of coffee," the attendant said.
Selphie slipped him enough change to buy a cup from the vending machine across the way. He looked at it like she'd given him a fist full of packing peanuts.
"Thanks, miss," he said, "but I can't accept tips."
"It's not a tip," Selphie said. "It's just one person buying another person a coffee. That should be okay, right?"
"I'm sorry, but – "
Selphie rolled her eyes. Sometimes, rules were stupid. Like this one. This poor guy had to stand here all alone in a deserted train station, probably bored out of his mind, all night long.
"What if I get it for you?" she asked. "Is that allowed?"
She didn't wait for his answer. She turned around and stalked over to the vending machine, selected a mocha, and shifted the box from one hip to the other while the machine whirred to life.
"This is the final boarding call for express service to Timber."
The cup dropped onto the platform. Hot, black coffee and a powdery substance spilled into it. Selphie breathed it in and wished she'd thought of getting a cup for herself while waiting for Seifer to show up.
"Final boarding call for express service to Timber."
The coffee was done dispensing, but the little door wasn't opening. Selphie glanced back at the train, then wiggled the plastic handle. It didn't budge.
"What the heck is wrong with this thing?"
There came a hiss from behind her and she turned around in time to see all the doors closing.
"No!" she cried. "I have to be on that train!"
"Sorry miss," the attendant said. "We have a schedule to keep."
"The train is RIGHT THERE!" she cried. "I still have time to get on! Just open the doors!"
The attendant said something Selphie didn't hear over the rumble of the train's engine. The wheels started to move. The train was leaving.
"Make it stop!" she cried. "I can't miss it!"
"I'm sorry, but I can't open the doors."
The coffee machine dinged. Selphie whipped around and stared at the open door and the steaming mocha on the platform.
"That's what I get for trying to be nice?" she snapped. "Hope you enjoy the coffee!"
She stormed away from the attendant and the empty platform, snatched the coffee from the machine and turned around.
"On second thought, I need this more than you do."
3:33 AM
Balamb Hotel
Seifer woke to a shrill ringing and smacked his hand against the nightstand in search of the alarm. His palm hit bare wood and his fingers grasped the base of a lamp and finally came to rest on a telephone.
Which was ringing.
Irritated, he sat up and snatched the phone off its cradle and lifted it to his ear.
"What?"
"Hello sir, this is your wake-up call."
"I didn't ask for a wake-up call," he said. "The hell're you botherin' me for?"
"It was requested by Commander Leonhart, sir. We've been trying to reach you for over an hour. Is everything all right?"
Seifer twisted around and peered at the alarm clock on the other nightstand. The time read 3:34 AM.
"Shit," he muttered. "Yeah. Fine."
He hung up the phone and rubbed his eyes, still somewhat intoxicated from the drinks he'd had at the bar after Squall left. Beyond the balcony, the train whistled.
From the pocket of his peacoat, he dug out his train ticket and cursed again. There was a better than average chance that was his train pulling out of the station.
In a huff, he threw on yesterday's clothes and tossed everything else into his bag. If he ran for it, he might still make it.
Once outside, he knew for sure he'd missed it. In the distance, he could hear the wheels against the rails and the steady whistle fading into the distance.
Dammit.
He didn't promise he'd be on time. He even doubted Laguna would be seriously pissed he'd missed the train either. It wasn't like the man was a model of punctuality himself. Since Seifer had begun picking up contracts for Esthar, he'd witnessed Laguna's tendency to get lost inside the Palace a few times already.
The guy was a soft touch, that was for sure. How freakin' ironic that the only person in the entire world besides Raijin and Fujin to see potential where others saw a total loss was Laguna Loire.
He had every right to want Seifer dead.
Instead, he'd inserted himself into Seifer's life like some wannabe father-figure and took him on as a contractor.
Mostly, he did the things Loire or Esthar's military couldn't be a part of, but every now and then Seifer was entrusted with other easier jobs like this one.
Somehow, Seifer had messed that up.
Maybe it was being back in Balamb, after a four year absence. After all, the last time he set foot in this place, he might have roughed up a few citizens and barged into their homes. He wasn't exactly welcome here.
Or maybe he was just destined to shoot himself in the foot over and over again until everyone he knew gave up on him.
As he approached the train station, Tilmitt came storming down the steps like she was about to commit murder. A box was tucked under one arm and she held a wadded up piece of paper and a cup of coffee in the other. Her bag bounced against her side.
"Where in the H-E double-hockey-sticks have you been?!" she screeched. "I missed the train because of you!"
Seifer adopted a deliberate casual posture and tucked his thumb beneath the strap of his bag.
"I didn't force you to not get on it."
"We were supposed to go together, you idiot!" she shouted. "Now we're going to be late!"
"I wouldn't have waited for you, Tilmitt," Seifer said. "Not my fault you're too nice for your own good."
Selphie's nostrils flared and her eyes narrowed. Seifer unconsciously took a step back. He didn't know her well, but he knew enough about her to back down when she looked like that.
"What are we supposed to do now?" she demanded. "The next train doesn't leave until 6:30."
"What kind of Rank A SeeD can't figure out train schedules?" Seifer asked. "We take the 6:30. Obviously."
"Which will put us in Timber two hours after our charter leaves."
Seifer swayed and wiped a hand down his face. He couldn't handle her screeching and he either needed food or another drink. Preferably both.
"I'm starving," Seifer said. "Why don't we go back to my room, get some breakfast, and figure this out?"
"Oh, right," Selphie said. "Back to your room. For breakfast."
She actually put air quotes around the word breakfast. Seifer snorted and lifted his chin.
"Trust me," Seifer said. "You're not my type."
She kind of was. Small. Brunette. Crazy.
But he wasn't going to mention that.
"And you think you're mine?"
Seifer flexed a bicep, kissed it, and flashed a cocky smile.
"Who doesn't love a pretty face?"
"Keep it up and your face won't be pretty for long."
Seifer sighed. It was way too early for this crap, and frankly, he didn't have the energy or will to debate the state of things with a crazy person. It was too much like arguing with himself.
He turned around and headed back toward the hotel. If he was lucky, they'd be happy to send up some room service. Loire was paying, after all.
Seifer was actually walking away from her! The nerve! After being late, mouthing off, and insinuating that she found him the least bit attractive, he was just going to sashay away like it was no big deal.
"Where are you going?!" she shrieked.
"I'm getting breakfast," he called over his shoulder. "You can come, or not, don't give a shit either way."
Selphie hesitated. She had a feeling she should just stick around the train station until the next arrived, but he had the combination to the box, so there was no point in her going by herself. Now, if she could get a hold of that combination, she wouldn't even need him.
She dashed down the sidewalk after him, her short legs carrying her over the cobblestones like greased lightning.
"Fine," she said. "I'll have breakfast. But not because I want to or anything."
"I'm not gonna force you to eat."
"Well, I'm not letting you miss the next train."
He shrugged and picked up the pace. Selphie struggled to keep up with his long strides and settled on a slow jog so she wouldn't fall behind.
At the desk inside the hotel, Seifer turned on a kind of charm Selphie had never seen from him before. He smiled boyishly at the clerk, all teeth, and leaned toward her like he was about to share a juicy bit of gossip.
"Would you mind asking the kitchen to send breakfast up for myself and my business partner?" he asked. "I don't want to be any trouble, but we need to get an early start."
Man, that smile. He actually looked like a human being. Not at all like a guy who had ever fired missiles at a bunch of kids or decided to go all megalomaniacal on the entire world.
Selphie decided she hated that smile. The clerk might have bought his oily charm, but all Selphie saw was his ugly, rotten soul.
"You have really nice eyes," he said.
The clerk giggled. Selphie thought she might actually throw up. If she did, she'd make sure to aim for his back.
"I suppose I can get someone to whip something up for you..." the clerk said. "What did you have in mind?"
"Strawberry waffles and chocolate milk for my friend," he said. "I'd like the special, if it's not too much trouble."
"Sausage or bacon?"
"Both would be great."
"Coffee?"
"Please," he said. "And also a double vodka on the rocks, if you don't mind."
"House or Mimmet?"
He flashed an even bigger smile.
"I only drink the good stuff."
"Seifer, I don't think you should be drinking on the job," Selphie said through clenched teeth.
"Make her chocolate milk a Trabian," Seifer said. "She could definitely use something to help her relax."
"It'll be right up," the clerk said. "Should I put it on President Loire's tab?"
"Absolutely," Seifer said. "Thanks a million, sweetie."
And then he winked. Selphie couldn't stop herself from retching out loud.
"Seriously?" she asked.
Seifer grabbed her arm and half dragged her to the stairs. He'd dropped the heart-throb smile and replaced it with a familiar scowl.
"That was so gross!" Selphie stage-whispered. "How do you sleep at night?"
"Pretty well, actually," he said. "How about you, Tilmitt? Bet your nights are full of nice, happy dreams about rainbows and unicorns or some shit."
They weren't. She still had nightmares from time to time, about walking through the ruins of Trabia Garden while everything was still on fire. Zell and Irvine said they had dreams about Time Compression, but for Selphie, that was nothing compared to losing friends or seeing her home reduced to rubble.
"Well, I guess you just know everything, don't you?" she said.
"What the hell does that mean?"
Selphie shut her mouth, before she started screaming at him in the middle of the hall. Four years was not long enough to get over it, and she'd hoped when Squall assigned her as his escort that he might have learned some humility, but he was the same obnoxious jerk he'd been the day she'd met him. Remorse wasn't in his vocabulary.
If he couldn't be professional, it fell on her shoulders to be the grown-up, responsible adult in this situation.
"Let's just focus on our mission, alright?" she said stiffly. "And try to keep personal feelings out of it."
"Nothing's personal unless you make it personal, Tilmitt," he said. "Hard lesson to learn, but it's the truth."
Something about his tone was off, but Selphie couldn't pinpoint what it was. She watched him from the corner of her eye, curious about what had caused him to draw that conclusion. After all, some things were personal, and no amount of pretending it wasn't could change it.
"Life is 30% random acts of bullshit and 70% how you react to it," he said. "Learn it. Love it. Live it."
"Is that how you justify what you did?" she demanded. "By saying it's beyond your control?"
"Nearly everything that happens to us is beyond our control," he said. He swiped his keycard. The green light went from red to green. "No sense in dwelling on things you can't change."
He opened the door, dropped his bag on the floor, and tossed his coat over a chair.
"You can put your stuff wherever. I'm gonna take a leak."
Selphie held on to the box but dropped her bag beside his and took a look around. It was a private room, decorated like the others in that same over-the-top ocean motif and lots of gold trim. There was only one bed, but there was also a plush couch and a small dining table with flowers in a vase.
Seifer stepped into the bathroom but left the door open. Appalled, Selphie turned around and stared at the wallpaper with the box clutched tight to her chest. Whether he did it on purpose or he just wasn't used to having others around, Selphie didn't know, but it was a little shocking.
So shocking, she almost forgot her new, self-assigned mission.
She needed that combination.
With a quick glance back at the slightly open bathroom door, she dropped to the floor and unzipped his bag to feel along the edges for an envelope or a pocket in which said envelope might be hiding. She found nothing but mismatched socks and dirty clothes, a bunch of curatives, a thick book, and a pocket knife.
She moved onto his coat. The front pockets were empty except for a battered pack of gum that had probably been there for months. Seifer didn't strike her as a gum-chewer.
Maybe he had the combination on his person, in which case that would be a problem. Maybe if she hugged him or something, she could filch it out of his back pocket.
She winced at that thought. Hugging Seifer was like asking to be stabbed. She'd probably want to gouge her own eyes out anyway.
Then again, maybe the guy really just needed a hug. Wasn't that what angry people all wanted? Selphie couldn't say for sure, but it sure worked for Zell. Every time he got worked up about something, all it took to bring him out of his fit was a good, firm hug.
A quick pat-down of the coat rendered the question of whether or not to hug Seifer moot. The envelope was there, inside a hidden pocket in the breast of the coat. She snatched it and stuffed it down the front of her dress.
"Booyaka!" she whispered. "See ya, wouldn't want to be ya."
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Tilmitt?" Seifer asked.
"Uhhh," she said. "I like your coat?"
Seifer crossed his arms over his chest and smirked.
"You wanna know what's in the box, don't you?"
That hadn't really occurred to her. She was super curious, but she never once thought about opening it before she arrived in the Shumi Village.
"No!" she said. "We're not supposed to open it."
"So?" Seifer asked. "No one will know."
"I'll know!" she cried. "Squall specifically said not to open it."
"You're not curious?" Seifer asked.
Selphie put a hand on her hip and glared.
"You want to steal whatever's in there," she accused.
"Loire pays me well enough that I don't need to steal anything," Seifer said. "I just think we have a right to know what's in there if we're taking it all the way to Trabia. Don't you? Whatever's in there might be dangerous."
He had a point. Sort of.
"Listen," he said. "We'll just open it, see what's inside, and then lock it back up. What do you say?"
"I don't know..."
"Come on. Live a little."
Selphie held the box tighter.
"Fine," Seifer said. "Suit yourself. But I'm going to need that envelope back."
"What envelope?"
"The one you're keeping warm in your bra."
Crap.
She fished it out, but didn't let it go.
Would it hurt anything to open the box, just for a minute? The curiosity was getting to her. Now that he mentioned it, what if there was something terrible inside? Something meant to hurt the Shumi instead of something valuable?
"Okay," she said and set the box on the bed. "We'll take a look."
Seifer's smile was slow and playful, to cover his surprise.
"Do the honors," he said. "Since you're a thieving little thief."
"I am not!"
"The envelope in your hand says otherwise, but you tell yourself whatever you need to keep believing you're a good person."
Selphie scowled, but tore the envelope open with her fingernail and withdrew the sheet of paper. A series of numbers was typed on the page. Nothing else. She punched them into the tiny electric keypad hidden between the hinges in the back.
At first, nothing happened. Then, there was a soft click as the latch released.
Seifer dropped down on the bed beside her, sitting so close his shoulder touched hers and watched as Selphie slowly opened the lid.
Underwhelming was the understatement of the century.
"You gotta be kiddin' me," Seifer said.
Inside the box were four rocks. They didn't look like anything special. Just four plain boring gray rocks, each roughly the size of an egg.
"Maybe they do something," Selphie said.
Seifer picked one up and held it in his palm. Nothing happened. Selphie pushed the remaining three around and chewed her lip. They'd made noise, hadn't they? That funny musical sound.
"They're just rocks," Seifer said and tossed his back in with the others. "This has to be the stupidest mission I've ever been on. Who the hell pays that much cash to deliver rocks to someone?"
"There's got to be more to it," Selphie said, genuinely puzzled. "It's the Shumi, so maybe there's something special about these."
"Yeah, well, the Shumi also think their empty hands are a gift, so whatever."
He got up and kicked off his boots.
"Lock that thing back up," he said. "I'll see if the front desk has plain envelopes."
Selphie ran her fingertips over the rocks one by one. Counted them and turned them over, then picked all four of them up at once.
The strangest sensation came over her, starting in her fingertips and quickly spreading into her arm and torso and down both legs and filled her head with that musical sound she'd heard before. She felt light and fuzzy and warm. The way she imagined taking a bath in potions would feel.
"Tilmitt? You okay?"
Seifer sounded far away. His face looked weird. Unburdened and unlined. Younger somehow.
"I... feel really good," she said. "It's a weird good. But it's... weird."
Seifer was staring at his hands. He turned them over and over again like he'd never seen them before.
"There's something wrong with those rocks," Seifer said. "I swear they're talking to me."
"Maybe they're communicating with the ones inside your skull," Selphie said. She giggled and picked one of the rocks out of the box. "Hey! It's Cousin Bill! Long time no see, dude! How's the cranium treating you?"
Seifer stared at her for a second before he broke into a huge, real smile.
"You're an idiot, Tilmitt."
"Takes one to know one," she said.
She put the rock down. A really strange feeling was building inside her chest. Like she could do anything. Fly if she wanted to. Anything at all. She was invincible. Nothing could stop her.
"Hey Tilmitt," Seifer said, still grinning. "I have the craziest idea."
"Oooh, do tell," she said, game for anything.
He leaned toward her, his smarmy smile oh-so charming and hard to resist. He was awfully pretty. Up close, she noticed a dusting of freckles on his cheeks and flecks of green in his cyan eyes.
"You know how to hot wire a car?"
"I'm a SeeD. What do you think?"
"Then get your ass in gear," he said. "We're going for a ride."