A/N: I live by escaping into my bittersweet alternate realities.
mo chroí- gaelic for "my heart"
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Seifer took another generous swig of whiskey as an old, old memory floated around his dulled senses.
Quistis laughed as she twirled underneath the stars with a smile on her face reserved only for him. He was standing at the forest opening with an unopened bottle of wine and glasses waiting at his feet. With his bare arms crossed over his vest, he nodded to her, greeting her. Quistis chuckled as she stepped into his embrace, not caring that she ditched her own graduation ceremony to spend the night with him instead.
Nuzzling into her neck, Seifer whispered, "Hey there. I thought you'd forgotten… It's so late. Are ya sure you're not gonna be missed? It is your ceremony after all."
Exhaling happily, Quistis responded by laying her head on his shoulder. "Silly. It's for all of the new instructors. They'll barely notice I'm not there." Taking a step back, she reached into her messenger bag. "I saw this while I was in Deling City after my exam… it reminded me of you, so I bought it." Holding out a neatly folded light grey something, she waited for Seifer to take it.
Grabbing the lapels, Seifer shook out the folds and revealed a trench coat with fire-red crosses embroidered on the sleeves. "Quisty.. it's.. just wow. Thank you!" Shrugging the coat on in nonchalant excitement, Seifer whole-heartedly kissed Quistis in eager thanks.
"Something tells me that you like it." Quistis chuckled as she wound her arms around Seifer's neck.
Gazing into her eyes, Seifer moved his arms around her waist and held her close. "I do. Very much so, mo chroí."
Seifer held Quistis close for a moment longer before he surprised her by giving into a wanton desire to dance. Gracefully leading her, he stepped, sidestepped, and twirled with her until their heads spun.
Quistis collapsed playfully into the overgrown grass as Seifer retrieved the wine…
Seifer grunted, trying to will the memories of her to fade as the whiskey burned like fiery worms in his belly.
Seifer grinned, watching Quistis as she tilted her head back to finish the last of the wine from where he was laying. "Careful, that stuff will stain."
Nestling into his side, Quistis lay her head over Seifer's heart and spoke into his stomach. "They're goin' ta send me to Galbadia Garden for my evaluation," feeling the wine, Quistis paused to hiccup, "as an instructor. It's goin' ta be a year long assignment…"
Lazily rubbing circles into her back mindlessly, Seifer interrupted, "A year'll go faster than you think, darlin'…"
Seifer shook his head, stopping the memory. He drank the last of the whiskey and rested the empty bottle against his forehead before collapsing.