I decided to do another one-shot. Though i love writing for Squall and Rinoa, i have noticed there isnt much on other characters.
I know there isnt much proof of Seifer and Quistis pairing, and most of what people, including myself, show is all interpretation. But i'd like to think that once Seifer redeemed himself, he'd get Quistis as his girl. I mean, they're the same age, tallest amongst their friends, blonde and like two sides of a coin.
Hope you enjoy this.
Post-game.
No Mercy
It was coming onto half ten at the night when Seifer dusted his hands against the material of his SeeD cadet uniform. Here he was again, back in Balamb Garden four months after the downfall of Ultimecia and his 'romantic' dreams.
He wasn't resentful or the least bit upset at that. He was happy to see Garden peacefully flying by over the docks at Obel Lake. It had meant that Squall had won, well they all had. And he was happy that they did. Yes, his childhood dreams were burnt to the ground in ashes, but after Fujin's speech bore into his heart, he knew that his sugar-coated dreams were merely some poor soul's nightmare.
It was about three weeks after his fishing trip with the Posse that Raijin had mentioned that they were heading back.
"You should come with us, be like old times, ya know." He had said.
"PLEASE." Fujin had begged.
Of course he had said no. He didn't think Garden would be so welcoming to take him back. In fact he was surprised that they hadn't dispatched a group of SeeDs to bring him back, dead or alive.
But three months later, and heavily missing his buddies, he had willingly returned asking to speak to the new Commander.
They had all turned up when they heard who was here to see him. They didn't trust him, they thought he was back with more trouble. He wasn't capable of team work.
But Squall knew the truth. Seifer, when he wasn't an "arrogant, obnoxious, annoying, irresponsible, selfish, cowardly, brash, aggressive, dumbass, he is actually a pretty good SeeD." The lone wolf's exact words.
They had been sceptical at first, he had fought against them on four occasions, nearly defeated them the first time. But Squall and Rinoa had other ideas. They wanted him to redeem himself, they wanted him to help SeeD. He didn't need to attend classes, he didn't need to take the exam, he didn't even need to train new cadets.
But the cunning couplet had left out one dire condition… well only after he had accepted their offer.
"You're to help Quistis chronologically order all the completed SeeD missions so they can be archived." Rinoa had said.
"Well, how long is that going to take?" He had asked frowning at the two smirking teens.
"Shouldn't take that long, if you work fast." Squall had casually slipped out.
"How many missions?" He asked wanting more information.
"Well, about ten…" Rinoa said slowly causing Seifer to look curiously. "Thousand." She added.
"What the? No way!"
"Too late Seifer, you already agreed." Quistis spoke up.
So here he was, a week into his punishment and cursing his stupidity for returning.
Quistis was at one shelf to the other side of the basement. Since Norg had left, they had turned the basement into the archive room to store all the legal and financial archived documents. It was nicely refurbished. Shelves lined in rows at both ends of the room, some couches in the middle. A few cabinets to one side of the wall, and some expensive looking glass wall lamps adjusted to make the room much more cosy.
Seifer looked over at Quistis as she made her way over to one of the couches, she kicked her heels off and put her feet on the coffee table in front of her. Unclipping her hair she let it loose and shook her head letting her curly blonde hair down, resting neatly on her shoulders. She even took off the black rimmed glasses and set it aside.
Leaning back on the couch she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was like a ritual she did, he had noticed her do it every night that week. She took a nap here while archiving, it explained how she was so active from only five hours of sleep she always claimed. The sneaky little mouse takes naps down here. It also explained why these files hadn't been archived faster.
He had watched Quistis every night that week have her little naps, rejuvenate herself and then get back to work.
But this night he thought he'd have some fun.
Walking over to her, he strode over to the back of the couch until he was directly behind her. Leaning in, he bent his head just directly over her's and blew softly into her face.
Quistis immediately opened her eyes and jumped up from the close proximity of his face.
"What are you doing?" She asked grabbing her glasses and fixing her hair.
"Falling asleep on the job, instructor?" He mocked, resting his arms against the back of the couch.
"I was just taking a power nap." She excused herself. "And I'm not your instructor so you can stop calling me that now."
"What would you like me to call you?" He whispered behind her.
She eyed him curiously from the corner of her eyes. The closer he was to her, the more nervous he was making her.
"You're a SeeD like me, so just call me by my name, Quistis." She plainly replied.
"Like you, huh?" He asked, an idea springing to his mind. "Guess that makes us equal."
"I guess." She muttered, wondering when he was going to move away from behind her.
"So, what other benefits are there of being equal to you, Quistis?" He said, emphasising her name and letting the S's roll around on his tongue.
Something about the way he said her name made her shiver uncomfortably. In fact being in the basement all week with Seifer had made her feel uncomfortable.
It wasn't because of his previous intentions to kill them all, it wasn't because he had stared at her in venom when he found out he had to work with her, it wasn't even the fact that he had completely blanked her when she saw him for the first time after the incident.
It was the way she caught him staring at her all week down here in the basement. It was the way he'd move around her stealthily, popping up where she least expected it. It was the way he said her name, mimicking that of a snake's sound. He was poison, and she felt like she was slowly being sucked into it.
"What do you mean?" She asked, laughing lightly in awkwardness.
"What other benefits do I have over you?" He asked, trailing a finger against the exposed flesh of her arm.
Immediately it gave her goose bumps. She held onto the arm where he had just touched her, but she knew he was onto how he was making her feel. She saw him smirk at her, his emerald green eyes twinkling in excitement.
"You have the same benefits as everyone else." She tried to sound stern.
"Really? I don't have any special benefits that not even Puberty boy or Chicken-wuss has?"
She breathed deep. She couldn't understand what he was getting at or why he was acting this way. There wasn't any form of alcoholic smell coming off his body or breath. She would have smelt it if he had smoked anything. He was just acting odd all of a sudden.
"What-"
"I quite like calling you Quistis." He interrupted.
She turned around to look at him properly, his face was very close to hers now.
"What do you want, Seifer?" She bravely asked, though her heart was pounding from his intimacy.
It was strange that he was having such an effect on her. Before Squall had made SeeD, Seifer had driven her crazy, on many occasions she had looked down on him, sworn that he would never make SeeD or anything remotely successful.
But here he was, the courageous, defiant, newly made SeeD, standing in front of her, equal to her, for once. And he was making her weak in the stomach, dry on the tongue and thoughtless in her mind.
"I want…" He slowly started, "…a… kiss." He smirked.
"What?" She asked astonished. "If this is a joke, it's very unprof-"
"You know what I've always noticed about you, Quistis." He emphasised again. "Every time I sat in that class of yours, every time you chaperoned us on our missions, every time you spoke to any of us, I always noticed your soft pouting red lips."
He moved his index finger over the bottom of her lip, following the curve all the way round, bringing his finger back to the middle and flicking his finger off.
She was speechless. She didn't know whether this was a joke or if he was simply being the arrogant Seifer he was before the whole Ultimecia shenanigan. But something in his voice was very certain and very serious.
He moved closer to her face, she was too scared to move back, too scared to make any sudden movements.
"Remember when we played kiss chase as kids?" He whispered looking into her eyes longingly.
"No." She replied, not having the faintest memory.
Within an instant she saw the flickering of his eyes, the hurt and surprise at her not remembering. But it was only for a mere second, before he looked at her again with certainty.
"We did. I remember, all the other kids were younger than us by that time. Most of the older kids were already sent to the White SeeDs or were adopted." He said reminiscing on their childhood. "We were nine at the time, and you said it wasn't fair to play. You didn't want to kiss anyone younger than us, yet you didn't want to kiss Cowboy either."
"His name is Irvine." She whispered irrelevantly.
"Whatever." He automatically replied as if knowing what she was going to say.
He continued to speak all the while holding her gaze.
"I said your challenge was to chase and kiss me," he bent closer to her, now nearly touching her nose, "you were quite fast, weren't you?" He teased.
She lowered her eyes down to his lips, the GFs sure did make her forget that memory, but the snake in front of her was bringing it all back.
She remembered that day, it was a sunny day and they were playing in the garden. They had just finished a picnic of cheese and pickle sandwiches, crisps and strawberries. They wanted to play a game. The idea was Zell's who just wanted an excuse to kiss some pigtailed brown-haired girl. She had complained about being the eldest and not wanting to kiss boys who were younger than her. Seifer had challenged her and she accepted. She was fast, and caught him quickly, a little too quickly. She remembered getting on her toes as Seifer was quite tall even then. She had planted a soft kiss on his lips. Yet even now sitting on the brown leather couch, she could still taste the tanginess of the strawberries she had tasted on his lips.
She didn't know what she was doing, all she knew was that on instant her head was moving forward, nearer to Seifer's lips in hope of tasting those strawberries again.
Somehow, his expecting fingers made a barrier before their lips met and she looked questioningly into his eyes.
"No Mercy." He stated.
She didn't move her head, she just kept looking at him questioningly.
"I fight with no mercy. When I attack, I attack without mercy. The life that is in front of me, I take as if I was it's keeper. The battles I face, I go into without a thought of coming back. I show no mercy." He said.
Quistis just sat there with his finger in between their lips.
"I love similar to how I fight. I'll take your sweet kisses, the softness of your delicate skin, each breath you shudder through those soft lips, every thirsty look you glance towards me, and every passing thought on your mind. I take as I will and show no mercy." He whispered.
She was processing everything he had said, she was still speechless. She questioned again whether he was toying with her, but one look into his serious green eyes told her otherwise.
"Think carefully, Quistis." He softly spoke, only this time pronouncing her name casually. "There is no mercy once you pass this barrier."
She stared into his eyes, meeting him with the same certainty he was fronting. His eyes were hungry for her, and she knew her heart was just as hungry for him. His lips were only a finger width away, temptingly inviting her in.
Bravely, she moved her own finger up and curled it around his, moving it away. Closing her eyes, she moved toward him and lingered just before his lips.
He smiled at her. She was brave, she took a risk; not at all bothered by his warning.
He wanted the taste of those strawberries he had tasted nine years ago.
Her lips were less than a centimetre away, but it felt like hours just getting there. The roughness of his lips rubbed against the softness of hers, and he soon found her hand making it's way to the back of his head.
They didn't taste strawberries. This time in the quite solitude of the basement, in their own small world, they tasted only each other.