Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII, story and characters belong to Square-Enix. I only borrow them.
N/A: first things first. A huge 'thank you' to sissyHIYAH, who checked the translation of this fic. You rock, my dear!
Thunder in their Hearts
The Secret Area is plunged into darkness at that nightly hour, not even the distant glow of Garden manages to light it up. The voice scares her.
"It's too late to be out of your bed, don't you think, Trepe?"
"Seifer! What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing. But I'd have more rights than you."
Quistis frowns. She almost can hear him smile that unpleasant smile of his.
"You can't do a thing to me for coming here. The Training Center..."
"Relax. I'm not on duty tonight. I just want to know what you're doing here."
A short silence. Her eyes have already got used to the darkness, she can see the familiar figure leaning on the railing.
"I couldn't sleep"
"That makes two of us" he murmurs.
A longer silence. The song of a cricket. The flap of wings in the nocturnal sky. Quistis hesitates.
"You can come here. I don't bite."
"That's not what I recall."
"Oh, come on, Trepe, as if you were defenseless. But if it calms you down, I promise I'm not going to touch you. Unless you want me to, of course."
Quistis releases an irritated snort, answered by a short laugh. Silence. Then the sound of steps on the graveled floor. Quistis leans on the railing, at a safe distance from Seifer. She deliberately avoids looking at him.
The main building of Garden sleeps, its pale blue shine silhouetted against the dark sky. They hear the song of another cricket, this time closer.
"Big day tomorrow, huh?"
"Hmm."
"Are you afraid?"
"No. I'm just nervous."
"Yeah, me too."
Silence. Both know they are lying, to themselves and to each other.
Quistis feels the doubt inside, the uncertainty. Finally she speaks, barely a whisper.
"Seifer... do you think we will pass?"
"Of course we will, Trepe. We're the best, remember?"
He is smiling and she cannot help but smile too.
"The best? We? I thought you were the best. At least that's what you haven't stopped repeating for the last five years."
"Because I am."
"Our academic files don't say the same. Rather, they say that I am the best and you are the second best."
"Nonsense. All part of my plan."
A surprised silence. Two pair of eyes that cross in the night, one skeptical, the other proud. Nothing around them, and even if so, they wouldn't pay attention to it.
"Excuse me?"
"Come on, Trepe, don't tell me it's not obvious."
"I don't know what are you talking about."
A condescending sigh.
"You are competitive by nature, like me. By pushing you I got to give the best of me, and that'd make you to continue working hard to be the best, then I'd respond trying to exceed you. A vicious competitive circle."
"You're... that's why you have made my life hell all this time? I've been the carrot in front of your nose?"
"Shit, Trepe, aren't you touchy? Instead of getting mad you should be thanking me."
Skepticism.
"Thanking you?"
Arrogance.
"Of course. You're as ambitious as me too. Don't. Don't shake your head like that. It's the truth. You wanted as much as I did to make history at Garden and thanks to my plan we have succeeded. The two of us are going to graduate as the youngest SeeDs ever, you with the highest grades and an indisputable record and me as the first gunblade specialist. A nice ending for our competition."
An exasperated sigh.
"You are always pretending events. We are not SeeDs yet. We still have to pass the field exam and you're already listening to what people say..."
"I don't give a crap what people say. They are an envious gang. Everyone wants to be like us, but they are inferior and they know it, that's why the only thing they can do is to backbite us to make us lose moral. Fuck, Trepe, you should know it. You shouldn't let them affect you."
An elusive gaze, full of insecurity, unable to meet green eyes.
"It... It's just..."
The gravel turns over underneath heavy steps. The distance shortens. Quistis feels she wouldn't mind having him even closer. But she is not going to say that.
"Hey, calm down, ok? Everything's gonna be alright."
A faltering exhalation.
"I wish I had your confidence."
"You only have to believe in yourself more."
Quistis wishes she could do that.
Silence. Two rhythmic breaths, expectant. Nothing around them, just one beside the other, completely captivated by the presence of the other. They both need something, but both have too much pride to take the first step.
A breeze blows from the mountains. Quistis' teeth start chattering.
"Are you cold?"
"No."
"Nobody would say that by the sound your teeth are making. They seem like they are going to break."
She wants to melt once she feels him against her back, his arm surounding her shoulders. Quistis tenses instead. Just a bit.
"See? Much better now, eh?"
"I thought you wouldn't touch me unless I told you so."
"And I thought you weren't cold."
They both laugh a low laugh. Quistis lets her weight fall upon Seifer's arm and shoulder and he holds her to him. There is nothing around them, just the other's body heat and that strange feeling inside.
"Seifer..."
"Hmm?"
Her hair smells like leather and vanilla. His brain can barely get over it in order to listen to her. There is a long silence while he waits for her to decide to speak.
A sigh of surrender.
"I'm tired of fighting and arguing and competing with you... I wish... I wish it would always be this way..."
"This way how?"
"This way... talking without shouting to each other... without insulting each other... just..."
Another sigh, lacking all words. He embraces her now with both arms, tightly. She leans her head carelessly against his neck. They breathe in the scent of the other, allowing their fears to be reassured by the measured sound of their heartbeats, communicating in silence.
"Seifer..."
"Hmm?"
"I know it's going to sound stupid but... promise me that... once we are SeeD, things will be different between you and me. That no longer... that no longer..."
"It's not stupid, Quistis. Tomorrow when we'll be SeeDs, we won't need to compete anymore. We won't need to..." the words stick in his throat "hurt each other anymore."
A quite sigh. The touch of hair that smells of vanilla, leather and hope. A hand that squeezes a slim waist, fingers that interwine. The caress of her nose in his neck, under his chin. The temptation resisted for so long and he -she- cannot take anymore. An inhalation smothered against his cheek when he leans over her. He searches blindly and finds the glory, the gates of her sweet lips that open for him. The warmth of her mouth, the fierce battle of their tongues. A withheld moan that is about to make him lose control.
There is nothing more in the world, just the thunder in their hearts.
They break apart, their breaths agitated, Quistis' forehead leaning against his temple.
"Seifer..."
"Shh. Tomorrow, Quistis, tomorrow. Tomorrow we'll start again. Now we should go back to our dorms and rest."
"I won't be able to sleep... Stay here, with me. Till dawn."
"Ok."
Together they watched the birth of the day that would change their lives.