Disclaimer: We don't own Final Fantasy VIII, its characters, or the places. We don't really own much of anything, for that matter (see our bio). Any similarities to Holiday movies found in this fic aren't in the least bit coincidental.
Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation
Chapter One
Friday, December the First
It was the first of December and plans for the Winter Festival on the solstice were well under way. The tickets had been sold for the Winterfest ball, the subcommittees and their heads appointed, and the parties were scheduled. This year's Winterfest would be the grandest ever, not just because Selphie Tilmitt was the chair but because the Garden Festival Committee's membership was at an all time high. In fact, so many people were interested that Selphie was forced to turn members away.
Winterfest had always been a special time of year at Balamb Garden, but this year it was even more special because it was the first solstice since the defeat of Ultimecia. The world was at peace once again and it seemed everyone was excited about Winterfest and the whole holiday season. Everyone wanted a good excuse to party, to give and receive gifts and to generally have a 'helluva good time', as Zell so eloquently put it.
Everyone that is, except Quistis Trepe.
Quistis shifted her weight, trying to get comfortable in the cold metal folding chair. She tried to pay attention to the proceedings, she really did. But for some reason she just couldn't keep her mind on things. Suppressing a yawn, Quistis glanced around the quad absently. A few non-members attended the meetings to keep up with things just in case there was an opening… it certainly paid to have a hero as the committee chairperson.
One person attracted Quistis' attention more than any of the other onlookers, mainly due to the fact that he was male. He stood at the top of the steps half-hidden by a tree. Although he was mostly disguised by shadows and Quistis couldn't see his features clearly, there was something vaguely familiar about him. He was a SeeD, she could tell that by his uniform. His jet-black hair was overgrown and slightly shaggy and he wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. Quistis could not recall ever seeing him before, not that it was any big deal. Garden employed plenty of SeeDs Quistis had never met. It was the haunting familiarity of him that intrigued her.
His head turned slightly toward Quistis. She assumed he must have caught her looking at him because he moved further away into the shadows. An eerie chill prickled Quistis' skin. It almost seemed as if this man was deliberately trying to avoid notice. Unable to study him further, Quistis turned her attention back to the meeting.
"And I have one more announcement before we get on with the sub-committee updates! I saved the best for last, of course!" Selphie's exclaimed in her high-pitched voice. "Garden Master Cid gave us some extra money and I was able to book a live band for the ball!"
Tremors of excitement moved through the crowd. "Who?" asked Danine, one of the members of the decoration committee, of which Rinoa was the head.
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you all yet," the irrepressible SeeD explained. Amid the general boos and shouts of protest Selphie went on to declare, "I don't want the info to leak out way before the celebration and besides the final contract hasn't been signed yet. As soon as I know something for certain, I will get back with you all. Now what's next?" she wondered out loud while glancing at her long list. "Oh yeah," Selphie answered herself. "Zell and Nicole are going to report on how the food subcommittee is coming along. Zell," she nodded at the blond SeeD to take the floor.
Zell jumped to his feet, as excitable as ever. "Now Nicole and I," he explained, nodding to his girlfriend seated at his left, "have come up with an incredibly original idea. Instead of a sit down formal dinner we're going to have -."
"A hotdog bar," a gruff sounding voice interrupted.
Most of the committee burst out laughing as Zell's face fell in shock. "That's right," he stammered. "Who said that?"
As most of the people were turning their heads in an attempt to ascertain whom the culprit was, Quistis realized it had come from the person in the corner. Now her curiosity was thoroughly aroused and she decided to check this mysterious person out a bit closer.
Arising quickly from her seat, Quistis strode toward the corner. Their eyes meeting through the tinted lenses of his glasses, the mystery person whirled and ran from the Quad. That tears it, Quistis thought. I have to find out who this is! And the blonde instructor broke into a sprint in an attempt to catch up with the fleeing delinquent. "Wait!" she called out, but that appeared to have no affect at all; if anything, it caused the person to increase his speed.
Considering that she was wearing a very long skirt, Quistis was running extremely fast and beginning to gain ground when they burst out of the corridor leading from the Quad. It was there that she ran into a wall of resistance as apparently classes for the day had been adjourned a few minutes before and the atrium was filled with students.
Even then, as she had to duck and dodge her way through the crowd, Quistis continued to narrow the distance between her and the pursued. Her prey, in his anxiety at being discovered, was slowing himself down by rounding his head every few steps to check on Quistis' progress.
Quistis was just a few steps behind the mystery person when he suddenly reeled about and released a canister of marbles he had been carrying; apparently just for this kind of emergency. As the colorful glass balls rolled helter-skelter all over the floor, students were stepping on them and falling all around Quistis, who managed to maintain her balance.
Quistis made a final lunge to reach him and when she did, he jerked back in such a manner that it caused his wig and dark glasses to fall off to the floor. Quistis stopped dead in her tracks in astonishment when she recognized the male she had been pursuing was none other than Seifer.
Seifer – who no one had seen since the day they had fought Adel and was believed dead or at least missing in action, never having made it back from time compression. Taking advantage of Quistis' momentary laxness, Seifer cackled, "Mwahaha!" then turned and disappeared into the crowd. The blonde instructor realized it was now useless to attempt to follow him as he had vanished.
Oh sweet Shiva! Quistis thought. The rumors are true. She was referring to what she thought was only an apocryphal tale that was currently sweeping the Garden that Seifer was living somewhere hidden within the Garden walls. The blonde woman had thought previously that it was only used to scare the under-classmen into submission.
Supposing she had better return to the committee meeting, because Quistis realized if she didn't she would never hear the end of it from Selphie, the young woman trudged back to the Quad.
"Quistis, where have you been? You're holding up our voting," Selphie reprimanded her petulantly. "Who were you chasing, by the way?"
"It was Seifer."
Cries of consternation arose from the various committee members, but mostly from Rinoa's sub-committee for decorations. "Oh Hyne! Those stories are true!" Danine fearfully exclaimed. Her huge gray-brown eyes growing so wide Quistis was momentarily worried they would swallow her face.
Poor girl, thought Quistis, it must suck to look like one of those bubble-eyed goldfish.
Young women and some young men had jumped up from their chairs so quickly that they were bumping in to each other. "Please, calm down," Selphie entreated. "Quistis was just kidding to break the monotony of the meeting. Weren't you, Quistis?" the committee leader asked looking daggers at her blonde friend while attempting to emit an honest sounding laugh.
Quistis stared back steadfastly and didn't deign to answer the question that was encouraging her to lie. "There, you see, everybody," Selphie pointed out as though her friend had agreed with her, "There is no Seifer problem at Garden!" With a final glare at Quistis, the bouncy SeeD continued, "Now everybody sit down so we can vote on the hot dog bar idea."
Zell jumped out of his seat. "Wait! I haven't described the idea to Quistis yet… she doesn't know what a good idea it is yet!" He began to bounce from foot to foot as if he were ready to begin shadow boxing or needed to urinate very badly.
Selphie rolled her eyes and a few sighs from the crowd mirrored Selphie's impatience. "Fine," she snipped out. "Just make it quick Zell, we only have the Quad for a few more minutes before the Disciplinary Committee holds their weekly hazing party and we still need to hear from the other subcommittees."
"Okay, great!" Zell gestured animatedly as he spoke. "See… it won't just be plain old hotdogs. We'll have pork dogs, beef dogs, Chocobo dogs, veggie dogs, foot longs, tiny cocktail weenies for hors d'ouevres…" Zell rambled on for the next ten minutes on the many different ways hotdogs could be prepared and the multitudes of breads and condiments they could be served with. His piece d'resistance was a desert hotdog made of chocolate ice cream served on a vanilla ice cream "bun". By the time Selphie stopped his treatise on the joys of hot dogs Quistis' jaw was hanging slack and she was staring vacantly into space.
Needless to say, Zell's idea passed the vote without any difficulty because no one wanted to rock the boat, so to speak. They all would have to submit their sub-committees ideas to the larger committee and no one wanted to have a difficult time having their plans accepted. Besides, most of the women there had crushes on Zell and didn't want to hurt the sensitive young man's feelings.
"What caterer are you going to use, Zell?" Selphie naturally wanted to know before turning over a substantial amount of money to him.
"The Balamb Hot Dog Emporium."
"That's a very good idea. They have a great track record for good service and honesty," she praised while handing over to him an envelope thick with Gil. "Now this is a substantial amount of money," Selphie explained. "Cid was very generous this year. Please take care and don't lose it," she cautioned.
"I'm not gonna lose it," Zell whined while accepting the money.
Pointedly sighing, Selphie returned to her position in front of the seated committee members. "Okay everybody… we are out of time. Are there any concerns we need to hear about from the other sub-committees?" Because everyone there was sitting on the edge of his or her seats poised to escape, no one spoke up. With a broad smile Selphie said, "Good meeting and get to work on your sub-committee's agendas."
As everyone began to stand in preparation of leaving the Quad area, Selphie called out, "Rinoa, could I please speak with you for a moment?"
Rinoa quickly joined her friend. She appeared just as bouncy and cheerful as ever. "What's up, Selph?" the dark-haired woman asked. "Good meeting, by the way."
Selphie hated it when people called her Selph, but she let it pass just as she always did. "Did Squall agree?" the young woman asked Rinoa.
"Yes, he did." There had been just the slightest hesitancy in the ebony haired beauty's voice.
"Are you sure? You're not lying to me, are you Rinoa?" Selphie questioned.
"Well, of all the nerve! Of course I'm not lying to you." Rinoa stood with her hands on her hips leaning slightly over Selphie in a manner, which some people might have construed as menacing.
"Okay, okay," Selphie acquiesced. "I was just asking." Selphie paled slightly and took a step back. It didn't behoove one to piss off a sorceress, especially one with as little control over her power as Rinoa. No one would ever forget the time Rinoa found out that Squall and Irvine had visited a strip club in Esthar while she was in her coma. She'd Angel Winged in the main hallway, randomly casting spells on all the passersby. It had taken three hours to get Rinoa down from the ceiling and Angelo wouldn't come near her for a month. Garden was forced to initialize the "Angel Alert". As long as the alert was active every student was supposed to have reflect cast on him or herself until such time as Rinoa could be calmed down and sedated.
Quistis stood wondering what it was that Rinoa was to ask Squall about. Whatever it was, Quistis decided, Rinoa's lying about it. Quistis could always tell when the fledgling sorceress was lying. She always puffed herself up like a cat and tried to look as scary as she could without making her face look ugly. Rinoa was a very sweet girl, Quistis loved her dearly… but Rinoa had issues. Squall's girlfriend was a passionate young woman with a good heart. However she was also the type of girl who would pick off the choicest, flakiest crispies from the fried Chocobo and wouldn't touch the skin or meat.
Just as Quistis made that silent observation she was joined by her boyfriend, Matt. "Are you okay, Quissy?"
Quistis suppressed a frustrated sigh at being called Quissy… Quisty was passable since she had been called that all her life. She plastered her most charming grin across her face and turned to Matt. "Of course," she said in the cotton candy voice she reserved for just these times. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, you just don't seem to be into the holiday spirit this year, hon." he said gently as if he were talking to a mental patient. Quistis hated to be patronized and began to walk away. Matt quickly followed, no longer speaking in that gentle voice but in tight staccato blasts. "What is it with you lately, Quisty? I don't know why you won't talk to me lately. You are ruining the holidays for me. How could you run out like that and make up that horrible Seifer story? Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was?"
Quistis rolled her eyes and did her best to keep control of her temper. Quistis escaped to the solace of her thoughts as they walked to the cafeteria for dinner. There was a time when Quistis was sure that Matt was "the one". He wasn't the type of guy she was used to going out with. He was cute in a babyish sort of way, and not built too badly. But what had intrigued Quistis were the intellectual conversations they would have at night while sitting under the stars. Lately though, he was having more and more of these angry outbursts about how unhappy she was making him and becoming needier and clingier as the days went by.
Quistis knew she was partially responsible for Matt's odd behavior. She was growing more distant and gloomy as the winter holidays approached, but she couldn't figure out why. Quistis had always loved the holidays, but this year she wasn't really looking forward to any of it. Lately she'd been feeling very lonely in spite of the fact that her friends were so close… and she was just so repulsed by the fake cheeriness of salespeople working on commission and the pseudo-heartwarming holiday themed television commercials for hemorrhoid cream. She just didn't want to deal with the parties and get-togethers where she would be forced to smile and pretend to be having a great holiday season.
But she resolved to try and get into the spirit for the sakes of her friends. Besides, what did she have to be so sad about? She had great, if eccentric, friends and a boyfriend she loved.
And I really love him. Don't I?
~*~
Immediately following the meeting, Rinoa entered Squall's office holding a large holiday wreath she had just finished making before the festival meeting. She was feeling pleased with herself and with the way the wreath had turned out. In fact, Rinoa Heartilly was feeling pleased about the entire holiday season. This was the first year in a long time that she could celebrate the holidays without worrying about battling Galbadia or her group's hideout being discovered.
Squall sat behind his huge desk that befitted his position as commander. It was completely cluttered with various forms and files. He glanced up impatiently at what he considered to be Rinoa's unwanted intrusion. Oh Hyne save me, he thought. That has to be the ugliest wreath I have ever seen.
To be fair to everyone involved, it was probably best to describe the wreath as unique. It had oddly colored branches in pink, green, purple, and orange sticking out in obtuse directions. "Good afternoon, lover," the beauty joyously sang out. "Isn't it the most beautiful day?"
"Whatever."
Rinoa refused to allow Squall's typical bad attitude to ruin her mood or deter her from her mission. "I've made you this wreath to hang on your door. Isn't it beautiful?"
"Well, it's different," the commander said, halfheartedly attempting to save Rinoa's feelings. Squall fearfully peeked at Rinoa's creation out of the corner of his eye and shivered slightly.
"Oh you," she cooed while placing the wreath on his desk. "I want you to hang this on your door this afternoon."
"Rinoa, I can't hang that thing on my door," Squall said plaintively.
"Oh, and why is that?" Rinoa asked, her back stiffening.
"To be blunt, the needles will all fall off within a week and just make a big mess. Besides, I hate the holiday season and it is the ugliest wreath I have ever seen." Squall suddenly looked frightened as he realized he'd actually said that last part aloud.
Rinoa appeared for a second as if she were going to cry, but she quickly recovered by telling herself it was Squall's attempt at making a joke. She forced a smile on her face. "Don't sugar coat it like that, tell it to me straight."
"Huh?" Squall responded, fully expecting her to erupt into Angel Wing or send Angelo to rip his throat out. He stared at her blankly.
Sighing deeply, Rinoa realized Squall would probably never develop a sense of humor. "I mean," she explained, "I know you'll hang it up when I leave, so just stop teasing me."
Hoping to end this silly discussion, Squall replied, "Whatever," and he turned back to the paperwork on his desk. Deciding to give Squall a few minutes to finish up his paperwork before continuing with her mission, Rinoa backed up to the corner where she usually sat when she wanted to be near Squall. She smiled fondly, but worriedly at her boyfriend. Didn't Squall know how much she loved him? For a while after the war ended Squall had seemed happy, but things had only deteriorated from there. Lately he-
"Oh Hyne!" Rinoa cried as she fell backwards to the floor, bruising her posterior end. 'Where the hell is my chair?" she whined, rubbing her bottom as she picked herself off the floor.
"Oh, it's missing." Squall explained without looking up from his task.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Squall glanced over his shoulder. "Well, I would assume you'd look before sitting down," he said.
"You could at least ask me if I am okay." Rinoa glared at the back of her boyfriend's hair, crossed her arms and began to tap her dainty foot.
"I can see that you are fine," he told her in an inflectionless voice.
Rinoa counted to backwards from ten in her mind, taking a relaxing breath at each number the way her childhood therapist had taught. It would do her cause no good if she lost her temper. Why couldn't Squall see how much she loved him? Didn't he realize that his coldness was breaking her heart?
Rinoa made her voice as sweet as possible, although there was an obvious tightness to it that Squall either didn't notice or chose to ignore. "Don't you think this disappearing furniture problem is a bit odd?"
"No… things get moved and lost."
Rinoa's jaw dropped. "Squall… chairs get moved, maybe even lost… but beds, dressers… and the Secret Area's port-a-potty? Who would want that thing?"
"They'll turn up."
"You know, " said Rinoa, sitting on the corner of Squall's desk, "Quistis thinks she saw Seifer today."
Squall snorted. "Quistis smokes Gysahl Greens."
"Don't you think the rumors could be true?"
Squall pointed at an overflowing wicker basket on his desk. "See that Rinoa?" he snapped. "Those are all the Seifer sighting reports I've received in the past week. I don't even bother reading them anymore."
"But-"
"Rinoa," Squall said with a patronizing smile, "The rumors of Seifer living in the walls of Garden are a myth… urban legend. Like the idiotic idea that our swimming pool or Laundromat could be haunted."
Rinoa lifted up a finger, "Actually…"
Squall gave Rinoa his most irritated glower and she instantly shut up. A few moments later, tired of listening to nothing but the sound of Squall's pencil point make contact with the paper, Rinoa asked, "Does Quistis really smoke Gysahl Greens? I thought it was Zell-"
"What?" Squall's pencil point snapped. "No…Oh! I don't know!" Squall turned purple-red with anger. "Rinoa," he said from behind his clenched jaw, doing everything in his power not to scream, "I have a short break later, I promise to dedicate the whole fifteen minutes to you if you want. Now would you please leave me alone?"
Rinoa stood stiffly. "Fine," she said, and strode to the door. She stood at Squall's office door with her finger hovering over the sensor pad that opened the sliding door. She was angry, but she couldn't leave. Her friends were counting on her, and she didn't want to have to humiliate herself by having to admit her lie to Selphie. She stood in that position for about five minutes before a new strategy formed in her mind.
Sidling up behind Squall, Rinoa bent down crossing her arms across his shirt covered chest. You're still here? he thought wearily.
"Squa-all," his winsome girlfriend whispered in his left ear. "We want to borrow the Ragnarok to fly to Trabia tomorrow to get a holiday tree for our celebration."
The commander's irritation began to return. "Absolutely not. You can't be using the Ragnarok for frivolous errands. What if we had an emergency and needed it when you were gone?"
"Aw, Squall, that's just too silly," his girlfriend responded, while running her hands downward beneath his shirt. When her hands reached near his waist, she began to gently rub all around teasingly threatening to move even lower.
"Rinoa!" Squall croaked.
"What, dearest?" she asked in the most dulcet of tones.
"Oh, never mind," the commander muttered. "Go ahead and take the Ragnarok, but try to be quick about it."
"Thank you so much, Squall," Rinoa said, snuggling his head under her chin.
"Now go away and let me do some work," he said, trying to pull his head free.
"But there's something else I want to ask you."
"What now?" He sighed resignedly.
Stepping back around in front of her man, Rinoa offered him her most wondrous smile and explained, "I want you to go with us. I think it'll be great fun."
"Rin, I absolutely refuse to go with you. Even if I weren't all backed up with this paperwork, I still wouldn't go. It wouldn't be fun to me. I hate the holidays and I wish to be reminded of them as little as possible."
Squall looked aghast as Rinoa dropped her dress to the floor and stood appareled in various bits and pieces of lacy underclothing. She leaned forward and hugged him around the neck. "When's the last time we made love?" she asked.
Squall began to choke on the saliva he'd accidentally inhaled. "Rinoa!" he screeched. "We're in my office!"
"I know where we are, silly. I don't need a tour guide," she replied, kissing him softly around the neck. She didn't appear to notice that Squall grew stiffer with every kiss, but not in the way she intended him to.
"Alright, I'll go with you," Squall acquiesced. "Now go so I can finish my work,"
Rinoa appeared slightly disappointed as she prepared herself to leave. "Now, if that isn't back-asswards, I don't know what is," she muttered.
"What?" Squall asked, confused as he always was around his girlfriend.
"Never mind, you wouldn't understand anyway. Now put that wreath up right away." Rinoa bent down and offered Squall a quick kiss on his lips and then turned and left his office.
Squall emitted a large sigh and then picked up the wreath and dropped it into his wastebasket. Giving it one last glance and a violent shudder, he returned to his paperwork.
~*~
Just as ancient Rome had its catacombs and Gotham City its extensive sewage system in which hid a multitude of sins and many an evil denizen, the Garden had the MD level. Currently the hideaway housed one resident whose sleep was about to be disturbed.
"Hey, Seifer, wake up! We've got dinner, ya know!" Raijin exclaimed.
When Garden resumed its rightful place outside of Balamb Proper, Headmaster Cid had experimented, with the help of the FH technicians, in building hidden passageways through the walls from the MD level that could be utilized by Garden personnel in case of sudden and unexpected outside attack. He later decided that it probably would cause more harm than assistance in the long run and locked away the entire level. Few knew of these tunnels at first, but rumors of them escaped ultimately leading to the birth of the Seifer "legend".
When Seifer and his cohorts secretly returned to the Garden, he was able to persuade Nida with a substantial sum of money to 'borrow' Cid's keys and have copies made for him. This is where the blond ex-knight had been residing along with Raijin and Fujin since their return to, what they still considered, their home. The three of them had set up housekeeping on the lowest level. They were able to purloin such necessities such as beds, bureaus, tables, and other furniture through forays into the Garden during the minimal staffed midnight shift. They also had a computer hookup and even a porta-potty, which they made Raijin empty thrice daily.
The computer had been a purely lucky find. It was originally intended to be Headmaster Xu's and had been delivered on the very day Rinoa had Angel Winged, sending the Garden into turmoil. The deliveryman, on his way to deliver the new system had been hit with one of Rinoa's spells (probably Confuse) and had wandered off leaving the new computer unattended. As it turned out, the computer contained one of a kind program to run Garden's new security system, which was now utterly useless to Xu and entirely under Seifer's power. Rumor had it that Garden and Balamb Electronic Enterprises would be in litigation for years… each side blaming the other for the loss of the overpriced computer.
The deliveryman is fine, by the way. He had wandered in a stupor around Garden for two days before he was found imitating one of the fountain fish in the main hallway outside the Training Center. Fortunately for Garden's insurance policy, the man remembered nothing and was diagnosed with a rare mental illness since magic could not be proven.
Unfortunately the posse hadn't been able to obtain a refrigerator and oven, so consequently they had to go out and obtain each meal. Again this job fell under Raijin's job description, but sometimes Fujin took pity on the big man and traveled with him. Such was the case on this particular evening.
"I'm awake, quit your yelling," ordered Seifer.
"Hey Seifer, we've got hot dogs ya know!" Raijin responded, paying absolutely no attention to his leader's admonishment.
Hot dogs again! Every night the same damn thing. Oh well, at least we're cutting into Chicken Wuss's supply.
Joining the other two who were already seated at the table, Seifer inquired, "How'd did it go?"
"SATISFACTORY," Fujin answered in her typical fashion.
"Let me tell you what I found out," Seifer declared. He proceeded to inform the other two every thing he had witnessed at the holiday celebration committee meeting and his subsequently being chased by Quistis.
"But don't worry," he concluded, "The fools will never believe her anyway. What I need now is a plan to wreck their festival." He gave a similar sinister laugh as he had given Quistis in the atrium.
WHY? Fujin wondered to herself. Through every situation she had witnessed prior, Fujin had never seen Seifer so close to being completely out of control. What had changed him? And why was he laughing like a crazed character in a bad horror film? When Raijin looked askance at her, she silently shook her head.
"Sure, Seifer," Raijin agreed. "We'll be glad to help, ya know."
"Good," the ex-knight replied, as he stood up from the table. "I'm going for a walk to discover whatever else I can use to help destroy their holidays."
As Seifer stepped into the passageway inside the wall, Raijin and Fujin sat talking, huddled together. He didn't give his friends a backward glance as the panel slid shut behind him with a hiss. Seifer was already lost deeply in thought. As he wandered through the musty tunnels, the ex-knight's thoughts began to grow dejected. Try as he might Seifer could not think of anything to ruin the holidays with except a few childish pranks.
His frustration soon led to a bizarre conversation with himself:
"'Mwahahaha?' What was that about?"
"I dunno… it just seemed to fit."
"Pathetic, Almasy… you are absolutely pathetic."
"I am not! I am a tragic outcast from society… like Batman… or The Phantom of the Opera. Yeah! That's it! I'm the Phantom… he's romantic and tragic!"
Having cheered himself up, Seifer began wandering from room to room picking up odds and ends for Nida's Saturday morning pickup and for Seifer's own "Chicks of Balamb" website. The members-only porn site featured nude shots and shower videos of the more pleasing student bodies and sold their lingerie for exorbitant prices. Seifer was making ridiculous amounts of money that he carefully stashed away in many places where no one would ever find it…one of which was inside a bowl wrapped up in old martial arts magazines under Zell's bed. Zell never cleaned his room, he never would, and Seifer knew his money was safe.
In his wanderings, Seifer soon found himself in one of the instructors suites. The room was very pink and smelled like honeysuckle… there was only one person Seifer knew that used that scent. Quistis Trepe. That afternoon had been the first time Seifer had seen Quistis since taking up residence in Garden. He'd known she was around and had deliberately avoided her. Somehow he'd always suspected she'd recognize him… and he had suspected correctly. A glance at the photos on the desk confirmed his suspicions on the resident of the room. It was Quistis'. Only she would have a picture of herself posing next to an unaware Squall at some dance.
Shaking his head in disgust at Quistis' continued secret crush on the aloof commander, Seifer wandered through the comfortable room. He briefly pawed through Quistis' hamper and pocketed a bra and a few pairs of panties to sell on his website. Then he paused to examine the presents she had obviously been intending to wrap that were laid out across her kitchen table.
One present stood out to Seifer more than any other there partially because it was so much more expensive than any of the other gifts, but also because it was something on Seifer's wish list: a limited-edition Oso Swanton pattern-welded gunblade with a polished ebony handle. It was one of the most expensive blades on the market and had sold out before Seifer had the money from his website to order one. Seifer didn't need to be told for whom this magnificent weapon was intended. He already knew it was for Squall.
Seifer felt terribly stiff as he practiced a few of his favorite moves with the finely crafted blade. It had been too long since he'd fought. Far too long.
A gasp startled Seifer and he looked up to see Quistis standing in the bathroom doorway, her hair wrapped up in a fluffy pink towel and wearing nothing but a red satin bra and panties set. "Seifer!" Quistis blurted out, her face growing frightened as she saw he was wielding a weapon. "Don't hurt me! Take whatever you want! I'm unarmed!"
"Quistis! I'm not gonna-" Seifer said as he took a step toward his old instructor.
Quistis, in her shock and momentary fear backed up, and slipped in a small puddle on the gray tile of the bathroom floor. She fell backward with a screech. Luckily the towel on her head and the thick peach rug on her bathroom floor prevented any real damage from being done and Quistis was only momentarily dazed.
Without thinking, Seifer tossed aside the gunblade and ran to Quistis' side to make sure she was all right. She blinked slowly up at him, her crystalline eyes obviously having trouble focusing. The fragrance of honeysuckle hung in the moist air and Seifer felt a bit giddy beneath his concern for her. He picked her up tenderly and carried her to the bed.
Seifer knelt on the floor for a few moments beside the bed and watched to make sure Quistis was okay before he stood up to leave. "Seifer," the beautiful instructor called to him as she leaned up on her elbow. He turned over his shoulder to look at her. "Thank you for helping me, " she said, still too dazed to even wonder what he was doing in her room.
"Helping you?" he asked, rubbing his palms together, "What makes you think I was helping you?" Quistis eyes widened and she tried to get away from Seifer, but in her dizzy state she was too slow.
Picking up a roll of iridescent cellophane and burgundy velvet ribbon, Seifer quickly trussed Quistis up in the holiday wrappings and left her writhing on the bed. Laughing maniacally, Seifer slipped through the secret panel in Quistis' ceiling.
Moments later an impatient knock came to Quistis door. "Quissy!" Matt called through the door. "Are you in there?" He waited a moment then tried again. "Quissy, hon… it's time for our date… are you in there?"
Quistis finally managed to work out the ribbon that Seifer had gagged her with. "Matt! Help!" she cried out, suddenly glad Matt had talked her into giving him a copy of her dorm key in case of emergency.
When Matt entered the room he stopped short, gaping at the delectable gift on the bed. "Oh Great Hyne…"
"Well aren't you going to untie me?" asked Quistis impatiently.
Matt immediately came to her, blushing furiously as he began to work on the knots. "I-I'm glad to see y-you get-getting into the holiday spirit, Quistis…"
"But-"
Matt shook his head. "Now l-let me finish," he told her.
"But-"
"I am really flattered," Matt continued, cutting Quistis off, "And I am really turned on… but I really want us to wait until after we marry… so our first time together is right."
First time? Marriage? Quistis knew she was in some serious trouble. Oh sweet Hyne, save me!