Author's note: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters. This is set after the game.

Bittersweet

Quistis found this whole exercise rather ridiculous. There had to be better ways to spend time. Somehow, she had been co-opted into helping Selphie and Rinoa make chocolate for Valentine's Day. Quistis didn't really see the point. It would be easier to but chocolate and probably less frustrating. Also, that way there would be no possibility of food poisoning either. But Rinoa and Selphie had insisted on handmade chocolate, so she was stuck. She hadn't been able to find a tactful way to say no to them.

That was in part because neither of them knew that she herself was in a romantic relationship and had her own plans for the day to put together. Quistis' romance had been kept quiet for a number of reasons. One of which was she didn't need her bloody fan club interfering with her private life. Another was the fact that besides perhaps Matron, Cid, his posse, and maybe Rinoa, no one was going to react to her seriously dating Seifer well. They might have forgiven Matron for being possessed, but people weren't so forgiving when it came to Seifer. He wasn't a wanted man, but he wasn't exactly a welcome one either.

The double standard annoyed Quistis. They had both been victims, and it wasn't fair to absolve one and blame the other. Her relationship with Seifer had started during his and Matron's trials. Quistis had done research that proved crucial in exonerating them both. She had always had a soft spot for Seifer (something she had fought to hide), and it seemed natural to her to be the friend that he needed right then. It had gotten to be habit for the two of them to get together on a regular basis, and somehow the friendship had started edging into a romance.

Seifer might not be the romantic ideal, but he could be kind, compassionate, and more thoughtful than people gave him credit for. Furthermore, he had the ability to see her for herself, and that was something Quistis found very rarely. So, over the past year and a half she and Seifer had quietly dated. Only now Quistis wasn't quite sure she wanted to keep things quiet, but she didn't want to cause trouble for her boyfriend either. She could just imagine how Squall, Irvine, and Zell might react. Despite the fact that she was older than them, the boys seemed to think that she needed protection from men. There had been one incident after Seifer's trail, and Quistis had broken the man's nose before he did much of anything to her. And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that he somehow got beat up on his way home from a bar a few days later.

So Quistis wasn't exactly happy to be hot, sticky, and tired while listening to Rinoa and Selphie chatter about their plans for the chocolate. Especially since this was actually their third batch. The first had turned out to be rather toxic, and the second had been accidentally eaten. This was also going to be their last batch if Quistis had anything to say about it. With a sigh, she poured the last of the chocolate into the molds Rinoa had chosen. Not surprisingly, they were in the shapes of lions and angels. She had even managed to find ones shaped like cowboy hats for Selphie to use.

"That should do it then," Quistis mustered a smile for her friends. "Once these cool, you should be all set."

"Don't you want to make some chocolate for yourself, Quisty?" Selphie asked. "I mean, you never know. You could run into that special someone tomorrow."

"No, thank you. All I really want is a shower. Besides, I'm not looking for romance right now."

It was true enough. She already had a romance. Besides, Quistis had purchased her gift for Seifer earlier. The small box was tucked away in her room. It contained six dark chocolate sea salt caramels. Given that Seifer liked both dark chocolate and caramel, Quistis figured it was a safe choice. Half the caramels were square and half were shaped like sea shells, so it wasn't the type of thing a guy might be overly embarrassed to receive either. The pale blue box had been finished off with a pink bow since it was Valentine's after all. Hopefully, the token would go over well.

Quistis' true challenge came the next day. It was turning out to be next to impossible to escape Garden. Every time she turned around there was something else someone needed her to do or needed her help with. Everything from helping an instructor with grading to reassuring Zell's girlfriend that he wasn't going to refuse her chocolate just because it was store bought. It was evening by the time she finally managed to get away.

Thankfully, she did know where to look for Seifer. He had a tendency to hang out near the ocean, so checking the local beaches was always a good idea. She found him at the first one she tried, perched on one of the rocks and watching the waves.

"Hey." She climbed up on the rock to sit beside him.

Seifer seemed to sense her weariness for he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer. "Long day?"

"Yeah. It's been more than a little crazy."

They sat in comfortable silence for awhile, Quistis resting her head on Seifer's shoulder, as the sun began its descent into the ways. Finally, Quistis pulled the little gift box from her pocket. She had the feeling she was blushing as she handed it to him.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Seifer."

He tore open with wrapping with a grin. Quistis smiled. She was glad he liked it. She wasn't always good at expressing how she felt with words, but she hoped that the things she did like this told him how she about him as well.

"Quisty."

"Hmm?" She looked up.

Seifer leaned in to kiss her breathless. He finally pulled away with a smirk. "Thank you."