Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII belongs to Square-Enix.
- A Silver Lining -
Quistis suppressed a yawn as she briskly walked down the hallway leading to Squall's office, a pile of papers tucked neatly in the crook of her arm. She had mentally cringed when Xu asked her to run the documents up to their Commander. It wasn't that she minded doing a small favor for her friend, but it was time taken away from grading the daunting pile of essays on her desk. She loved being an instructor, but the endless hours of grading would never be her favorite part of her job. She neared Squall's door, only to hear a feminine voice from within.
"Squall, everything's going to be okay…"
A small frown appeared on Quistis's lips. It wasn't unusual to find Rinoa in Squall's office, but it was the trembling of her voice that made Quistis feel uneasy. She came to a stop in the doorway and immediately felt a chill run through her body. Squall wasn't facing her, but his shoulders were slumped and his head was in his hand —something was wrong. Rinoa was speaking softly to him, her large brown eyes glistening with tears. Quistis shifted uncomfortably, drawing her attention.
"Quistis–" Her words cut off as she choked back a sob. "Quistis, it's Cid. He–" Rinoa didn't have to finish; Quistis felt her eyes sting and her throat tighten as the stack of papers hit the ground.
Quiet chatter filled the bar as Seifer stared at the tumbler in his hand, his mind completely empty he swirled the amber liquid in the glass. A dim glow from the windows shone on his face as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. He hadn't left since news of Cid's death had reached him that morning, but he'd stopped drinking after the third glass did nothing to alleviate the numbness. He barely registered a woman coming up behind him, her eyes filled with sympathy as she spoke.
"…Seifer, are you coming?"
He turned around and gave Ellone a slight nod. Tossing some gil on the counter, he grabbed his trench coat from the stool next to him and followed her out of the bar.
The funeral was held a few days later at sunset. The entire school watched as Cid was buried in the same graveyard as the students and SeeDs who had died during the Second Sorceress War. Quistis didn't spill one tear, didn't say a word as she stood with her friends — looking as lifeless as the man who'd been there for them all their lives. The procession ended and everyone returned to the Garden, wallowing in the grief caused by the loss of their Headmaster.
There was to be a reception in the ballroom, where everyone would offer their condolences to Edea and reminisce about their times with Cid, but she didn't want any part of that. Instead she took the long way back to her room, wandering the halls with a heaviness on her shoulders that slowed her steps until she eventually came to a stop. Then, as if something had finally clicked, she drew in a shaky breath and tears began to pour from her eyes, her sobs echoing down the hallway.
"Instructor."
Quistis sniffed as she cursed whichever student thought now would be a good time to bother her. "Can it wai–?" Her breath caught in her throat as she turned around to see Seifer Almasy standing there, wearing a slight frown as his brow furrowed with concern. "Seifer…" A new wave of tears hit her; she raised a hand to hide her face as she tried to stifle her crying. When she finally decided it was no use, a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her into a warm embrace.
Quistis sat on the sofa in her small suite as Seifer rummaged through her cabinets, finally pulling out a cheap bottle of wine she had been given for her twenty-first birthday. They had walked back to her room in silence, his arm comfortingly around her shoulders as she pieced the cool exterior she was known for back together. She was pulled from her whirlwind of thoughts when he held a glass out to her; without thinking, she took a sip. Her nose scrunched up at the bitter taste of the alcohol as the sofa let out a quiet squeak as Seifer sat down beside her.
"How did you find out?" she asked, glancing over as he rested his cheek in the palm of his hand. "No one's seen you since…" She trailed off, not wanting to bring up memories of a time when he'd been their enemy.
"Ellone told me. I happened to be in Winhill."
There was a pause as Quistis contemplated what to say next. A small sigh escaped her lips. "I wish you could've come back for a different reason." She watched as a hint of sadness flashed in his green eyes.
"Me too," he replied softly. She lifted her gaze, studying him as he stared at his drink in thought. Like her, he was dressed in all black, his tie hanging loose against his chest. As he leaned back against the sofa, she noticed he still had that air of ease about him — the same one he'd had when he would lounge at the back of her class, taking every opportunity to point out the flaws in her lecture. Seifer noticed the attention she was paying him and flashed her a smirk she'd seen far too many times in their past. A light blush covered her cheeks as she stood, resisting a small smile of her own at how little he'd changed over the years. She left the tiny living room to go change and when she came back, Seifer was moving to where his trench coat was hanging on the door. A sense of panic that she didn't understand caused her to speak up.
"Where are you staying?" She cringed at how quickly the words had left her mouth, but there was nothing she could do about that now. Instead, she tried to look indifferent as his eyes met hers.
"The hotel in Balamb."
"You could stay here," she suggested, her mind quickly formulating an excuse. "It's late. I can understand if you don't want to travel that far, so…"
"Thanks." From the look on his face, she had a feeling he knew that she didn't want to be by herself at a time like this and feared he would use it as means of teasing her, but he simply returned to the sofa in silence.
With a feeling of relief, Quistis sat beside him, glad for the company. Staring at her folded hands resting her lap, she mumbled, "I can't believe he's gone." She could hear Seifer exhale as he leaned his head back.
"I know… I don't remember much, but he and Matron were all we had out in Centra. They were like–"
"They were like our parents," she finished with a wistful smile. When Seifer didn't respond, she turned to face him. She could just see the muscles in his jaw move as his face hardened. Hesitantly, she continued. "…You remembered, didn't you? About Edea being Matron."
He didn't say anything, and she beginning to wonder if this was a topic that they shouldn't get into just yet when he answered. "Not at first, but I knew I wanted to protect her. After a while I realized who she was, but by then…" After the war, Edea had explained that she thought Ultimecia had put Seifer under a spell and asked that he be pardoned for his actions. Quistis hadn't been sure that was the case, but now, she was inclined to believe it.
"Is that why you never came back?"
"I don't know. I guess I couldn't bring myself to face Rin after what I done to her." Quistis was surprised to hear the nickname, but remembered that Rinoa had said something about them being together before she'd met Squall. Seifer paused, seeming to remember the same thing. "There wasn't anything left for me here anyways." She nodded in understanding.
"I thought the same thing." He sent her questioning look. "We destroyed Ultimecia, and now Rinoa is the only sorceress left. There's no point in having a specialized team to fight sorceresses anymore."
"Then why bother keeping the place running?"
Quistis sighed as she pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose. "Where would we go? I only stayed when I realized there was no where else for me." She frowned, remembering a time when she'd contemplated leaving Garden and going out on her own. The only thing that'd stopped her had been… "And the others are here, so I don't mind."
He scoffed. "You can't stay here forever." She pursed her lips at the condescending tone of his voice.
"I'd like to think that I can," she snapped. "It makes things simpler." Getting up, Quistis went to the refrigerator and pour herself a glass of water as Seifer sat in silence. His comment shouldn't have annoyed her, regardless of his tone, but it did. It was probably because she knew he was right.
He seemed to be deep in thought when she sat back down. Quistis was unsure whether or not she should break the silence — and if so, how — when he finally spoke up. "You should come with me." His surprisingly serious statement caught her off guard. She looked over to see him patiently waiting for an answer, his eyes searching for some sort of sign that would give away her thoughts, and she realized that she'd been wrong — he really wasn't the same boy who'd caused her so many problems all those years ago.
"…You've changed, Seifer."
He simply gazed at her, taking in her expression — the way her lips were set in displeased frown and the familiar crease between her eyebrows. He grinned. "You haven't."
She let out a huff as she glanced away. "And what do you mean by that?"
He relaxed, still trying to interpret her response to his suggestion. And then it finally clicked. "They'll be okay without you, you know," he told her seriously. Her eyes widened, and he knew he'd gotten it right.
"But–"
"You could stay until things have been sorted out, but I still think you should come with me."
Quistis rolled her eyes. "We'd never get along."
"I think we're doing fine now." He smirked at the glare she sent him for contradicting her. "If you think about it, it'd be a perfect partnership. You would keep me from doing anything stupid, and we might not end up starving." She quirked an eyebrow.
"So you want me to keep track of your finances?"
He folded his arms over his chest in annoyance. "That's not the point," he muttered.
"Seifer…"
Knowing she was about to shoot down the idea, he jumped in. "I've thought about this before. Don't look so surprised. You were always less annoying that the others and definitely smarter." She chuckled, shaking her head.
"Are you listening to yourself?"
He reached out and grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to look at him. The ghost of a smile that had been on her lips faded as she met his eyes. "Quistis, just trust me on this. Think about it."
She glanced away as if considering it; then her shoulder slumped as her eyes lowered apologetically. "Seifer, I can't– Cid just– And Edea and Squall." He remained silent as his hand slipped off her shoulder, and she immediately found herself doubting her answer. With a sigh, she shifted so that she was leaning against him, her head resting comfortably on his shoulder. "Seifer, I just can't," she murmured, trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince him. She expected him to persist, but instead, he put an arm around her shoulder.
"I understand."
The shrill beeping of an alarm clock stirred Quistis from her slumber. Rolling over, she switched off the alarm and pulled the covers over her head, trying to get just a few extra minutes of rest. She had woken up an hour earlier at the sound of the door closing, telling her that Seifer was gone. Now, she wanted nothing more than to never leave her bed again, but it wouldn't do for her to be late to her own class. With grudging resignation, she dragged herself out of bed and began her morning routine.
Half an hour later, she was standing behind her desk with thirty tired faces staring back at her. "As you know, this exam covers material from chapters seven through ten."
"Instructor."
"You will have 90 minutes for the exam. Partial credit will be given–"
"Instructor," a girl in the front row said a little louder. Quistis stopped.
"Yes?"
"This is the exam we were given last time," the student told her matter-of-factly. Quistis looked down at her computer screen and saw that the student was right.
"It seems that it is. One moment." She typed in a different exam code and the correct test popped up on the screen. "As I was saying, partial credit will be given for essay questions. You have 90 minutes. Begin."
"Quistis?"
At the sound of her name, she looked up from where she was aimlessly poking at her salad. Irvine was looking at her bemusedly from beneath his cowboy hat. "Hmm?"
"Are you all right?"
With a sigh, she answered. "I'm fine, Irvine."
He relaxed a little and returned to his own lunch. Irvine seemed to be in a better mood than anyone else after Cid's funeral, but Quistis was pretty sure that was just his way of coping with things. After all, he had to be the more rational side to Selphie's hysterics. He interrupted her thoughts once more. "Rinoa said she talked with Seifer this morning. I didn't even see him yesterday."
"We ran into each other after the funeral."
Irvine nodded in a knowing manner. "Ah, that explains it." Her brow creased in confusion.
"Pardon?" He shrugged, popping a chip in his mouth.
"He was leavin' your room when Rinoa saw him."
"…Oh."
Frowning, Irvine tipped his cowboy hat back and watched as she continued to play with her food. "I just wanted to make sure you were fine. We weren't exactly on good terms last time we saw him."
"He's different now," she answered with little emotion in her voice. "He wouldn't have done anything to me." Irvine mulled over her response for a moment before standing up and clapping her on the shoulder. "Quisty, you look like you need a break." He gathered the trash from his meal and flashed her a grin. "Take a few days off. We can cover your classes. We at least owe you that much." She returned his smile, and, looking pleased, he left the cafeteria. Quistis resumed staring at her meal for a few minutes longer before finally putting the fork down. She'd made up her mind.
Seifer was packing his belongings when he was interrupted by a brisk knocking on the door. Snapping the case of his Hyperion shut, he opened the door. His eyes widened, and then the smirk appeared. "Quistis," he drawled, leaning against the doorway. "Come to see me off?"
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Quistis adjusted the strap of the bag on her shoulder and met his gaze. Her lips twitched at the relief hidden behind his smirk as she crossed her arms over her chest. "When do we leave?"
A/N: Finally! A Seifer/Quistis fanfic! I know, I know. Not overly romantic, but I think Seifer was right when he said it'd be a perfect partnership : ) I've been dying to write a Seifer/Quistis story, but I just couldn't find the inspiration until I listened to "For the First Time " by The Script. True, this story actually has nothing to do with the song, but listening to it put the snapshots in my head that eventually evolved into this story. I haven't written anything in ages, so I'm a little out of practice... Hopefully Seifer and Quistis are somewhat in character despite the extreme sitaution I've shoved them both into. I have some ideas for a possible second chapter, but I'm not really sure how that will turn out, so for now this will remain a one-shot. We'll see if inspiration decides to be agreeable : )
Anyways, thank you so much for taking the time to read! And, as always, reviews are awesome. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!
-Twilight-Songstress