Author's Note:

Surprise! Here's an update sooner than I'm sure many of you expected.

Thank you to Arenoptara and LaylaEvercrest for beta-reading, and helping me transform my chapters into writing that I'm proud of. Thank you to StarryNight101, DementoFantasy, Ally Todd, and midnightzengarden for the reviews :) Lastly, thank you to Kara276 for following.

Sorry this chapter is a bit on the short side.


Departure: an act or instance of departing; to go away, leave;


The mundane conversations from the cadets and faculty members surrounded Quistis, as she walked to the group's usual booth in the far corner of the Cafeteria. Breakfast hour tended to get rather crowded, so they liked to arrive early to try to bypass the line. Unfortunately, policy stated that SeeD members did not get priority treatment, much to their annoyance. "In Garden, we're all equal beings!" according to the Headmaster.

Most, if not all of the cadets, recognized her when she passed by. Some greeted her verbally, while others would wave, and Quistis tried to nod politely at all of them in return. A large majority of the students would start whispering amongst themselves and she cringed at being treated like a celebrity. It was the same reaction everywhere she went. Of course, it wasn't only Quistis that experienced this; the entire group had to put up with it.

As she wandered through the room, gracefully weaving around tables and chairs, the sweet scent of powdered sugar wafted through the air-apparently, the cook had decided on french toast for today's breakfast. Quistis' stomach rumbled loudly and she pressed her gloved hand into her abdomen, in an attempt to stifle the embarrassing sound. She rounded the last potted plant and when Selphie caught sight of Quistis, she stood up on the booth's seat and waved her arms excitedly through the air.

"QUISTY! Over here!"

Quistis smiled and slowly shook her head. Even though the group always sat at the same booth whenever they got together, Selphie still felt the need to throw up her own personal version of a neon sign-top volume level announcement included. Quistis finally reached the table and slid into the booth, next to Rinoa. Everyone else was already there, except for Zell; he tended to eat breakfast even earlier than they did. The gang preferred to have their morning meal a few hours after the sun rose, but Zell was far too dedicated to training to sleep in.

The onyx-haired sorceress turned to Quistis with a gentle smile on her face. She had just announced her pregnancy to the group, the morning of the night that Quistis had gone to the bar in Balamb and bumped into Seifer. Regardless of the fact that she was probably only a month into her nine-month 'sentence', she already seemed to be glowing. Then again, maybe she always had, and Quistis had simply never noticed.

"It's been awhile since you've stopped by, Quistis," Rinoa commented softly.

Quistis smiled hesitantly and in an attempt to make up a solid excuse, said, "I know. I...I've been kind of feeling under the weather lately."

Rinoa's eyebrows furrowed and her warm eyes narrowed slightly, as she laid her hand on Quistis' shoulder. "You don't have to lie to us, Quisty. If you've been down lately, you can just say so."

The blue mage tilted her head down, tucking her chin into her chest. While she appreciated the gesture and her friends' concern, she didn't feel like now was the time or the place to go into detail. She gently placed her hand over Rinoa's and squeezed lightly.

"I know, Rinoa. Thank you. Maybe later, okay?"

Irvine and Selphie were on the other side of the booth and Irvine had his long arm draped over Selphie's slender shoulders. A little belatedly, Quistis realized that Squall was also missing from the gathering.

"Where's Squall?" Quistis questioned.

At the mention of her knight's name, Rinoa's eyes lit up. The corners of her lips curled upwards in a smile and she rested her chin on the heel of her palm. She gazed off into space wistfully and in a soft voice said, "Oh he's probably working. I always tell him to take breaks and come join us but he ends up complaining that he has a huge pile of stuff to do."

Quistis chuckled shortly. "That sounds like Squall."

"Well he needs to hurry! I have something to tell you guys, but I wanna tell everyone at once!" Selphie exclaimed impatiently. Irvine nipped the top of her ear gently with his fingers, in a slight reprimand, as he smirked at her.

"Zell isn't here either, so you'll end up repeatin' yourself anyway, Sephy," Irvine reminded the brunette.

"Ugh!" Selphie complained.

Quistis heard the light patter of multiple footsteps approaching and when she looked up, she spotted Squall and Zell. Squall was scowling, as always, and Zell was energetically prancing over to them. Quistis slid out of the booth and stood, so that Squall could sit next to Rinoa and the Commander nodded gratefully. He and Rinoa were nearly always joined at the hip and Quistis figured that while Rinoa was pregnant, that would probably increase tenfold.

Quickly, she dragged two empty chairs over from the table nearby, and her and Zell sat down at the end of the booth, facing the rest of the group. Once they were settled, Rinoa straightened in her seat and looked expectantly at Selphie.

"Well, we're all here! What's your big news, Sephy? Is it as exciting as ours was?" the sorceress teased, as her dark, slender eyebrows wiggled up and down suggestively.

Irvine coughed into his hand, as he tipped his hat down over his face. The brunette SeeD blushed at Rinoa's implication and said, "No, no, nothing like that! Anyway uh...well...you guys know how much I love Trabia, right?"

A round of nods ensued.

"So uh...I guess they've been working on rebuilding since the missiles hit a few years ago, and things are going pretty slowly. The thing is, without someone to coordinate repairs and stuff, it's been dragging on and on and on…" Selphie trailed off.

"We get the idea, Selphie," Squall prompted.

"Right! So they contacted me and asked me to come back...and be their coordinator…"

"And you said?" Quistis asked.

"...I said...yes!" Selphie replied, her verdant eyes wide and hopeful.

Cheers and congratulations were thrown Selphie's way by the rest of the gang, but Quistis's heart lurched. Selphie would be the first person in their tight-knit circle to leave Garden and pursue their own endeavors. Quistis was happy for Selphie of course; Trabia was Selphie's home and she'd never made that a secret. But the blonde was afraid that once Selphie left, the rest of them would scatter as well.

Selphie's quiet voice interrupted her thoughts. "Quisty?"

She blinked, coming out of her reverie, and looked back up, meeting Selphie's gaze. Her friend's forehead was creased with concern, and Quistis tried to put what she hoped was a convincing smile on her face. "I'm happy for you Selphie. I know how much you've been wanting to help Trabia rebuild."

"Yeah, I always felt so bad that I pretty much abandoned them. I mean, you guys are my family too, but Trabia is my home."

"Hey, don't worry about it, Selph! We'll hold down the fort while you're gone!" Zell reassured her.

A sly smile slowly crept across Selphie's face and she tilted her head down to look up at Zell, from underneath her eyelashes. She batted them quickly at the martial artist and Zell leaned back, squeezing his eyebrows together as his mouth fell open slightly at her sudden change in behavior.

"Uh…" the martial artist mumbled nervously.

"Does that mean you'll take care of running the Festival Committee, Zell?" Selphie asked, her voice high and innocent.

"Oh no. No, no, no. You don't think that was me offerin' do ya?!"

"Well, you did say you'd 'hold down the fort', didn't you?" Squall asked dryly.

"I said WE. WE!"

"Thank you Zell! I feel so much better knowing that you'll be watching over everything for me!" the brunette cried, as she scrambled over the table. Her arms wrapped around Zell in a fierce hug and he winced at her strength. For such a small woman, she had an awful lot of power.

Quistis and Irvine chuckled to themselves at the fact that Selphie had somehow managed to coerce Zell into taking over the Committee. Their eyes met across the table and Quistis tilted her head at Irvine in curiosity.

"So will you be going too, Irvine?" she asked softly.

"Where Sephy goes, I go."

Her sky blue eyes lowered and she nodded slowly before muttering, "I thought as much."

Frankly, Quistis was jealous. Selphie had always been passionate about rebuilding Trabia. Actually, it was probably more accurate to say that she was passionate about everything. That was why so many people loved her. She put her entire heart and soul into every activity, every promise. That included Irvine. Their sheer dedication to each other was astounding, especially since Irvine took every opportunity to flirt with any female that walked past. While it drove Selphie crazy, at the end of the day, she knew Irvine was faithful to her. That was what Quistis was so jealous of. The unspoken promise of companionship that would always be there.

Even Seifer, of all people, has that, Quistis thought indignantly to herself, as the memory of their meeting at the bar flashed through her mind.

Rinoa, sensing that Quistis might not be handling the news as well as Selphie had hoped, piped up then. "So when do you guys head out?"

Selphie straightened, finished with physically torturing Zell, and said, "In a week! I've just gotta pack everything up. I was hoping you guys could help?"

"Of course! We're free now, right Quistis?"

"Oh uh...yes, I suppose so."


One week later.

The deafening roar of Ragnarok's engine jets powering up blasted through the meadow, and Quistis cringed slightly from the sheer power the ship exuded. The wind gusts chaotically twisted the blades of grass in the plains, and whipped the blonde strands of Quistis' hair around her face. She brushed her bangs back behind her ear, in an attempt to keep them at bay but due to the gale, they refused to stay put. A sigh left her and it was quickly swallowed up by the thunderous sound of the airship.

Selphie and Irvine were setting off for Trabia Garden today, and they'd all gathered outside of Balamb Garden to bid them farewell. In true Selphie fashion however, she was late to her own send off. Quistis crossed her arms and leaned up against the wrought iron fence that marked the Garden's entrance. Irvine paced back and forth, while Zell practiced his moves off in the far corner, near the entrance to the parking garage. Rinoa was sitting on the steps and Squall chose to remain standing, just to the side of his sorceress. His foot tapped impatiently on the stone pathway, and Quistis giggled at the stoic Commander showing his emotions so freely. Normally, he was off in the opposite corner from Zell, scowling at everything.

"Hey, there she is!" Zell exclaimed as he pointed back through the gate, and the whole group turned to look towards the academy.

Selphie could be seen off in the distance, multiple bags looped around her arms as she sprinted to the front entrance. Irvine paused in his effort to wear grooves into the cement, and shook his head while he watched her run towards them. Finally, she reached the top step and came to a stop just beside Quistis, bracing her hands on her knees, panting as she caught her breath.

"Sorry...guys...I...slept in," she explained, in between large gasps of air.

"I kind of figured, Sephy. Good thing we're not in any rush right?" teased Irvine.

"Speak for yourself. I have a meeting this afternoon," Squall complained from below the steps, his voice quiet. Rinoa elbowed him in the ribs for his lack of tact, and the Commander let out an 'oomph'.

"It's fine, Selphie. We really aren't in any rush," the darker-haired brunette assured.

Selphie's face scrunched up and she set all of her bags down next to her on the cement. "I really am sorry! I tried to hurry, I swear."

Irvine climbed the steps and gathered Selphie's bags in his longer arms. He straightened and headed for the Ragnarok, turning to say over his shoulder, "I'll go load this stuff up."

Selphie nodded at the cowboy's retreating back and shuffled her feet in place. None of them were very skilled at saying goodbye, and Selphie could probably be classified as the worst. Quistis, deciding to take the first step, pushed off of the iron gate and trudged over to the perky brunette, raising her arms up in an invitation. Tears welled in Selphie's viridian eyes and she ran into Quistis' arms, nearly knocking the blonde over. Quistis gently ran her hand up and down Selphie's back, as the younger woman sobbed into her shoulder.

"Selphie...goodbyes aren't forever," she said softly.

"But...Trabia is...so far! And...I'll...miss you guys," Selphie sputtered, as sobs interrupted her words.

"I know. We'll miss you too," the blue mage replied.

Rinoa's eyes started to water as well and she hastily ascended the steps, wrapping both Quistis and Selphie up in her arms. "We'll come visit, Sephy! All the time!"

"You better! Once a month, okay!? I want to see your belly grow!" Selphie demanded, as she straightened and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

Squall walked up to them as well and said, "Once a month might be hard. But we will visit."

Selphie turned and tried to glare at Squall, but she started crying again instead, which caused her expression to scrunch up in an extremely unattractive way. She ran over to the dark-haired gunbladist, one of the many people she'd always looked up to, their Commander, and squeezed him tightly in one of her infamous hugs. Squall tensed at the sudden physical contact but eventually, he hesitantly placed his hand on Selphie's upper back, patting it in an attempt to awkwardly comfort her.

She leaned back and gazed up at Squall, her lips curling upwards in a smile.

Zell yelled up at her from the sidewalk, "Hey, don't I get a hug?!"

Selphie giggled and let Squall go, racing down the steps to jump on Zell. She looped her arms around his neck and he swung her around, laughing the entire time. Quistis shook her head as she watched them; they'd always been the two most rambunctious of the group.

As Zell set Selphie back down on the sidewalk, Irvine's voice drifted over to them. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were tryin' to steal my girl, Zell."

Zell blushed and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "No, I-"

"I'm kidding. I know Sephy better than that," the taller man jokingly interrupted the martial artist, as he held his arm out for his girlfriend. She skipped over to him and placed her arm around his back, and the two of them looked back at their friends.

"Well. I guess this is it," Irvine said quietly. Selphie's eyes started to water again at his final statement and she wiped her cheeks again, with the back of her hand.

"You guys know where to find us. I expect to see everyone once a month, Squall!" she threatened.

Squall simply shook his head in response, as he walked towards the Ragnarok. "It seems like you're forgetting that I have to drop you off."

"Oh yeah!" Selphie said.

Quistis placed her finger on her temple as she too shook her head at the brunette's forgetfulness. A smile spread across her face as she watched the trio walk towards the airship, and a wave of sadness rushed through her. Trabia wasn't far, as her friend had stated, but it did mean that they would no longer be together, in the same place. She wouldn't be able to see Selphie at breakfast, she couldn't head over to her room for a chat in the late evening hours, and she wouldn't have anyone to pester her about Garden Festival ideas. Ironically, as much as Selphie had annoyed her about the Festival, she realized that'd been one of her favorite things about the brunette.

When Selphie turned and waved at them, Quistis, with unbidden tears rising in her eyes, returned the gesture, and tried to memorize the sight of one of her closest friends before she walked out of their lives. Rinoa came up to Quistis and leaned her head on the blonde's shoulder, linking their arms together.

"I'm going to miss her," the sorceress whispered.

"I think we're all going to miss her," Quistis quietly agreed.

"She's just so…" Rinoa trailed off.

"Spunky," Zell finished, a wistful expression on his face. The girls giggled softly and Quistis nodded; spunky defined Selphie perfectly.

The Ragnarok rose swiftly into the air, and the trio on the ground could hear the sound of the jets powering up, even from the Garden's front gate. When the airship had reached full clearance, the sonance of the engine reached a feverish pitch and the dragon-shaped vessel darted off into the distance, leaving trails of white, fluffy smoke behind.


A/N: Awww, bye Selphie & Irvine :( Cookie for a review? :3