Drifted
Chapter Four: Some Alone Time
By PasifiKStaR
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, guys, but don't worry, I won't take it down. I've started it so I shall end it. ^_^
"Squall! You're up already?" Rinoa gasped as she stumbled out of her room. According to her clock, it was still six thirty in the morning. She was dressed in matching light blue pajamas with white snow flake prints on them. Her hair was braided and loose down her back.
"I've been up since five," the brunette doing push ups on the den floor replied as sweat that had collected from his morning work out collected at his temples. He was wearing a loose black shirt and black track pants as a dark blue towel laid in a pile to his right. "I couldn't get back to sleep so I took advantage of your little gym."
"Oh..." Rinoa said. She passed by the room to see that the punching bag in the corner had obviously taken a good beating recently. *No wonder he has such defined arms...* "Did you eat breakfast yet?"
"No," Squall said. He stopped in mid push up and jumped up. As he stretched his body, he glanced over at her. "Do you want me to make something?"
"No! No!" Rinoa gasped. "It's YOUR vacation," she insisted as she scrambled to the phone. "I'll just order something from the kitchen."
"It's all right, Rin," Squall said as he passed her. He put his towel around his neck as he headed for the kitchen. "I know full well you have food here."
"Squall, really," Rinoa insisted. "I don't want you to-"
"Do you have to leave early?" He asked as he headed straight for the coffee maker. He turned to look at her as he grabbed the pile of filters and began to take one from the top.
Rinoa shook her head slightly. "I'm leaving with Fujin at nine-"
"Than we have time to eat breakfast," Squall insisted. He began measuring the coffee. "Go take your morning shower. I'll have breakfast ready by then."
Rinoa raised an eyebrow in question and nodded. "Okay..." she murmured. She smiled brightly. "I'll see you in a bit then!" She turned and headed back to her room as Squall began to rummage through the kitchen. As she closed the door, she giggled to herself. *He really knows my habits...I really miss that...*
Outside, Squall waited until the door was closed and he heard the shower start. He let out a sigh of relief and closed the fridge door. He headed towards the phone and picked it up. "Hello? Room service?"
"Cross country skiing!" the male blond said as he held the resort catalogue up for Quistis to see.
"Uh...no...what about ice skating!?" Quistis said as she pointed to the next option. Seifer put on a disgusted look and pulled the catalogue back.
"Hyne, no!"
"Fine..."
"Ice HOCKEY." he smirked.
"No." Quistis rolled her eyes and elbowed him slightly. She was wearing a dark red night gown while Seifer wore black pajamas.
Seifer frowned and looked down at her. "Why not?"
"You know damn well why not." she replied as she looked up at him. They were laying in the bed, Seifer sitting up against the head board with one arm around Quistis' slim shoulders as the female blond leaned her head against his shoulder and looked over the catalogue with him.
"Fine," Seifer grumbled. They had been up for thirty minutes trying to decide what they could do for the day. "What about golf?"
"Oh, please," Quistis chuckled. "We both know you can't even play a round of mini golf without breaking the putter and screaming profane words at the ball."
"That only happened ONCE." Seifer insisted.
"We only did it ONCE."
"..." Seifer frowned. "What about the snow man building contest?"
Quistis sighed. "That's for CHILDREN."
"That means we'll win against those kids!" Seifer exclaimed. Quistis groaned and tilted her head back against his arm. "Well, do you have any other ideas or do you just way to lay in bed all day? Because you know I'm all for that."
"Okay, you pick today and I'll pick tomorrow and we'll alternate. How's that?" Quistis asked. Seifer mulled over the idea for a moment and nodded.
"All right..." Seifer said. "So today I'll pick?" She nodded. He turned his green eyes back to the catalogue and narrowed them. "All right...I want to try 'Introduction to Ice Sculpting'."
"Okay then," Quistis said. "And tomorrow, we'll go ice skating." Seifer scowled.
"Fine..."
"Okay, let's get out of bed and get going then! After that, we can come back, relax in the hot tub and eat dinner." Quistis said. Seifer smirked at the idea and nodded.
"Sounds good to me."
"Mmm...Squall, you've really improved," Rinoa said as she swallowed the last of her breakfast. She leaned back against her chair and smiled brightly. "I remember when you used to burn everything you touched!"
"Yeah..." Squall said weakly as he sipped his coffee. *I have to pay that bill before she finds out...*
"I swear, if I didn't know any better, I'd say this food is from the hotel kitchen!" she chuckled. Squall froze in his seat.
"Are...are you underestimating my cooking abilities?" he asked, trying to sound offended. Rinoa shook her head.
"No," she giggled. "I'm really happy you cooked." She blushed and Squall nodded slightly.
*Damn, she knows how to pile on the guilt.*
Rinoa looked at her wrist watch. "Ugh...I have to get going. I have to meet Fujin in the lobby. I'll be back late."
"You don't have to tell me."
"Right...right..." Rinoa trailed off. She blushed and stood up, brushing off her clothes. Squall stood up when she did. "Well, I'll see you."
She grabbed her dark blue blazer that she would wear over her knee length skirt and white blouse before grabbing her purse. Squall stood by the door, giving her a warm smile before she left. "Be careful," he told her, just like the many times she had left when she was just starting out as a singer. They stood in front of each other for a few seconds. *Hyne...this is usually where we kiss...*
*This is usually when we kiss each other good-bye...* Rinoa thought to herself as she found herself slowly drawing towards his gorgeous blue eyes.
"Uh..." his voice said, cutting through thoughts. "Don't you have to go meet Fujin?"
The spell was broken and Rinoa shook herself out of her daydream. She gave him a weak smile as she struggled to suppress her blush. "Right!" she said. "Bye then!"
Before she could stop herself once more, she turned and flew out the door, clutching her purse against her chest. She could feel her entire face burning with embarrassment as she chided herself. They were no longer together. She shouldn't expect that from him.
Squall slowly closed the door to their suite. It clicked, meaning it locked behind him. He leaned back against it and let out a deep breath. After a few moments, he stood straight up. *A cold shower it is.*
Quistis stared at the large block of ice in front of her, a confused look on her face as she held a hammer and an large chistle in her gloved hands. She looked to her left and saw Seifer, wielding Hyperion, as he sliced through his block of ice with an almost boyish glee.
*It would be so cute if he didn't look like he was hacking someone to bits...* she thought to herself with a sigh. *Oh well...at least we're spending time together.*
"Hey!" Quistis froze at the sound of that all too familiar word spoken by that all too familiar voice. "You guys are taking Intro to Ice Sculpting, too!?"
"Selphie, what are you doing here!?" Quistis gasped as she whirled to her right and saw Selphie standing there on the next table. Irvine was lugging a large block of ice towards them while Selphie held their tools.
"I always wanted to try this!" Selphie said. "What are you guys doing afterwards?"
Quistis' heart raced as sweat began to form on her forehead. While she loved Selphie and the others like family, she had reserved this time for Seifer. She looked over to her left once more. Seifer was still violently destroying the ice block.
"Uh...what are YOU doing next?" Quistis asked as she noticed several people looking at Seifer strangely. Several others were moving their tables further from them.
"Irvy and I are going to take cross country skiing lessons!" Selphie piped.
"I don't need them," Irvine stated casually as he wiped his hands together after placing the block of ice on the table. Out of no where, he suddenly lifted up Exeter and winked at Selphie. "You watchin'? Check this out."
Quistis knew where this was leading. Irvine lifted the gun up and began shooting the ice block. All around them, people screamed and ducked from the sounds of bullets as chunks of ice flew through the air. Seifer immediately grabbed Quistis as soon as he heard the first gun shot and covered her body with his.
"Yay!" Selphie's voice was heard cheering. Quistis looked back up. Selphie, in her yellow ski suit, was jumping up and down cheerfully as Irvine blew the smoking barrel of his gun.
Seifer shot up and immediately began to yell. "What the hell is wrong with you!? Can't you see you're in a public area!? And that this NOT the way you're supposed to make an ice sculpture!"
Irvine merely smirked and turned the table around. "You obviously haven't see the results." The sparkling piece of frozen water was in the shape of Selphie's head. She had bullets for eyes, nose, and smile while her hair was shot roughly into her upturned hair style.
"Okay, I have to admit - that is somewhat impressive." Quistis said as she looked over the statue. Selphie was talking to one of the shaken participants of the class about taking a picture of her and Irvine next to her ice sculpture bust with her digital camera.
Seifer snorted. "You think THAT'S good?" He walked back to his table and turned it around. "This is what Hyperion can do."
*Oh, Hyne...* Quistis said with a frown as she looked at the strangely cut, jagged pieces of ice that looked like a mop head. *Tell me that's not...*
"It's Quistis!" Seifer announced. He looked towards his girlfriend and gave her a proud smile. "What do you think? True to life, right? I know..." As he put his hand on the Quistis ice sculpture's head, what Quistis assumed was supposed to be her pinned back hair fell.
Behind her, Irvine was struggling to suppress his laugh as Selphie took a picture of the bust. Meanwhile, Quistis dragged her hand down her face. Slowly, the class instructor approached them. "Um...I hate to disturb you in the middle of...uh... class," he began stammering nervously. "But I think it would benefit the other students if you would all leave."
"But I haven't even started on my project!" Quistis gasped.
"PLEASE." the instructor pleaded. Quistis put her head down as she placed the unused tools on the table. Seifer put one arm around Quistis' shoulder.
"It's okay, Quistis," he said with a smile. "We can always take a later class."
"Introduction to Ice Sculpting..." Quistis said as she read the words scrolling across the one of the screens in the lounge. "Canceled until further notice..." *Why am I not surprised...* She looked down at the catalogue and crossed out the class.
A mug of hot chocolate was put in front of her and she looked up. Seifer was standing there, smiling warmly at her as he lifted up another catalogue. She raised an eyebrow in question as he sat down across from her. "I found something else we could try."
"What?" Quistis asked. She took a small sip of her hot chocolate before looked over at him. He showed her an opened page and she gave him a confused look. "Are you serious?"
An Hour Later...
"Welcome to The Ice Crystal Resort! Just so you all know, this is couples ice skating! Today we'll practice skating as one!" said the flamboyantly dressed ice skating instructor.
Quistis let out a content smile. *Finally...something sweet and romantic.*
"We'll start off with simply holding hands and skating next to each other!" The instructor told them. "Will the couples please hold hands!"
Quistis barely moved her hand an inch, when Seifer's warm gloved one went over hers. She looked straight ahead, struggling to repress her blush as the taller blond moved over to her. "Surprised?" he asked, obviously pleased with himself.
Quistis giggled slightly and nodded. "Yeah...you picked something normal."
"Funny..."
"Okay, now we'll start off with the left leg first. Try to keep in sync with your partner," All around them, couples let out laughs and groans as they struggled to move as one. A few couples fell down, laughing as they landed on each other. "Don't be afraid to fall! Everyone falls!"
"Psst...not us!" Seifer snorted. He turned to Quistis. "Let's show these amateurs how WE do it BEST!"
Quistis' blue eyes nearly fell out of her head as she was tugged forward. "Seifer! Seifer, wait! Slow down!" she screamed as they jetted ahead of the other couples. Seifer had a defiant look on his face as he grabbed Quistis and pulled her closer. "Seifer, we should slow down!"
"Why?" he asked as they glided gracefully along the ice of the indoor ice rink. "You're doing fine, baby!"
"Wait!" the instructor yelled behind them. "Don't go into the other half of the rink!!"
"Seifer, we should turn around!" Quistis shouted as they skated towards the other end.
"What? Why?" Seifer asked, not concerned as he looked down at her.
"WATCH OUT!!" a voice shouted. Quistis looked up from Seifer's head to the area in front of them and screamed.
Seifer turned his head. *CRACK!*
As if in slow motion, the tall blond was knocked off his feet, letting go of Quistis, as he fell on his back. A hand sized black object had slammed into his face, luckily in a less wind resistant angle. Quistis skidded to a stop and quickly turned to him.
"Seifer!?" she screamed as she skated back. "Seifer!?"
The puck slowly fell off his face as blood dripped from the man's nose. Seifer himself felt pulsing pain through his head as Quistis knelt down next to him.
"Oh my Hyne!" a voice screamed. "I'm so sorry!!"
Quistis looked up and saw Zell and his girlfriend skate up to them, each holding hockey sticks. "Oh, damn!" Zell yelled as he looked over at his girlfriend. The girl, dressed in neon pink dropped her hockey stick as she covered her mouth.
"I'm so sorry!!" she gasped once more. "I didn't see him coming! He just darted out right in front of us!"
"What's going on here-oh, shit!"
"Instructor," Zell said as their instructor came forward. "We didn't see him coming."
"I told you not to go to this half of the rink!" the ice skating instructor said as he skated. "They're having Intro to Hockey on this half!"
"I don't care! Someone call the paramedics!" Quistis gasped. She held Seifer's hand as the other blond conked out. "Seifer!?"
He let out a heavy groan and winced. His head was pounding and pain throbbed right over his nose. "What the hell's going on...?" he grumbled as he attempted to sit up.
"Don't move," Quistis told him with a tired sigh as she lifted an ice pack over his head. "You were hit by a puck."
"WHAT?" he asked, wincing as he tried to move his head to look at her.
"A hockey puck. You were hit by a hockey puck..." Quistis sighed. "By Zell's girlfriend..."
"What...? LIBRARY GIRL?" he gasped. "I was knocked out by LIBRARY GIRL?" He sounded more disgusted with himself than anything else. Quistis merely nodded.
"On the other side of the rink they were having intro to ice hockey," Quistis said as she finished changing his ice packs. "Which is why our instructor told us not to go to that side."
"A bit too late..." he grumbled. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "What time is it?"
Quistis glanced at that clock by her side of the bed. "Just past five."
"Already? How long was I out?"
"Three hours."
"Great..." Seifer snorted.
"I had to call Irvine and Selphie so that he and Zell could carry you up here," Quistis said. "I didn't know that his girlfriend could hit so hard."
"I assure you, she hits REALLY hard," Seifer grumbled. "Damn...it hurts like a bitch."
"The doctor at the medical center prescribed some pain killers," Quistis said. She reached over to the counter and lifted up a plastic bottle. "He said to give you two every four hours when you wake up. You can stop taking them when the pain is gone."
"Any indication of WHEN the hell that will be?" Seifer asked.
Quistis opened the bottle and took out two pills. "Here...can you sit up?"
"I'll try...AH!"
"Okay, okay...here let me help!" Quistis sighed. She put the two little white pills on the counter and tried to help him up. Seifer groaned and complained the whole time, but was finally able to sit up slightly and leaned against the head board. "Here..." She handed him the two pills and a glass of water with a straw. Seifer popped the pills and then took a long sip of water.
"I would sue Library Girl if I didn't sign that waver when we took the class..." Seifer stated.
Quistis rolled her eyes. "She has a NAME, honey."
"Yeah? What is it then?" he said as his green eyes looked over to her. In the dim light, he could make out Quistis' face as it went from bored to confused. "You don't know, do you?"
"I...um...damn..."
"Forget it," Seifer grumbled. "I'm going to tell you right now. You can forget about ice skating tomorrow."
"I know...you might not be able to walk steadily for a day or two," Quistis said with a smirk, earning her a glare. She gently reached out and pushed his hair back. "Do you need anything?"
"More pain killers."
"Seifer..."
"I don't know..." Seifer grumbled. "Now what are we going to do? We're going to miss the buffet! You know they have all you can eat sea food just twice a week!"
Quistis rolled her eyes. "I've ordered in," she said. She leaned forward and kissed him softly. "Don't worry about dinner."
Seifer sighed and reached out, taking her hand in his. "I'm sorry...looks like we can't go to the spa."
Quistis grinned. "I'm sorry, I think you mean YOU can't go to the spa."
Seifer raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously. "What are you implying?"
Quistis stood up and took a step back. "I'll see you at seven for dinner."
"Wait...Quisty..." he began to plead as he reached over to her. She gave him a slight wave before heading towards the living room of their suite. "That's not funny!!"
Two Hours Later...
"It was just a joke..." Quistis said as Seifer laid down across her lap, looking like a helpless dog being petted by their master. "C'mon...let it go...I didn't really leave."
"You left the room." Seifer mumbled. Quistis gently stroked his hair as she took a sip from her glass of wine.
"I was waiting for dinner to come."
"Why did it take an hour then?" Seifer pouted.
"Because I ordered a little of everything. Now stop complaining."
"Why should it?"
"Because we don't spend enough time together as it is...let's just enjoy a little peace and quiet while we're here," Quistis said. *So shut up already.*
He grumbled and closed his eyes. "Sometimes I wonder if you set it up so I'd get hit with a puck just so we can spend a quiet evening together."
Quistis smirked as she looked away. "Well...I guess you'll never know."
Squall laid on his bed. He had spent most of the day in the suite. After Rinoa had left, he took a rather long cold shower and left to go pay the bill before Rinoa got back and found out.
As soon as he reached the lobby, he was spotted by the last person in the world he wanted to see. "SON!!"
"No..." He turned around slowly and paled as he saw the neon green dressed President of Esthar running towards him, arms extended. Squall took a step back as Laguna nearly tackled him. "It's already eleven! You're missing the day!"
"I had things to do." he mumbled quietly.
"Did you have a good night?" Laguna asked warmly.
"Uh-"
"Why don't you join me for lunch?" Laguna cut him off. "On me!"
"What...what about Sis or Kiros...or Ward?" Squall stammered as he tried to pull himself away.
"Ellone went off with Fujin and Rinoa to the meeting, Ward and Kiros went with them since Raijin can't drive," Laguna said. He beamed a smile. "It's just YOU and ME."
After Squall nearly had a heart attack, he proclaimed that he had yet to go look around. Laguna offered to take him on a tour. Squall then said he suddenly felt sick. Laguna offered to take him to the medical center. Squall then claimed he didn't want to get someone as important as his father sick and the moment Laguna let go of his arm, Squall was back in the elevator and heading to their room.
He then decided to just pay via phone. Now, laying on his bed, he looked over at the digital clock. It was just past one. He had ordered dinner and ate it hours ago. While he was in the middle of wondering if he should've ordered something for Rinoa, he head the door close.
"Hey, Angelo..." a tired voice whispered from the living room. Squall stood up in his dark room and walked to his door. He slowly cracked the door open and peeked outside into the den. Rinoa took off her shoes at the door and then headed towards the couch.
Tiredly, she walked to the couch and fell back on in, her purse falling at her side. Within a few moments, she was asleep. He heard something whine and looked down to see Angelo trying to push her way into his room. He stepped aside and opened the door.
"I know..." he told the dog as he walked out into the den. The fire place was on, casting a warm light on Rinoa's tired face. Silently, the young captain put his arms under her body and lifted her up.
Rinoa seemed lighter than when he last carried her. Of course, he might have also gotten stronger. With ease, he followed Angelo into Rinoa's room and laid the girl out on her bed. He tugged her comforter and blanket out from her under her and pulled them over her body.
For a few moments, Squall stood over her, watching her sleep under the moonlight. Her lips parted slightly as she breathed. His hand went across her head, pushing back her stray bangs. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the forehead.
"Hmm..." she moaned slightly as she turned her head to the side. "Good night, Squall..."
He smiled slightly and backed away from her all white and light blue bed. "Good night, my angel."