The Mountains Win Again.

A/N: A few scenes in this chapter actually came from a commercial… But I guess that just shows how creative I am!

Chapter seven

It was early, just around the break of day, the morning dew still glistening on the grass outside. Seifer awoke, as the beads of rain slowly ran down the window, as a result of last night's storm. This season there were usually many storms in Balamb, but this year had been mostly dry. Seifer had slept on the couch that night, while Quistis kept her bed. She needed the rest, as she was the only one with an actual job at the moment.

Seifer brushed a few loose strands of hair out of his face, seeing as he hated them there, which was the main reason why he gelled it back most of the time.

Quistis was still in the bathroom, getting ready for work. She got up much earlier than most inhabitants of Garden, seeing as she usually took a long time to get dressed. Anyone could've guessed it, because of the fact that she was a perfectionist in every other aspect of her life, so why not her appearance also?

Seifer slowly stood up, on wobbly legs, though he quickly gained his composure and gathered his balance.

Surprisingly, the bathroom door was open. Quistis was inside, shaving her legs. She was in a bit of a dangerous position, as she had one leg propped up on the sink.

Suddenly, she lost her balance, slipping and tumbling toward the hard tile floor. She felt a strong arm wrap around her, as her head was about an inch from hitting the floor. Letting out a sigh of relief, she looked up at the one who caught her.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"Uh… Yeah." Seifer replied absently as he pulled her up. "I guess I better go…"

"And where would you possibly need to be?" She replied, sarcasm apparent in her voice.

"No… I meant I need to get out of the bathroom so you can get ready for work."

"Oh."

"But I guess I meant it both ways, because there is somewhere I need to be." Seifer continued. "Specifically, the cafeteria, and after that, I need to go get a few things from my old dorm."

"Oh, alright. Just make sure not to get into any more fights." Quistis laughed, as Seifer made his way toward the door.

The door shut behind the tall blonde, and Quistis went back to what she was doing.

Meanwhile…

Rinoa was sitting in class, not particularly paying attention to the teacher. Her mind was on Seifer. How could he be so selfish? He just pushed her off like she was nothing. Truth be told, he was the one that should be sorry, because he was the one who tried to turn her over to Adel! Although, she knew her mind shouldn't be on Seifer. It should be on Squall. He was nice to her. He bought her things, and he told her that he loved her. He treated her better than Seifer ever did. Well, at least recently. Squall had done more for her in the last three years than Seifer had through the whole relationship. Even though her and Seifer's relationship only lasted a year… But still, that was no excuse, at least in her mind.

But still, for some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about him. As Rinoa looked over to the window, she clearly saw Seifer leaving the cafeteria. Now was her chance, if she could just catch up to him.

"Um… Instructor, may I be excused?" Rinoa asked.

"I don't see why you would need to leave, but okay, I think you can afford to miss this class, since you're so far ahead.

"Thank you." Rinoa replied, already on her way out.

As Seifer stepped into his dorm, he heard footsteps behind him. Quickly spinning around, he saw someone he had hoped to never see again.

"What are you doing here?" Seifer interrogated.

"What do you think?" Rinoa answered his question with a question of her own.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone." Seifer walked over to his dresser, grabbing a few things, and stuffing them in his pockets.

"Seifer… I can't stop thinking about you." She took a step closer, and he took a step back.

"I don't care." He replied.

"Why can't you accept that I still love you?" Rinoa pleaded.

"Because that all ended the day you decided to hate me." He snarled.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" She yelled back.

"You knew good and well that I didn't commit any of those crimes intentionally, but did you say that in court, NO!"

"Please, just forgive me."

"I can't." Seifer responded, as he pushed past her again, and left the dorm.

A few minutes later, Rinoa decided to leave also, heading back to her class. Little did she know that Squall was watching from a distance, and seeing them both leave a currently vacant dorm was obviously going to raise suspicions…

Later…

Seifer walked the empty halls of the student dormitory, not paying attention to where he was going. From behind, He felt something jerk him around violently, and before he knew it, he was up against the wall, with the commander staring him in the face.

"Look, I don't who the hell you think you are, Almasy, but I don't like you being around my woman." Squall growled.

"You don't understand…" Seifer tried to explain.

"I don't need to understand, to know what's going on. I saw you and Rinoa leave that dorm together, and believe me, I know what you were doing." The obviously angry commander continued. "Trust me, you're getting lucky this time. If I wanted to hurt you, I already would have." Squall released his rival, but not before delivering a right hook to the blonde's jaw. The commander turned and walked away, as Seifer rubbed his bruised jaw.

Seifer let out a low growl, and continued his walk back toward Quistis' dorm, even though he knew she wasn't there.

It took a minute for Seifer to even figure out why Squall did what he did, but then he remembered the talk he just had with Rinoa… Squall must've seen them both leaving his dorm.

As Seifer arrived at his destination, he slowly opened the door, stepping in and proceeding to the bathroom. After placing important things like his toothbrush, and a few other articles, he decided now would be a good time to go back to sleep. He was off for a week, so he intended to take full advantage of it.

……

………

…………

A few hours later, Seifer awoke again, rejuvenated from his nap. Quistis was back again, due to the sounds coming from the kitchen, she was most likely cooking. He stood up, and headed into the kitchen to see what was going on.

"So I see you're back." Seifer greeted in his usual quiet tone.

"Uh-huh." Quistis replied, not looking away from the stove.

"So what are you cooking?" He inquired, moving closer.

"Oh. It's just some leftover stir fry from the lunch I had at the cafeteria." She said with a smile.

"Oh." He turned and headed back toward the living room.

"Do you want some?" Quistis asked.

"No, that's okay, I'm not hungry. But as soon as you're done eating I need to talk to you."

"Alright." She replied.

Within around twenty minutes, Quistis was finished eating, and headed into the living room. She thought she knew what Seifer needed to talk to her about, and hopefully she was right.

Walking into the small main room, she spotted the tall blonde leaning against the wall, looking out the window.

"You needed to talk to me?" Her soothing voice broke the silence.

"Yes... I thought about what you said, and I've made up my mind."

"Oh? And what made you do this?"

"Well, to be honest, I just realized I already had." Seifer replied, standing to his feet and walking over to Quistis.

"What did you decide?"

Seifer replied by brushing her hair out her face, and planting a gentle kiss on her lips. After a few seconds, he pulled back, and looked the other blonde in the eyes.

"Does that answer your question?"

Seifer didn't even wait for a response, as he moved in for another kiss, this time letting his tongue slip past her lips. Quistis got weak in the knees, and Seifer had to hold her up. Soon after, Quistis pulled back again, looking into his emerald eyes.

"Wow, when you make up your mind about something…" She smiled.