A/N: After being absent for several months, I owe you at least one lengthy chapter to make up for lost time. I told ya I'm working on it.


In-Laws and Outlaws

Chapter 8


o O o


We all raced to the finish line.

Everyone had their reasons.

Mine?

I cannot marry Seifer.

In the end, we won…

an engagement ring.


o O o


Comfortably seated on Dollet's private vessel at dawn, Seifer and Quistis were on their return trip to Dollet after an overnight stay at Balamb Garden for baby Julia's first birthday. So much has changed, so many faces were but strangers, yet the place had always been familiar. As expected, a lot of fuss came about the moment they stepped in the campus together. The stares, the whispers, the hidden cameras—the scandal! Seifer had it coming, a horde of angry stares from the older students while dreamy wheezes from the younger female cadets. Quistis had to brace herself with tons of questions, the top two being: Are you coming back to teach in the Garden? And, are you two back together? Both she easily denied and dismissed as petty rumours. Apparently, there were still a few Trepe Groupies left even after she was gone for almost four years...and apparently, there were still haters for the Almasy.

Despite all the commotions of the party, a frantic Rinoa, a super-hyper-party-planner Selphie, and an Irvine-Zell clown duo, it was good fun—except for the birthday girl who was as sleepy as her father that day. The highlight was the end of it, when people no longer had to pretend they enjoy the screams of a rowdy flock of hyperactive kids all wanting a slice of the birthday cake and to pull the clown's hair. Well...the hair pulling part was great fun, but it got sad after Zell began gobbling their cakes in vengeance.

When the boat reached Dollet's dock Seifer was still contemplating on the question Edea asked him when she saw them together: "What are you trying to prove?" The question was left unanswered as he choked on the cherry and the focus was on the Heimlich manoeuvre the second after. But more than the question, he was disturbed by how his beloved Matron stared at him, a sort of ire lingered just beneath her stare. Although she covered all that with a smile, he somehow knew it was forced. He was stiff the entire time they were talking. He took precaution to the cold air she was sending him so he did not ask for an explanation. It hurt him, the indifference she unwillingly showed him; the painful part was that he never knew the fault.

"We're here," he heard Quistis speak. She had to hit him to react. "Are you coming?"

He looked up to see her standing on the boat's edge with the wind whipping her hair and the high sun shaping her curves into a silhouette. He stared at her for a moment and noticed her a lot slimmer than their first encounter. He unconsciously grinned, mesmerized. "Yeah…."

Quietly walking on the dock, it was the part where Seifer was supposed to compliment her on her new figure, but she cut him off from the thought, "That was fun, I'm glad you decided to come."

"Of course, I gave the Sorceress my word. Who knows what voodoo she'd do to me if I didn't go?"

She folded her arms, giggling, "I think she'd go for your hair." She reached out to rub his spiky hair, which has grown twice as long since that faithful day at the barbers.

"Hey!" He vigorously shook his head to make her let go. Although it may not look like it, but just like other men, he was conscious about his hair. He didn't want people messing around with it, even Quistis knew that now. It was because of his towering height that not many get to pat him on the head, but more than that, because he was Seifer no one pats his head thus they were not aware he cared too much about what grows on his head. "You're no longer allowed to touch my hair since you caused this mess!" he sneered brushing his hand across this scalp as if to fix whatever hair strayed off his half-inch-long hair.

"Hey! You were already a mess when I saw you."

"But you made is worse!"

"I've apologized a dozen times, can't you just let it go?" she retorted, guilty.

"Not until I'm happy seeing my face in the mirror."

"You're hopeless," she sighed. "I'm going back the hotel. You too should get on home and apply some growing formula on your head, for your hair and mental development."

It took her three steps the opposite direction before he blurted, "Come to the apartment later, will ya? You still owe me lots of favours because of what you did to my hair."

"And why would I do that? Your apartment is filthy and I might die from all the bug spray you inject the air."

He persisted, "just come, alright? I want you to meet someone."

She sighed, "Why?"

"Because I want you to meet her as much as I want her to meet you," he replied giving her his signature smirk.

Those words and that smirk sealed the deal. She suddenly nodded and became a sucker without her knowing.


o O o


She was supposed to knock on the door, but saw it open so she went right in with a bag of groceries. "Hey, when I told Duke I was coming here he asked me to give you these because he's been receiving a lot of complaints regarding you stealing a portion of everyone's lunches just so you don't have to buy your own." She placed the heavy bag on his table and crossed her arms. "You know, if you're so keen about saving up then I don't mind sharing my lunch with you once in a while. I'm just concerned that other employees are not that well off to actually volunteer to feed you every day. A little consideration on your part would be nice." She looked at him looking at her, dazed. "I bought you some local vegetables and fresh fish. I also passed by the butcher to grab you a few chunks of cockatrice breasts and anacondaur fillets. I can help you with the cooking if you want. Steak and buttered greens sounds nice, don't you think?" She noticed his expression never changed the moment she walked in. "You know, you're awfully quiet. It's either you're very interested or simply drifting off."

It took him approximately fifteen seconds to react, "Huh?"

She pressed her temple as she shook her head, "Seriously? What am I gonna do with you?"

He rubbed his face and slapped his cheeks left and right. "I need a favour."

"What is it this time?" Her eyes rolled in annoyance as his favours seem to come day after day.

"Remember what I said about letting you meet someone? Well she's actually my adopted mom in Winhill. I thought she was comin' alone but then I realized that she's bringing along her whiny daughter who she eagerly wants me to marry. Ya see the thing is, I really can't say no to her because she's done a lot for me, but I ain't marrying her creepy daughter either." He managed to explain it all in one breath.

"I know it's none of my business to ask, but sensing that I will be involved in the situation, at least tell me why."

There was a brief pause between her question and his answer, "because she ain't the one." Seifer had to look away to tell her that.

"The one?" she played dumb just to fish some cheesy words from him simply because she knew how much he hated it.

"Are you sure you want me to answer that?"

"Try me," she dared.

He stood up, came very close to her face and crooned, "Because she ain't you."

That was uncalled for. She was so convinced he'd say something stupid—well actually, he just did. But beside the point of the statement was how he stared at her as he said it, it made his intentions seem almost convincing that she felt the hair in her arms raise. "Very funny Seifer…you just love teasing me don't you?" she sniggered blushing.

"How serious does my face have to get for you to believe that what I'm saying isn't a joke? You want me to prove it to ya?"

That was a dangerous question to answer and a very risky topic to pursue. She had to think fast. "What was your favour again?" was all she could come up with.

He hung his head low to show his displease. But quickly he shot himself back up and said, "I need you to convince them we're engaged."

"NO! That's easier said than done…besides, you're just gonna complicate things. Or did you forget we have a contract due with Duke?" Her face became stern, and she wasn't happy.

"C'mon, it's not that hard to pretend we're in love. I know that deep down you know you feel something for me no matter how many potions you drink. The contract can wait for all I care! The only thing that matters now is that I can't give them a reason to leave you for someone else…because there really is no one else." He said with a wink attached to the end of the statement.

"Very funny," she said, partly chuckling, partly looking at him with hesitation, waiting to see when he might say it was all a joke.

"You're scared I might not be kidding," he figured when she gave him that look.

"Of course you are, why else would you say that?"

"Because I'm serious, I need you to make them believe that we're getting married."

"Why!?"

"I already told ya, I want Aven off my back, and you're the one woman they know I'm serious about." He cleared his throat, mumbling, "They kinda know who you are."

"And they know me, how?"

"Quit stalling, and just wear a ring or somethin' because I need to introduce you to them the moment they get here."

She groaned, "Well, this is what I'm wearing right now so you'll have to settle for this." She extended her hand to show him a sapphire ring on her right ring finger, the same ring they won on the Couple's Amazing Race a long time ago, and the very one he gave her on the night he declared his love for her onstage. "And lucky for you I wore this today as I normally don't wear one."

Seeing that she kept it made him smile in flattery, "You still have that?"

"Of course, this is a special ring," she replied with the same wide smile. "Matron gave me this."

His smile turned upside-down, "The hell are you talkin' about? I gave you that!"

She gave him a weird-surprised look, "Of course you didn't, why would you give me one? Unless…" she bit her tongue. Even she could not fathom her speculation; she simply felt her heart leap at the thought.

"We won it at a contest," he grunted. He took the ring off her finger and placed it on her palm. "Ya know, I once inserted this on your left ring finger, a long time ago. And right now there's nothing that could please me more than to see you wear it again."

How could she deny his request? It was as simple favour, but of course, she knew it would mean something bigger if she granted him luxury of being openly willing to obey his command. She gave him a disgruntled look and pretended to be unenthusiastic about the idea. "Fine."

"Great, now put it on," he instructed with a grin.

"Well, that was unromantic. No wonder I broke up with you," she nagged.

Knowing what she meant, he grabbed the ring off her hand, knelt down on one knee, stared at her straight in the eyes and spoke in his most amorous tone, "I promise to be a good fiancée for the next few days, to love you with all my heart, with all my soul, and my whole being. Quistis Trepe, it would mean the world to me if you wear this ring and be my pretend bride-to-be," he softly spoke as he inserted the ring in her finger.

Even if she knew he was being sarcastic, just seeing what he did made the woman in her squeal. She felt herself blushing when he placed the ring in her finger, but she did manage to gag, "as long we're not getting married."

That said, he stood up to his feet and kissed her in one sweeping motion, just in time for Aven and his adopted mother to barge in his door and see. There was a brief suspended second, but then Laelia's anticipation to hug him eased out the moment, but not for Quistis and Aven who stood still awkwardly staring at each other.

"Seifer! I missed you!" Laelia yelped as she bear hugged him in her big flabby arms, the kind of arms that could make Seifer gasp for air. "I was so worried when I heard an old crazy fortune teller harassed you, so I immediately packed up my bags and brought Aven along to bring you back home," she cried with apparent worry as she dangled Seifer left and right in her motherly arms.

"Great to see you too Laelia," he wheezed, trying to free himself from her clutch. "But where the heck did you get the whole harass thing!?"

"What did I say about you calling me mom!? Anyway, I got a postcard from someone named Xu...says you should go back to Winhill because you're miserable here."

"Why the hell did you trust a liar and a prick!?"

"Oh Seifer, why do you insist on staying here under terrible conditions?" she ranted with her arms held high in dramatic fashion. "Look at you! You've lost at least five pounds since I last saw you! And you even lost all your beautiful hair! You should pack your bags and come home with us."

"Nah, I'm fine right here!" Trying to get away from the situation, he quickly grabbed Quistis and said, "I can't go back because the woman I'm marrying lives here."

Laelia and Aven's eyes widened with shock and they had to pick their jaws off the floor. The latter's eyes glistened with tears as the former was quick to smack him with a bag of vegetables. "You insolent-good-for-nothing child! How can you suddenly be engaged when Aven has been waiting for years for you to make a move!?" She repeatedly smacked him as she spoke. "I brought her all the way here because I thought you've finally decided to settle down and this—THIS is what I see!?" Her attention suddenly shifted to Quistis as she circled her, eyeing every flaw she could find that might convince her she was not as perfect as her little walnut-haired daughter. However, it was like comparing the beauty of a poppy to a rose; a pug to a husky; burlap to a lace. She eventually gave up on making comparisons because the thought was degrading to her gene pool. When she realized that the woman she was preying on was way beyond her own standards of beauty, she knew she was fighting a losing battle, so instead she asked, "Who is she?"

To introduce a woman with such high calibre, he was more than proud to say her name. "Laelia, Aven, I want you to meet Quistis Trepe…the woman I've been longing to marry all these years." Quistis went stiff with his claim, so he kissed her on the cheeks just to make things worse. "Now that I found her, I'm makin' sure I'm marrying her."

"Quistis?" Laelia paused to think. It wasn't the first time she had heard the name. "THE Quistis?" she raised a brow in fearful speculation.

"Yes," he went behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and declared, "This is her."

Unable to find a proper first word under all the awkwardness she was feeling, she simply beamed and extended her hand, "it's a pleasure to meet you."

With her hand in front of Laelia's face, she did not want to give a bad impression so she shook it. The moment was brief, but she felt how soft Quistis' palm was and couldn't help but frown in comparison with her daughter's sandpaper of a hand. "I'm surprised to finally meet you…under uncalled for circumstances." She was careful with courtesy because she wanted to be nice yet not very accepting of the thought that she was to marry Seifer instead of Aven. "By the way, this is my beautiful daughter Aven." Laelia took the liberty of introducing the two instead of Seifer. "You know, they used to date back at Winhill when Seifer lived with us at the inn."

Aven was a petite girl and was quite dainty with her brown hair braided and her floral dress beneath the aqua coat she wore. Her beauty was little different from Quistis' as she was anatomically thin and naturally pale despite working in a flower field. She hesitantly looked at Quistis with her umber eyes still misty from the news. She too did not want to be rude, but she could not smile either, so she did her bid by shaking Quistis' hand then threw her rough hands in the air and hastily exited the room in effort not to let them see that she was crying.

"Well, so much for introductions. I better go after her." Laelia dropped all her bags and strode out the room with random grumbles.

Seifer sighed an air of relief, "I'm glad that's over. I've never seen Aven so speechless."

"You're not gonna go after them?"

"And make things worse? Nah."

That said, "So, you dated Aven huh?" Quistis couldn't help but mention with folded arms.

"Don't tell me you're jealous of her," he quickly retorted.

"Now why would I be jealous?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

His sarcasm did not amuse her. She raised an unhappy brow, "well, I'm not. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a student with the same level of maturity as you whom I'm about to lecture on a topic I call Moral Decency."


o O o


It was late afternoon and Seifer was wrapping up to end his shift. He hasn't seen both Aven and Laelia since they walked out on him that morning. Seifer would be forced to fix the stuff they had inconveniently scattered on his doorstep if they weren't back by the time he got home. At least they brought him a lot of fresh vegetables from Winhill. He was sure they were fresh because it didn't mash even if Laelia kept hitting him with them earlier. He was still figuring out the details he needed to say in case they suddenly decided to ask about the whole engagement thing with Quistis. Plus, he also needed a plan on how to harass Xu for the mess she got him into. He could see her impishly smiling at him across the room, and if only he was the same man seven years ago he could've pounced on her and kicked her ass an hour ago. Things were different now, he had the ability to restrain himself from assaulting a very irritating little bitch bent with evil intentions. But it took a lot of mental effort to retain his composure.

A second more, he snapped. He gave her a dirty finger, slowly ran it across his neck as if to re-enact a murder scene, "You are so dead!"

Xu was far too evil for a measly threat that she laughed him off. "Oh this is great, here she comes." She waved her hand and yelled, "Seifer's right here!" then pretended to ignore him when Aven entered the door.

"I swear I will kill you Xu!" he yelled when he saw Aven charging at him with a fanatical smile that he always feared.

"OHH Seify-poo! You left this back at the house. I thought you purposely left it me, but it's got an initial of Q.T. on it, so maybe it's not for me…although I wish that it was. Well, is it!?" She handed him a silver pendant elegantly embedded with different semi-precious stones forming into Balamb Garden's emblem. The blue cross of the emblem was still missing a couple of stones, evidence that the piece was yet to be completed.

He got excited when he got hold of the pendant, "You found it!" He gave her a huge hug, one so big that he lifted her off the ground. "I thought I lost it!"

"I know, I love you too, but that did not answer my question."

"I made it for Quistis." He was all smiles when he announced that it was for her. After working so hard, finding the right material and hand carving it night after night for several weeks, it was only fair that he was elated to finally reunite with it. He studiously ignored the patter of words directed to him and only stared up when he noticed the noise has subsided. "Yeah," he said with a nod and prayed that he agreed to something reasonable despite not hearing the question.

"Fine, marry her if you want, but after two years we meet here after you divorce her."

He smirked when he realized he just gave the right answer. "Don't count on it. It's either her heart, or yours."

"So you'd rather break mine!?"

He scratched his nape and avoided her stare. "In the long run...I know I'll hurt you, so I might as well stop it now."

She took his chin to ask him intently, "And how sure are you, you won't be hurting hers?"

That question, asked straight to his face made his eyes grow wide and sharp. He had been asking himself that question for a long time now, but when raised by another person, it became a completely different matter. He knew he'd be hurting her as well, that is, if things became serious...seriously wrong. He could say nothing, just gulp down his thoughts and stare back.

"I knew it...but I can...I can hurt myself for you." She professed, and it sounded sweet, but stupid.

He took a step back and tuned away. "Then go ahead and become a martyr, but it'll always be Quistis that I'll choose."

"Seifer?"

Just then Quistis appeared from behind the door. Both stares seemed to look more than just a stare.

"Did I come at a wrong time?"

"No," Seifer smiled, "I was just about to go look for you."

"Then tell her you love her." Aven suddenly dared, loudly. "I want you to look at her straight in the eye and say that you love her, right here, right now."

Her scandal had caught the attention of those present in the café, including Duke Dollet and Xu. He took a big gulp as his throat suddenly dried up and his palms became sweaty. He could sense every eye in the room was waiting for his next move; even Quistis could not help but anxiously stare at him. He was in deep shit. "I think asking her to marry me says it all." He was sure everyone choked on his and her breath at that moment of declaration. He even caught sight of Xu collapsing on the table, unconscious.

"I-I see…." She could not contain the embarrassment that she ran out of the café shrieking in wretched sorrow. Sad.

Laelia witnessed her daughter's walkout and wanted to console her, but then she saw Quistis and requested they talk somewhere private. She motioned Quistis to follow her, but when she reacted a little slow, she grabbed her by the wrist and they made their way to one corner of the lobby.

"Tell me what you want from Seifer and what will it take for you to lose him." She immediately proposed in a loud whisper.

Laelia's statement caught her aback. She had to think fast if she wanted to convince her that she was serious with Seifer. "Nothing," she beamed slightly shaking her head. A lot of excuses crossed her mind as reason to what she meant by nothing, but one she chose to speak out, "We can't give up on each other, not when there's every reason to hold on to what we have." Instantly, she felt her heart compress when she realized how much emotion she managed to put in those vague words. She sounded like a woman in love!

"I've heard a great deal about you, coming from him and from SeeDs stationed at Winhill. Based from what I've been hearing and seeing you in the flesh it's no wonder he's crazy about you." Laelia, though disheartened at her daughter's chances of ever marrying Seifer, was happy with what she heard from Quistis' lips. "Now, I'm more sensible than my delusional daughter, and as painful as it is, I know he won't be coming home with us. We'll leave for Winhill first thing in tomorrow."

"I know we've only just met…and under awkward circumstances, but won't you stay a while longer? I know he misses you."

What she said made the menopausal woman smile. "You're a sweetheart for saying that, but for my daughter's sake, we best leave to keep her away from causing any more trouble."

Quistis had no argument there. "Thank you, for taking care of Seifer despite his, you know…" she didn't know how to say it.

"His being himself?" she laughed, as there was no way to describe Seifer.

"Yes," she chortled.

At that point, Laelia didn't stop herself from embracing Quistis. It was a proud moment for her, to have finally met the woman Seifer had been unfathomably in love with. "I know I'm supposed to be on my daughter's side, but I also love Seifer very much, and to see that he'll finally have his greatest dream fulfilled makes me happy. You know, between the two of you, I can sense he's the lucky one."

"I don't think I'm his greatest dream," she dismissed, aware of Laelia's intentions to flatter her.

"But you are!" she argued, insisting. "I know I swore to him that I wouldn't tell anyone, but since he already popped the question I'm sure he won't mind me telling you…"

She was curious as much as she was cautious, "tell me what?"

The middle-aged woman hesitated for a second, but said it anyway, "He speaks a lot about you. He is very proud of you that I see his eyes sparkle every time he says your name. If he is to marry anyone besides my daughter, I'm glad that it's you." However, Laelia's tone became sombre when she added, "He once told me that he didn't deserve you, but Quistis, I want you to know that Seifer loves you very much and will do anything for you because he knows…you're the one."


o O o


It was a long day, she woke up in her old room at Balamb Garden that morning, left for Dollet at dawn, agreed to join Seifer's mess, met his Winhill family, had everyone convinced they were engaged, and was granted the blessing to marry him by Seifer's adopted mother right before dusk. It was a lot to absorb in one day. The moment she arrived in her room, she locked the door and collapsed in bed. She was so tired that she could hear own breath, slow and deep. With her belly flat on the cushion and her arms in oblation, she blankly stared at her side table. For a moment, she contemplated on the photo she hadn't seen in a while, a picture of her and her lover whom she has not seen for eight months now. She smiled at the sight, but realizing that it has been that long made her sad. She closed her eyes and frowned at the thought. Just when she felt herself half-asleep, she heard short but consistent knocks on her door. Waiting a while longer to see that she wasn't dreaming, the knocks eventually got louder.

"Coming!" she groaned, dragging herself off her bed to open the door.

"Hey, did I wake you?" Seifer immediately asked when he noticed her eyes were barely open the moment he saw her.

Luckily, she was far too tired to be pissed, but she did manage to glower at him. "What now?"

"Can I stay here?" he asked, although it was clearly no question.

"Seifer, seriously!? I can't believe—NO!" She suddenly woke up when he grinned from cheek to cheek in effort to imitate Gabrielle's childish grin.

"C'mon, just let me stay here for tonight so they'll know I'm not foolin' around with them."

"By tonight, how many nights exactly?" she interrogated, because the last time he said tonight it ended up four nights of 'just tonight'.

"Just until Laelia and Aven leaves for Winhill…I can't exactly cramp the three of us in my apartment. Besides, I'd rather stay with you in a hotel suite than in my freakin' hell of a room any day. Seriously, I hate that place, but it's the only one I got."

"Just so you know, you may be welcome to stay but I prefer you come here invited next time."

He simpered when she moved out of the way to let him in. "I'll keep that in mind." He casually strolled in and went straight to the bathroom with his bag. "If you don't mind, I need to take a shower."

"Of course I mind!" She growled, but that didn't really do much as he was already in the shower. "And you should know, Laelia told me they'll be leaving back for Winhill first thing tomorrow, so I expect you to do the same. And seriously, close the door!" she barked before slamming the door of her bathroom, but not without catching a glimpse of the silhouette behind the shower curtain.

With him out of the picture for a bit, she could not immediately sleep, so she turned to her old journal and started to scan to the page where Seifer had mentioned about the ring he had given her. Quistis had to flip back and forth between pages until she finally saw the words Couple's Amazing Race. She began to read what she had written. Loathing at her own narration, she pushed on to get the scoop on the story behind her favourite ring, an account she could never have imagined if not for her detailed hand-written narrative. Although at one point she was disgusted at her enthusiasm on comprehensive writing, she was glad that at least now she had a clue to most of Seifer's tattle.

Staring at the ring on her finger, she did not know where to place her feelings. At that point, she wanted to know, how badly did they fall for each other? And were they mad for doing so? Certainly, there was a lot controversy stirring when they left Balamb that morning. Her thoughts fell silent when she heard knocking on her door.

She slightly cracked the door open, "who is it?"

"It's Duke. May I speak with you for a moment?" he murmured, a little embarrassed and unsure about confronting her.

Staggered, she straightaway flung the door open to greet him. "Y-yes, of course! Please, come in, we can talk inside."

The moment he stepped in her room, he stopped in shock when he saw Seifer emerge from the bathroom. "Well, I suppose this answers the question I was about to ask."

Quistis turned to see a half-naked Seifer damping himself with one of her towels. Always in perfect timing to embarrass her, she could not immediately react, neither could he.

"I am rather surprised at how quickly things turned out between you two…should we discuss the contract in the morning?"

"We're not—it's not—this isn't what it looks like." Quistis quickly stuttered to clarify in her own ambiguous way.

Duke's grizzled brow rose in suspicion, "what is it then?"

Seifer put on his shirt before approaching the two at the door. He peeped out the hallway to see if anyone else was there and when he saw it clear he said, "It's a setup to get Aven off my back. She needs to get a clue that I'm not interested…so I had to make her believe I'm marryin' Quistis."

"Is this true?" He interrogated Quistis. "You know I have a pretty accurate lie detector in my office."

"It's true," she groaned. "I'm just doing him a favour. This is all a hoax gone wrong. We're not really engaged."

"Then why do you look so glum about it?" Seifer teased, unafraid to make things worse.

"Shut up! I'm just not happy about the fact that our little prank blew up into this mess."

Duke cleared his throat and roughly interrupted, "as long as we're clear, I can leave you two to discuss your…issues. Good night."

The moment she shut the door, she turned to him in exasperation. "You have no idea how much I hate you right now!"

"Hey," he tried to calm her down by grabbing her hands and tightly squeezing them together to ball, then kissing them he said, "thank you."

Flustered, she stepped back and pushed him off. "You should get some rest if you want to see them off at the station."

"Yeah, I probably should...did I mention they like collecting free souvenirs?"

"Do they?" she raised a brow, "I hope they didn't get anything from the hotel." The confession made her check the pockets of the pants she wore that day. When she felt the rolled up money she stuck in her pocket was still there she exhaled in relief.

He laughed, "of course they did! The café's missing a couple of teaspoons and dessert forks. But don't worry, I'll take them back tomorrow."

"You should because those are real silver," she yawned. She knew Seifer well enough to trust his words, so she didn't really worry. Besides, losing a few utensils was nothing new to the hotel as the temptation to horde them was inevitable. Her eyes wandered off to the bedside lamp not knowing that he was trailing her stare.

To his point of view, she was looking at the picture frame she had on the table and it immediately angered him, to stare lovingly at another man in his presence. "Can you get rid of the frame while I'm around? I don't like it." He casually demanded as he took the frame at waved it front of her face. He wanted to annoy her as much as she annoyed him.

She grabbed it from his hand, "give me that! You're crossing the line do you know that?!"

"Well you can't have it on display, not while Laelia and Aven are here. Besides, what's so appealing 'bout him anyway? How old is he…thirty?" He looked at her for a bit and caught her uncomfortable expression, "he looks a little old to be thirty."

She stared at him irate, then grumbled, "he's thirty four."

"Holy crap! Are you serious!?" Now was his chance to degrade him, "You can't be with a man who's in a desperate age to marry. He's gonna force ya to marry him even if he's financially and emotionally unstable—"

"Shut up Seifer, you don't even know the man!" Of course she was offended, she had to cut him off in defence. "He's pretty much set with his life. And unlike you, I think he knows a thing or two about financial and emotional stability."

With a possible berating about to occur, he might as well get on with it. "Then where the hell is he!? If he promised you he'd be here for your birthday, then he should've been there. If he said he'll be back in six months, then he should've been here two months ago! You can't just wait forever…what if he's not commin' back, what then?"

"And who are you to say that!? I've read the pages Seifer—I now know what you did and I can't just let you barge in my life like this. Do you realize that it pains me to act this kindly towards you knowing now the burden of others seeing us together? I'm not idiot Seifer—I know those stares they made in Balamb—"

He could no longer take kindly to her words that he forcefully pinned her to the wall to shut her up. "Enough! You have no idea with the hell I've been through just to get my life back together after I left. If the damage it left was losing your memory of me, mine is having to live with it." He breathed hard at her astonished face and gritted his teeth as he said in his most regretful tone, "I'm sorry I had to be the jerk I was…but don't give up on me now." He hugged her. "Please."

Clasped under his weight, she could not immediately place her feeling towards his sentiments. She was numb but could feel a surge of emotions pumping in her system. Drowned in his words and heavy breathing she slowly motioned him to release her. She stayed flat on the wall as he stepped back to reveal his remorseful face. "I…I can't cheat on him…it's not as simple as asking me a favour." For someone who's supposedly smart, he certainly had the power to keep her mum, but she had to dissuade him from making any more moves. "I know we have to deal with the contract besides coming to terms with our past. I hate this." She walked to her bed and sat there covering her face to close her eyes and think.

He took a deep sigh, "if it's any consolation, I also hate what Duke is tryin' to make us do…I wish I could just…I don't know."

By the time she looked at him her mind was made up, "two more months, I'll wait for him…and if he's not here then maybe…"

"I can't wait that long." Frank as ever, he explained, "I've waited five years to be you, what you're asking me is far too long."

"Do you want to sleep with me that badly? If you have any respect for me whatsoever, then you should consider my decision."

He was offended at how she thought of him, though partially true, he had bigger reasons. "This isn't about sex Quis…it's much more than that. Don't you get it? I don't come here forcing you to sleep with me. I come here just so I can be with you, nothing more."


o O o


Right before the clock struck midnight, she stirred out of bed and gazed across the room to check if he was sound asleep. He was enveloped snugly in her blanket, unmoving, yet a little loud with his snoring. Funny how, despite their argument earlier, she still managed to let him stay. Her decision was a little regrettable because his presence made her uncomfortable to sleep like she usually would, arms and legs spread out across her bed. Since he was there, she was forced to turn to the opposite side of bed away from Seifer's view. She had to tiptoe her way out the room just to make sure he would not notice her leave. The moment she shut lock the knob on the other side of the door, she flinched in startle when she saw Xu caught her red handed. Apparently, she was as interested with finding out the truth as Duke was…even if it meant sleeping guard outside the hallway.

"Wait, so let me get this straight…you agreed to play his little game and now you're letting him stay over at your place!?"

"I'm just doing him a favour. It's only for tonight." She whispered loudly, in fear that the commotion would wake him.

"Dude, you're crazy! You do realize that you're exactly being a victim to his intentions? You're being too easy on him!" Xu was keen on showing her she was not amused. "I did not just send them a letter to come all the way here just so they can see that the man they're supposed to fetch has found his one true love! This is not how you should play the game!"

"I don't see it as that. I mean, the way I see it, this isn't really part of the game. Seifer's not in love with the girl and he needs to get his message across. I just wanted to help him."

"Listen to what you're saying! Look at you! You're even going on this stupid diet just so you can look good in front of him! It's barely been two months and already out flirting with the guy!" She paused and looked hard at her, "You can't give him mixed signals because I know how badly he wants you. I'm telling you now, don't be stupid and do the same mistake twice with the same idiot."

Quistis stood quiet for a while, sighed, then admitted, "There's something about him I can't ignore. The way he looks at me makes me want to console him. I can't just turn him away, not like this…."

"Are you freakin' falling the guy!?" She was in disbelief.

"What!? Don't be ridiculous—I don't fall that easily, besides, I'm still in a relationship with Xaldin."

"Quis, trust me when I say that you have no idea how stupid you get when it comes to love. You fall so fast so easily that I'm not even gonna start laughing again as I recall the day you said Xaldin was already your boyfriend. He barely courted you and already you believe it's true love!"

She knew that if she didn't stop Xu, the insults would go on. "Stop it!" she yelled. "I know you're not that happy with me and Xaldin. I also know how much you hate Seifer…but this is something you just have to trust me with."

"I trust you. It's them I don't trust."

"What do you want me to do then?"

"Don't give him any reason to be hopeful that he has a chance of getting you back."

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

Xu shook her head, "No, I don't think you do."

She gave a loud grunt to express her displeasure. She began to walk away from Xu, but her quick steps were no match to the petite's sprint. "Say what you want, but I think I know how to handle the situation. Now go back to your room because there's nothing to see here."

"Fine, but only if you tell me what you're up to."

"I'm going out to get some fresh air."

"LIE!" She didn't care that her cry could've alarmed everyone in the floor. "You've always been a terrible liar! It's freezing out and you never go out to get fresh air in this hour."

"I'm going out to see the fortune teller, alright? If you're happy with my answer, we can talk about this in the morning!" Her tone had gotten fierce, Xu has pulled her last nerve and she was making it obvious by her livid stare.

Finally, she got the message Quistis was sending, so she conceded by turning her pace to the opposite direction. "Fine, just say hi to that old crack for me then."

Walking out to the lonely fountain in Dollet Square, she experienced the first snowfall of Dollet that year. The glistening flakes fell softly on her hair and shoulders like cold dandruff. It was very quiet and eerie and beautiful. She stood quietly for a while to gaze up and see the speckles of white fall from the dark sky. Before long everything was covered in white. Smoke came out her lips when she sighed.

A few minutes more, she heard a lot of rattling noises coming from behind the fountain's statue. An old uncanny voice grumbled curses as bottles clanked in noisy fashion. Quistis approached the black cloaked hag and tapped her shoulder.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAT?" the crazy woman reacted in manic surprise.

Quistis jumped back to a defensive stance, "I need a word with you."

"Oh, it's you. Well spill it!"

"I've been getting real bad heartburns lately, and I sort of blame you."

"What the hell did I do!?" she nattered.

"I think your potion's making my heart ache whenever I think about Seifer."

"Hmmm...I'll take note of that."

"Aren't you suppose to do something about it!?"

"No...my potions don't come with a warranty."

"Then at least tell me what the hell is going on!"

"I suspect you're having very strong feelings for him, and the potion could no longer neutralize it, that's why it hurts. I suppose it's warning you...you're falling in love with the man."

"What? No, of course not!"

"Then what the hell do you want from me!?"

"I'd like another neutralizing potion or anything that can make me numb whenever he's around."

"HEY! Don't take my potions like some sort of candy or even like a medicine that can just take away the pain at your bidding. You can't just go gulping on a bottle every time you feel like it. The potion I gave was a potent one, so don't expect me to give you anything for the next six months or so." She went on with her lecture acting all deranged, "And don't assume I don't remember you! I know exactly how much potions you've been taking, including the ones that man and that little bitch has been feeding you. Take any more and you'll wound up all cuckoo—just like me!" She then proceeded with a long boisterous cackle.

Aurora made it clear, she cannot afford another dose without suffering the consequences. An advice was all she could ask for. "What do I do then?"

"Two things darlin', either run away to Shumi Village or just sleep with the freakin' man. Now go away! I'm busy!"

She looked around, there was no one else in sight. She looked at Lady Aurora and she wasn't doing anything. "Please, you have to help me."

The old lady made a groaning sigh. "If you want my opinion, then I suggest you do something about it and not come to me makin' some poor excuses just because your will is stronger than my magic. But if what you say is true, then I think you should start accepting the fact that there's more to that man than what you think he is. Remember, fate will always triumph over petty magical tonics." That said, she gathered her stuff and disappeared in the misty street of Dollet.

Left alone and distressed with Aurora's statement, she blew a plume of cold smoke in respire. Several questions came to mind, and it scared her. Everything that was happening was not in her plan and she was scared of what was to happen with her life. She was scared about her contract with Duke, scared of Xaldin coming back and finding out the mess she agreed to be a part of. She was scared of what's to happen between her and Seifer. She knew she wasn't falling for him just yet, that there were forces much greater than any magic that's telling her to hold on to whatever they had. Another piercing throb stuck her chest that she curdled in pain, whimpered to the air, "I don't know what to do…" and wept.